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overhaul is
long overdue
Major immigration reform is on the table in Washington, and how it turns out will have an impact on the Columbus County economy.
There is disagreement over the numerous components of the bill, but everyone can agree that current immigration policies are a disaster.
The bill represents a compromise among those who want to see practically all immigrants shut out, to those who understand that the country needs immigrants to do jobs that many Americans won’t have.
There are an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country now. To round all them up and send them home as some suggest would be a disaster for the economy.
In Columbus County, there would be no one to harvest crops like tobacco or sweet potatoes. In cities like Raleigh and Charlotte, there would be no one to build new houses.
Here’s what we’d like to see in the new immigration bill. Many of these components are already in it.
• America needs to control its borders, even if it means finishing the Mexican border fence that’s now under construction, not only for economic reasons, but for security reasons.
• America needs a guest worker program, which is in the bill, that registers immigrants who can either stay here for a certain term, or meet conditions to become citizens if they work hard and stay out of trouble. It’s important to remember that immigration not only provides a manual labor force that is needed to support manufacturing and agriculture, but it also brings in scientists and researchers who make untold contributions to society. We also remind readers that many naturalized immigrants become this nation’s and community’s finest citizens.
• Americans want to see guest workers help pay their way, either through taxes or fees. Perhaps the biggest complaint now is that illegals use many services that U.S. citizens must pay for. The immigration bill calls for a $6,500 fee for illegals to become legal.
• There needs to be better investigation and penalties for those who hire illegal
immigrants. The proposed system won’t work unless people and companies comply with the law.
• We question the long-standing policy of giving citizenship to all babies born in the U.S. if the child’s parents are here illegally. This policy seems to only encourage people to come here illegally and have a child.
In the final analysis, the U.S. economy must have immigrants for many segments of its labor force, but having foreign workers accounted for and helping pay for the services they use has been a long time coming. This is a complex bill and many people will find parts they don’t like, but because immigration policy is so incoherent now, this bill offers a chance to bring some semblance of order.