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« Local Politics in a YouTube World | Main | Hickey Fades » January 23, 2007Trunk Show: Earmarks and Mitt
Update: Donna Locke, who has written for BillHobbs.com before on illegal immigration, says Richardson is "a dangerous man" because of his stand on immigration. Here's the transcript of a speech that Richardson delivered last month on the topic of illegal immigration. Agree with it or not, you can tell he's a serious man who has given serious thought to the issue. Richardson seems a bit too eager to wipe the slate clean for the 11 million or more illegals who are already in this country, but he's right that one cause of our illegal immigration is our economy needs more workers for a variety of low-wage jobs that Americans largely won't do than our immigration laws will allow in the country. We don't need 11 million illegals in this country - we need them to be here legally, and in larger numbers. That said, there's just no way we're going to round up 11 million folks and send them back south of the border to stand in line at the nearest American consulate to apply for legal entry. And while we ought to do some things to demagnetize the country - no drivers licenses for illegals, for example - we ought also to recognize that as tough as we make our laws, America is still going to be a more attractive place to live for most of those folks than the crappy, corrupt, poverty-riddled, opportunity-deficient countries they come from. So, what to do? Here's a thought: Instead of just granting "amnesty" to 11 million folks who broke the law to get here, make them pay a price for breaking the law. Allow illegals to apply for legal status and, if they have no criminal record and pass a rigorous background check, allow them to stay on a provisional basis. And here's the key provision: They must pay a fine of $1,500 per year for ten years direct to the federal government, with one third of the money going to their home state's government. 11 million illegals - that would generate $11 billion per year for the federal government, to be used to beef up the Border Patrol and related services. States would use their share of the revenue - $5.5 billion a year, divided among the states based on the size of their registered-illegal population - to offset the cost of providing government services (education, healthcare, law enforcement, etc.) that are higher because of the illegal population. The $1,500 per year fine would be in addition to regular taxes that everyone in America pays. At the end of the decade, having paid all of their $15,000 fine, the illegal would - if still having no criminal record - be allowed to apply for permanent residency. It's just an idea. Whaddya think? Posted in ElephantBiz.com
Comments
Richardson is a dangerous man. But loved/anointed by those who want foreign nationals and a foreign government (Mexico) to control the United States and its policies. A lot like Bush II but worse. Posted by: Donna Locke at January 23, 2007 4:40 PMYour suggestion is similar to the proposal the Senate had last year, Bill... your fines are higher and stretched out over a longer period I believe. Richardson seems reasonable. He's the only major candidate in the field I think we can trust with Gun rights. I damn sure don't trust Guillani or Hillary. Richardson's generally a fiscal conservative. I think, too, the governor's offices are a much better farm league for president than the senate. Senators debate; Governors make decisions and that's what presidents must do; make decisions... lots of them. As for illegals I think Richardson sees the reality stated by Bush in his speech last night in that the best way to control the flow of illegals is to streamline the system; to make being a legal guest worker easier to do right than it is to do wrong so that we can focus on a much smaller number of people who are trying to subvert a more reasonable system. When you remove the emotion from the issue this logic stands true. Post a comment
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