Immigration (posted 5/17/10)
We have the issue of immigration totally backwards. Like much of the developed world, the native US population would decline without immigration leaving an aging population with too few workers. While it takes an average of 2.1 children per woman to have a stable population, in the US, we have 1.8. This is slightly higher than Japan and northern Europe, but not enough to keep the population stable. So, the bottom line is, we need immigration. We’ve benefited from the “brain drain” when we had a notably higher standard of living. As that diminishes, immigration of engineers and technical folks will become increasingly important.
So, how do we deal with this problem
- Dramatically increase the legal immigrants per year
- Develop a strong guest worker program
- Require everyone to carry a biometric secure identity card that must be presented on demand
- Develop an amnesty program. Screen all criminals and deport them. Hard working folks that seek amnesty must pass a criminal check, pay fines, be on probation, and pay all taxes. After 8 years, if they’ve been legally employed, they become legal immigrants.
- Draconian treatment for illegal immigrants who do not avail themselves of the amnesty program or who enter after the amnesty period. Regardless of what social service they use, be it the police, the emergency room or the library. They are immediately deported along with all of their family.
- Harsh penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants including prison
- Change the law such that a child born of an illegal immigrant is not a US citizen