The stars have aligned once again for Congress to confront America’s illegal immigration problem. An estimated 11 million people are residing in the U.S. without legal status according to the Department of Homeland Security DHS. Although the number of illegals in the country remains in dispute, the number of Mexicans, in particular, who wish to move to the U.S. is becoming clear. A recent Pew Global Attitudes study of 1000 Mexican citizens conducted in-person finds that 35 percent of those surveyed would come to the U.S. if they had the means and opportunity. Byron York did the math, “The population of Mexico is about 110 million. If the Pew numbers are correct, that means about 38 million would like to live in the U.S.” Additionally, the study claims that 20 percent of Mexicans, or 22 million citizens would come to the U.S. without legal authorization.
The very act of opening discussions in Congress causes a surge in crossings at the southern border. According to CBS, the number of illegals attempting to cross has tripled in recent months. Our media quickly reaches the ears of people throughout Mexico and Central America. They are attuned to the ebb and flow of our political machinery, where immigration is concerned.
The ethical conflict that offends many citizens is offering those who entered illegally a more favorable option than the millions who are navigating the legal immigration process. In addition, human nature and the desire for a better life ensures that any legislation perceived as amnesty will produce a new wave of illegal immigrants. In 1986, Ronald Reagan provided amnesty to approximately 2.7 million people here illegally, encouraging millions more to make the journey. Reagan lamented his decision as Democrats scrapped border security while neutering promised workplace enforcement.
This time, we are assured the process and outcome will be different. Senator Rubio and the “Gang of Eight” Senators protest the claims that their 844 page legislation offers amnesty while promising DHS and the border patrol will provide 100 % border monitoring, called “persistent surveillance” and 90% apprehension rates of those attempting to cross illegally. Conservatives and Republicans are rightly concerned that politics will trump serious efforts to secure America’s border as neither DHS nor the border patrol can accurately measure the number of people attempting to enter the country. As Manuel Padilla Jr., chief patrol agent for the Tucson area, puts it, tallying the number of people who slipped through “is not an exact science.”
The list of issues addressed by the Senate in S. 744 is long, complex and rife with compromise as all comprehensive legislation tends to be. Attempts to provide a fair and balanced account of the bill is tedious at best. Senator Rubio claims the process is now open to every Senator and numerous amendments will come forward. He is an articulate salesman with powerful funding to sell this plan including an effort kicking-off May 1 to sway opposition to the Senate legislation.
Millions are being spent to convince Americans that this is not amnesty. At the end of the day, it is a matter of semantics – 11 million people will be permitted to remain after meeting the bill’s requirements and begin a 13 year process that could lead to citizenship (in its current form, the bill will issue up to 30 million green cards over the next decade). Looking through the eyes of the immigrant, if they are earning an income to send home and not fearing deportation, the term U.S. citizen is not the primary concern.
True border security means no one enters or exits the U.S. without contact at a designated point of entry. Politicians discussing immigration are offering many interpretations of border security, but knowing who and why someone enters is the only definition that really matters.
