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GuestWorker+

 
United States of America

   What It’s Not!

    Before we describe the InAmerica Guest Worker+ program, let’s establish first, what is NOT included.  In spite of the fact that it includes aspects that will appeal to both the left and the right, this was not the result of an agenda, but rather a consequence of the design.  The program is the result of focusing on the true nature of the problem, and then designing a program that solves that problem.


  Identifying The Real Problem

    No country can adequately protect its citizens, when its borders are porous and its government cannot control who is passing through its borders.  In the case of our southern border, we can understand why people desperate to save their families from poverty and starvation will risk their lives to get here.  After all, as bad as living in the shadows is, it’s better than what they left behind in their own country.  We can also understand why a country like Mexico would empty their own prisons of their worst criminals and let them feed on the “easy” Americans.  We understand the motivations of all sides of the argument.  But since the agenda of each group is at odds with any proposed solution by another group, the only prospect for solving the problem comes from ignoring the political considerations and isolating the problem itself.


Ground Rules For Solving The Problem.

    We begin with these premises:


    (1)    The borders must be secure.      President Reagan’s amnesty of 1986 showed us how immigration reform through granting amnesty doesn’t work.  The problem has returned with a vengeance, and is now worse than it ever was.  Theoretically speaking, a giant fence along the U.S. southern border would reduce the porosity of the border, but would probably increase attempts to come in via the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.  Desperate people will resort to desperate measures.  The solution must not be based solely upon concrete and razor wire. 


    (2)    The mindset of the immigrant has changed.    Throughout its history, refugees from all over the world have flocked to America, for the promise of its freedoms.  In the past however, the illegal immigrant’s overwhelming desire was to assimilate in our culture, learn the language and seek citizenship through naturalization., thus earning the rights and protections afforded by the U.S. Constitution.  Most of the current batch coming in through our southern border, do not wish to assimilate or learn the language.  For example, almost 40% of Los Angeles County’s population speak only Spanish or refuse to speak English.  The illegals have  been lulled into the false security of a porous border and a government that looked the other way.  That false sense of security, has bred a sense of entitlement to the humanitarian programs that were meant for our less fortunate citizens.


    (3)    You can’t change the mindset without changing the program.    Rhetoric will not stop illegal immigrants from using government welfare programs, just as it will not convince them to value assimilation into our culture.  That can only come when they want to be part of the system.  People tend to preserve and protect what they value.


The InAmerica Program

    Starting from these basic premises, InAmerica sought to design a program that would solve the problem in a way that benefits both our citizens and the immigrants.  

   

    (1)    Any person wishing to enter the United States to work, need only to approach a U.S. border officer, with a current passport from their country of origin, a certified document from their government confirming that the bearer is NOT a convicted felon, and a contact sponsor who would host that person until they are able to find their own lodging and subsistence.  The only exception to the passport requirement is that no entry would be permitted to a person whose passport is from a country that is considered an enemy state.             

    The contact sponsor is not as problematic as it may seem.  If the border has masses of ready, willing and able workers of those jobs U.S. citizens do not desire, the employers would have their agents standing at the border prepared to provide the “host” component of the requirement. The host could also be an existing alien who could demonstrate the ability to provide support. This would be the “carrot.”  Now for the “stick.”


    (2)    With the three verified authentic documents, (passport, felon disclaimer and host letter) any person could approach the U.S. border, and with the payment of a “guest worker visa” fee, obtain an immediate work visa to enter the United States. The visa would have a term of 6 months and would, upon payment of a renewal fee, be renewed every 6 months until the worker chooses to return to his or her home country.

      (3)      For the millions of illegal aliens already in the U.S., they too, would be subject to the same requirements as any new potential work-visa entrant.  However, since they are already living in the U.S., getting a host letter may not be necessary.  They would be required to prove they can provide their own shelter and subsistence, which, if they have a job, should not be difficult.  Instead of traveling to the border to present a passport from their home country, the nearest U.S. immigration office or perhaps even a post office could provide the service (postal workers already spend considerable time selling postal money orders so that illegals can send money home to their families).  If they don’t have a passport, they could apply for one at their own embassy in addition to requesting the non-felony-disclaimer document from their government.  As soon as these 3 requirements are met, they would be issued an immediate “guest worker” visa, renewable every 6 months.  There would be no requirement to become a citizen or to speak English.  If their government will not issue the documents they require, they would continue to be felons and, consequently, be targeted by the U.S. authorities fro deportation.

    While returning to their country of origin to get the required documentation may be a hardship, doing so by mail, would be less of one.  A country like Mexico would likely be responsive to these requests as the repatriation of monies earned in the U.S. provide the second largest source of revenue in Mexico after oil. However, a more compelling “stick” would be the fact that they would no longer be able to earn a living.  As part of the program, any U.S. employer caught hiring an individual without an official U.S. Immigration Guest Worker Visa, would have both criminal and civil penalties of $500,000 per incident for companies and $10,000 for individual employers.

        The responsibility, as logic would require, would be transferred to the Department of Labor which handles other abuses by employers.  With that kind of stick, only legal immigrants with guest worker visas would be able to get any work.  The Department of Labor would be responsible for cracking down on exploiting employers and ICE would strictly go after illegal aliens.

    Initially, the lines at the border would be quite long.  But the hardship would be substantially less than crossing the desert at the risk of life and limb and potential extortion from a coyote.  The other consideration is that the line would form on the other side of the border in Mexico.  This may cause Mexico to crack down further on people traveling through Mexico to get into the U.S., but that is a completely different problem seeking its own elegant solution.


    (4)    As part of the program, the U.S. would institute a new “Guest Work Minimum Wage.”  The rate would be some percentage less than the standard minimum wage for citizens, but that would be the price of a legal right to work in the U.S. without fear of abuse by unscrupulous employers.  Any employer would have to withhold and pay taxes for the Guest Worker, but the worker would enjoy the benefits provided by worker’s comp laws and safety laws.  Of course, there is a built-in incentive to want to become a U.S. citizen in seeking to get a higher wage.


    (5)    Once in the U.S. on a guest work visa, any legal alien could begin the process to become a U.S. citizen as the current law provides.  This would include the requirement to learn the language and get in line as other legal immigrants do.  The language requirement would reduce the hardship of the education system having to teach in multiple languages.  The net effect would be to create a large body of multi-lingual, educated taxpayers. 

    Any children born in the U.S. would still automatically be U.S.. citizens, but in the event their illegal alien parents are deported, they would have to leave with their parents until they were of legal age, thus not requiring a guardian, returning on their own passport.


    While this is a complex problem that requires a complex regulation to be enacted, generally, the program works to the advantage of all the parties.  The U.S. solves its illegal alien problem without having to declare an ineffectual amnesty.  Guest workers earn better wages and are protected from unscrupulous employers.  Guest workers enjoy an open invitation to exchange their labor for income that can provide food and shelter for their families back in their home countries.  For those who aspire to become American citizens, the invitation remains open as it has always been.  The government charges fees to pay for the program that are otherwise being paid to coyote’s and human smugglers.


    InAmerica suggests that certain entrenched political views discourage discussion of such a plan.  In this new era of voter involvement, any asistance by the public to steer your representatives to this page, may help us become part of the solution.