'Compassionate' Measure Could Well Backfire
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The Obama administration, by circumventing Congress, kicked off one of the most sweeping changes in immigration policy in decades.
On Wednesday, Aug. 16, thousands of illegal immigrants who arrived in the United States before the age of 16 and are less than 31 years of age packed government centers to apply for documentation that would allow them to legally remain and work in the United States for at least two years under a new federal initiative.
The Dream Act - which would have, under certain conditions, granted amnesty to illegal immigrants - was defeated in Congress twice. But this new policy, accomplished by bureaucratic fiat, is a lighter version of the Dream Act called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Those who meet all requirements will temporarily be free of the fear of deportation, as this policy will allow them to remain in the United States for at least two years.
They may apply for work permits, Social Security numbers and driver's licenses. It has been estimated that 1.7 million are eligible for the program.
This DACA policy has been promoted as a compassionate measure for children who, through no fault of their own, were brought into our country illegally. But it has produced both criticisms and concerns.
Two governors have already stated that they will not honor the new policy. And with many states facing fiscal problems, perhaps others will follow suit.
Gov. Jan Brewer has declared that Arizona won't confer driver's licenses and other state benefits to newly documented immigrants under DACA. Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman said, "Obama's DACA does not make successful applicants 'legal citizens,' meaning that they remain ineligible for state benefits like drivers' licenses and other services.
At a time when thousands of citizens are unemployed, does it make sense to increase the number of those seeking employment by granting work permits to illegal immigrants ?
(The national average of unemployment has remained at 8 percent for four months. North Carolina's unemployment rate is now 9.6 percent, which ties North Carolina with South Carolina for the fifth-highest unemployment rate in the United States.)
Another area of concern is endangering the integrity of our election process.
If illegal immigrants are able to acquire Social Security numbers and driver's licenses, they will be in possession of legal IDs. That could very well facilitate illegal voter registration and illegal voting. It is interesting to note that the extension against deportation of these "childhood arrivals" is for at least two years - conveniently past the November election.
And, have we so soon forgotten that many of the terrorists who were perpetrators of 9/11, our day of gloom and tragedy, held valid driver's licenses ?
Too many times, laws are enacted and policies adopted that seemingly solve pressing problems but, in reality, have ripple effects that create bigger problems later on.
The probable and possible dangerous implications of DACA frighten me, and that brings to mind something Thomas Jefferson said, as quoted by a recent letter writer to The Pilot:
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty."
Norma Cappelletti, a former Connecticut state representative, lives in Pinehurst.
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Comments
Pappy 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Good article !!
teufelhunden 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Yes, I wish more people would see reason. As feel good as it may seem it is not a good idea at all!!!
JimRussell44 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Since Ms.Cappelletti thinks the new federal initiative should be scrapped, I will ask her to give us her suggestions for ridding the country of those illegal aliens. Should Romney win the election, would you favor an immediate halt to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program? Yes or No. If yes, should the people involved be immediately rounded up and deported? Yes or No. Should ALL illegal aliens be immediately rounded up and deported? Yes or No.
A few clarifications to the content of this article. The 9/11 terrorists were not in this country illegally and the drivers licenses, although valid (not faked), were obtained by the terrorists illegally through lies and deceit. In other words, bringing the 9/11 terrorists into this discussion is done for the purpose of creating fear in the readers mind and is not germane to the discussion.
bufordsplay 8 months, 2 weeks ago
You don't have to round up the illegals. All you have to do is make it impossible for them to stay here and they will leave. Require I.D. to send any money to Mexico. Require I.D. to rent an apartment. Require I.D. to open an account. Require I.D. to work......very simple.
The_AnonymusProfit 8 months, 2 weeks ago
I have to say that while I still am on the fence in some area,s the pilots intern Andrew changed my mind on the illegal immigration aspect. I still think should still be laws, but I do agree with alot of the open boarder aspects of the libertarian position as well.
clarabelle 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Yes - lets build a 2,000 mile long fence that costs 5.7 trillion dollars to construct and 645 billion yearly to man. just what we need!
teufelhunden 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Many illegal aliens are not being vaccinated and many people of other nationalities are coming in through Mexico and Canada. What's wrong with securing our borders?
JimRussell44 8 months, 2 weeks ago
boscoe50: Regarding your "Yes, Yes, Yes" answers to my question: If elected, do you think the Romney administration would do it? Also, how will the folks with the "backbone" keep the illegal aliens (from everywhere, not just Mexico) out of this country?
JimRussell44 8 months, 2 weeks ago
bufordsplay, since obtaining legit ID illegally seems to be no problem (see my comments regarding the drivers licences obtained by the 9/11 terrorists), how would requiring ID make any difference?
JimRussell44 8 months, 2 weeks ago
teufelhunden, I agree with you 100%. Why can't we secure our borders? Of course, we must realize that securing our borders doesn't just mean our border with Mexico. We also have to secure the Canadian border as well. Once that is accomplished, what is the next soft spot? We have an Atlantic Ocean border, a Pacific Ocean border and a Gulf of Mexico border that will also have to be secured. With that accomplished, what other soft spots might we have? All airports with international traffic will also need to be secured since we cannot rely on foreign airports to screen for illegal aliens boarding aircraft. We have to be certain that no illegals get off an aircraft at any of these points of entry in order to be totally secure. With all that done, I think we can agree that we will be "somewhat" secure. Remember, we are dealing with humans. Humans make mistakes sometimes. The next question that will need to be addressed is: Who will be responsible for accomplishing this security? Should it be the Federal Government? Should we leave it to the border states to accomplish it as they see fit? And of course, the really, really big questions: How much will it cost and who is paying for it? Yes, I agree with you 100%. Why can't we secure our borders?
JimRussell44 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Norma Cappelletti: I know, based on the last sentence of your article, that you read these postings. I would appreciate your reply to my questions. I did take the time to read your article, evaluate its content and develop some follow-up questions. Please take a minute to respond.
justpassingby2 8 months, 2 weeks ago
There is no way to secure the borders. Illegals are a threat to our economy and should be treated as such. Now that even the liberal end of the democratic party has come to agree that people who threaten this country don't deserve to be treated humanely, I suggest we we send illegals to GITMO and other similar camps. Once the word gets out of how nice those places are, the problem will naturally disappear.
JimRussell44 8 months, 2 weeks ago
boscoe50, Thanks for your reply. I certainly agree with you that we cannot pick and choose between immigrants. We have laws and regulations that must be applied evenhandedly to all who want to come to this country. I also agree that those who enter the country illegally are breaking the laws and should be punished accordingly. The Obama administration, I believe, is attempting to address a portion of the illegal alien problem with the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals Program. These illegal aliens are in this country through no fault of their own. We can attempt to deal with them in a humane fashion or we can simply lump them in with all illegal aliens and just round them up and deport them (or, as justpassingby2 suggests, send them all to Gitmo because they don't deserve to be treated humanely). Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I thought being American meant we were better than that, so I applaud the Obama administration for attempting to be humane. On the other hand, laws are laws, so if they are all rounded up and deported (or sent off to be water boarded), we really can't argue that it's unfair.
JimRussell44 8 months, 2 weeks ago
boscoe50, you also stated in your comments that the politicians caused these illegal immigration problems. I disagree. I think illegal immigrants cause the problem. The politicians are accessories after the fact because they do not enforce the laws that are in place. This has been an ongoing situation for many decades, it did not start in 2009 and it most likely will not end in 2013. The reason, money!! This country cannot possibly afford to "secure our borders" and, truth be told, we need this cheap, illegal labor. You think your grocery bill is high now? Deport all the illegals and see what happens. Illegals are not taking jobs away from Americans. They are doing jobs that Americans refuse to do at the wages offered by the businesses hiring them. Businesses, companies, corporations...what the Republicans say is the solution to all our problems are, in fact, the illegal immigration enablers. So the problem is not going to go away. We will be better off trying to figure out how to best make the situation work to our advantage.
The_AnonymusProfit 8 months, 2 weeks ago
@ Boscoe50 the plain skinny is that yours and most peoples opinions who advocate the expulsion of illegals is conditional. You see what your saying is that America has the right to determine who lives here. Besides the fact that that goes against the very nature of natural human rights, it is we who are infact here illegally, again your opinion is conditional. See this land was once populated by Native Americans, what about their soverign right to protect their boarders and determine who lives in there land? O wait that was in the past, a bad part of our Manifest Destiny right?
Its amazing how were all for it if it benefits us, yet when we advocate for a law that we are infact guilty of breaking, we just ignore those pesky facts.
informed 8 months, 2 weeks ago
@The_AnonymusProfit - Though I don't appreciate the previous treatment of our Native Americans I would have to say that period was considered a time of discovery and conquering of new lands by not Americans, but rather several competing countries. The Native Americans were scattered tribes, not a single established sovereign nation with a clearly defined border. They fought for their lands but lost. As terrible as it sounds we defeated them and took their lands and created this nation. That was then; we are in modern times with modern problems. America DOES have the right to determine who lives here and we have created laws to that effect. We have clearly defined borders just like every other civilized nation in the world. As long as The People of this nation desire to enforce these laws it should be done.
informed 8 months, 2 weeks ago
@JimRussell44 – Per your questions regarding the people affected by the Dream Act; Yes, it should be halted. It is clearly a defacto amnesty that is being used more for political gain than the health of this nation. I understand that many of these people deserve something better but you cannot reward (and this is a reward) the breaking of our laws. It will only encourage more illegal immigration. The fraud associated with this program will be rampant much like the Bracero programs of old and more recently the Special Agricultural Workers amnesty in the 1980s. The numbers of illegals granted amnesty then palls in comparison to how many will take advantage of the Dream Act. There are simply not enough investigators to fight the wave of fraudulent cases that will come from this. #2 Should the people involved be rounded up and deported? – No, given the logistics required it is an impossible task and anyway they should not be given the opportunity to ever apply from this country. They should return to their country of citizenship and apply from there to enter and reside in the US legally. #3 – Should all illegals be rounded up and deported? – In a manner of speaking, yes. Once again, this is a monumental task given the logistics required but a concerted effort should be made in this direction. It starts with a true strategy to control our southern border and an effort to quadruple the amount of immigration judges and enforcement personnel in our nation’s interior to begin to make gains in removing offenders. There will not be a “reaping” of illegals overnight that will leave us short-handed on cheap labor. It will take decades; hopefully long enough that Americans and legal immigrants will see the benefits of a system of legal hiring practices and labor laws that we have, but do to political neglect, have forgotten.
informed 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Possibly the #1 solution to mitigating the problem of illegal immigration is to ensure that our current policy of "Jus Soli" (aquiring US citizenship from being born on US soil) is clarified. It should be changed or clearly worded that any child of persons LEGALLY present in the US can assume US citizenship from birth on US soil.
The_AnonymusProfit 8 months, 2 weeks ago
@ informed, my point was to prove that opinions of deportation are conditional. Also to correct your misinformed ideas on Native Americans, there were plenty of "nations" in the Americans both North, Central, and South. Predominantly in Central and South due to reasons of migration, however large central north nations existed as well as some eastern tribes notably the Seminoles.
Our government is charged with the defense of its citizens against enemies, people looking for a better way of life are not enemies. A person has a right to defend its personal property, having said that, no government has a right to tell anyone where they can and can not live.
Do I think that immigrants should go through an immigration process,..yes. However this idea that illegal immigrants are a bad thing is crazy, what are the actual facts about illegals? They work, the DO NOT commit crimes on a larger level then legal citizens, in fact they commit much less crime. They are a bolster to our economy. They pay taxes even as illegals.
Like it or not humans are still a migratory species, and as long as America presents a light for people to better themsevles, then we will continue to attract the bright and the downtroden. Instead of trying to figure out how to keep people out, we should be figuring out a way to make it easier for people to come.
geoffcutler 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Scarier than the results of this decree by Obama is the fact that it is a decree, which Norma points out at the outset of her piece. Obama went around Congress, as he has said to us he would do, and by presidential fiat, enacted new law on his own. Scary stuff. Vote Romney/Ryan in November!
informed 8 months, 2 weeks ago
@The_AnonymusProfit - The vast percentage of Americans have historically desired legal immigration within the framework of established quotas that we are capable of handling as a nation. Opinions on IMMIGRATION vary but DEPORTATION is simply a consequence of violating the law. Additionally I understand your stance that there were tribal nations in the Americas. Key word is WERE. What you fail to understand is those tribal nations were conquered and a new unified nation was created and this is the one we live in today. Our current government recognizes some of these remaining tribes as “domestic dependent nations”, i.e. – reservations. This is NOW. Our CURRENT government (which began as a declaration on July 4th, 1776 and has flowered to what it is today) does have a right (and constitutional laws to back it up) to determine who we admit and allow to stay within the borders of our nation. And you’re right, a person (i.e. – illegal alien) DOES have the right to defend their personal property and where they can live, it’s called due process, and once they are arrested for being present without inspection to an immigration officer or overstaying their visa they can fight it in immigration court. You’re right, people looking for a better life are not our enemies, but returning them to their countries of origin is not a death sentence (and for those who it is we allow for refugee status). Immigrants are not a bad thing, but uncontrolled immigration is and that’s the crux of this debate. Why? Because this population does take more than it gives (even though a small percentage pay taxes it doesn’t balance the cost); see the facts and studies at www.numbersusa.org . This population does have a higher crime rate (especially since every one of them are violating Title 8 USC 1325 for illegal entry along with Title 18 USC 1028 violations for document fraud, and Title 42 USC 408 violations for Social Security Fraud), it’s fact. The bolster they provide to the economy is erased by the burden on social services and although some pay taxes, it’s not at the level of legal workers and once again not enough to offset their burden. If you don’t think so, just see how many hospitals in southern California are closing. At a local level I’d like to hear from the personnel in our Sheriff’s Offices, schools, local hospitals, and other social services to get their opinions regarding the cost of assisting people illegally here versus what they are bringing to the table. I disagree with your opinion that we should be figuring ways to make it easier; we should be figuring out how to more effectively manage and support our levels of immigration to create a healthier nation. At this juncture it means controlling the input and increasing the output and doing away with benefit programs like the Dream Act.
informed 8 months, 2 weeks ago
@geocutler - Good point regarding the manner in which the Dream Act was enacted. Considering the president did this just prior to election time is suspect and shameful. Additionally he has relatives that have been granted a stay of deportations, interesting.
JD 8 months, 2 weeks ago
I like how we have to ask 'what would Romney do?' because he hasn't said anything one way or another. If you go to his campaign page here all he does is comment on what he wants to happen and not what he will do to get that result.
excerpt: “civil but resolute ... to do a better job of securing its borders, and as president, I will. That means completing construction of a high-tech fence, and investing in adequate manpower and resources.”
Maybe the fence will have some fancy star wars laser system.
The_AnonymusProfit 8 months, 2 weeks ago
@ Boscoe50 it is only a weak argument because we choose to ignore those facts. Again I do not think that we should not have immigration laws, I do not disagree that we have a right to defend our boarders,
What I am saying is that we do not have a right to tell people where they can and can not reside. Our immigration policies are so backwards and screwed up that its a wonder people come here "illegally" what needs to happen is the immigration laws need to be scrapped and new laws written that make sense and allow for a easy and quick transition from immigrant to citizen. If we made it easy and I mean easy, for these people to become american citizens then we would be the better for it.
Also it is absolutly impossible to keep anyone out who really wants to be here, no fence or security grid will keep people whos intents are to hurt us out. Its like the gun control argument. People that are here to break laws will get here wether we tell them no or not.
teufelhunden 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Other countries have laws and they enforce said laws. Dang what is so hard about enforcing our laws? We have made ourselves basically bound by our so-called freedoms. It's just too lax and it needs to stop.