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12:34 PM Monday, July 19, 2010

There are so many aspects to the immigration issues facing our country today that it would take a book rather than a column to address them all.

Therefore, I would like to focus on what seems to be the main objection to securing our borders without “comprehensive reform” — better known in the real world as “amnesty.” That is the blustering, rhetorical question: “What are you going to do? Round up the 12 million to 20 million illegals and deport them?” With this demagogic red herring, logical discussion of the subject is usually ended.

If you just think it through, you realize that this is merely a smoke screen. We can correct the situation by doing three simple things and we would not need to deport millions.

• Secure the borders. Stop the flow of illegals, drug dealers and potential terrorists. Don’t even try to tell me it can’t be done. It’s not rocket science and almost every other country in the world does it successfully.

• Set up an effective, controlled system for bringing legal immigrant workers into the country. Coordinate the government program with employers who want to do the right thing and hire legal immigrants.

To those of you who have already branded me a racist, think about it. It would be much better for the workers themselves. They will end up getting paid more, won’t have to deal with the vicious gangs and coyotes, and won’t have to live in the “shadows” that the bleeding hearts often decry.

If they want to become American citizens, I believe the vast majority of Americans would welcome them with open arms.

• Crack down on employers who hire illegals. Employers can now exploit and under-pay them. What recourse do they have? If we fine these companies and ... legal workers are ready to replace the illegals, businesses will soon get with the program.

The illegals will have no jobs. We won’t need to deport them. They will have no choice but to go home and get in line with their honorable countrymen, instead of being rewarded for jumping ahead of them. We will only need to deport the criminals and the freeloaders, who all sensible Americans agree should go.

It won’t take a genius or a lot of money to fix this. We must all — Democrat, Republican or independent — put extreme pressure on our derelict representatives to quit blowing smoke and do their jobs.

Mark Buschelmann

Fairfield

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