Necessary Immigration Solutions

Immigration policies that initially serve a countries' interests can quickly become a barrier to their own success. This is the case for the immigration policies in the United States that are outdated and have not changed in accordance with the times and increased labor needs. Outdated policies force those who are desperate to come here, to do so in illegal ways. America's workforce depends on immigrant labor. We need to recognize that by offering more paths for legal residency. Both undocumented workers, and their employers, fear retribution despite providing Americans essential goods and services. Expanding legal residency does not mean that we must grant residents citizenship, or the benefits associated with it.

The United States first and foremost needs to secure the borders which would enable them to expand legal immigration and create better solutions for the millions of undocumented immigrants already living here. Insecure borders allow for a free flow of criminals and drugs that put our citizens at risk and prevent the growing number of undocumented immigrants from getting solutions to their status.

Ultimately the needs of American citizens must be prioritized over the needs of immigrants. Immigrants coming here should not expect to receive welfare benefits, partake in matters of voting, or be able to hold political positions. These privileges are reserved for citizens and should remain that way. When people come from other countries, their morals, traditions, ideas, and experiences come with them, and do not always align with those of Americans. Restrictions on immigrants are standard in all other countries.

Before immigration can be reformed, voting needs to be secured and protected, so that we can assure only American citizens are partaking in the democratic process. It is a fair tradeoff between the left and the right to provide more immigrants legal residency in exchange for requiring voter identification with proof of citizenship.

The immigrants who founded our country did so in a time when no welfare programs existed. They were attracted to America because of the protected freedom and ample opportunities. Immigrants relied on faith, God, and most importantly, hard work, to establish themselves here in America. Unfortunately, many people who come here today are attracted to our welfare programs, and a perception of an easy life. Too many immigrants, particularly refugees, take advantage of benefits that our citizens work hard to provide. A report from ACS data in Minnesota found that about 78% of Somali Immigrant households were still receiving benefits after living in the United States for ten years. This statistic shows that those receiving welfare are not incentivized to be contributing members of society, they are often even reported to criticize the people who do not take advantage of the system.

No matter how immigrants find themselves in the United States, they should demonstrate a willingness to work, learn the language, and integrate into our society. There needs to be enforced integration standards and restrictions on receiving welfare for those granted legal status.

Many of the undocumented immigrants who come here contribute to our society and work force significantly without receiving any aid. These hard-working immigrants are the ones truly deserving of a path to legal residency, but these paths do not exist. Many of these immigrants are eager to do hard laborious jobs that are difficult to find American citizens willing to do.

Currently the United States has very limited, and temporary, labor visas mostly targeted towards agricultural labor. Nonagricultural labor visas are even more limited and do not support the actual labor utilized and needed. These visas are seasonal or temporary which creates an unrealistic and financially unfeasible living situation for the people receiving them. It is also not efficient for businesses to hire and train these people when their time here is limited. The current amount, and types of visas offered, do not support the immigrant labor already utilized in the United States. Even when these jobs are made available to American workers, they will not do them.

The wait time for immigrants to receive actual green cards is about 10-20 years. Anyone interested in coming here the legal way would often age out of even being able, or willing, to take on the laborious jobs that our country needs filled. The people most desperate to come here do not have the time or money to be able to undergo the legal process. People expecting immigrants to come here legally often do not understand how difficult and unlikely it is for them to do so. The system is broken and solutions need to be made.

Labor demands get met illegally not because anyone is trying to break the law, but because the law truly does not match reality. The economy is quietly dependent on undocumented workers, and all citizens regardless of where their support is, benefit from their contributions. The United States has been working to produce more and become less reliant on imports, this is only possible with the existing undocumented labor workforce.

If I am elected as U.S. Senator, it will be my goal to draft realistic and absolutely necessary immigration reform bills. These bills would expand legal residency but not provide citizenship.

Congress has feared immigration reform following the last comprehensive bill that was passed in 1986 which created amnesty without enforcement. Other minor immigration bills have been passed since; however they have done little to fix the overall problem. None of these bills have considered technological advances that will make enforcement easier and more efficient.

First and foremost, I would propose a bill that provides legal and necessary residency to undocumented citizens that have long been working here. This bill would be tied to voter reform and border enforcement. People often say that it is “not fair they budged the line” but what is not fair is the expectation that they sit in a line that fails to ever move, while we never cease to depend on them. It is time for American citizens to recognize the significant contributions these people have made to our workforce, and the unrealistic assumption that they could have come here legally.

I would also propose a bill aimed at ending the abuse of our welfare programs by refugees and legal immigrants. This bill would require those receiving welfare benefits to participate in community service and create a time limit for how long they were able to receive benefits. It would also require them to participate in integration programs like English language education and job readiness training to aid their progress of becoming independent and contributing members of society.

In summary the immigration solution I would propose would consist of :

-Mandatory border security benchmarks

-Proof of citizenship to vote

-Legal residency and merit based employment visas for long term undocumented residents

-No automatic citizenship or welfare eligibility

-Mandatory English and Civics Integration

-Refugee welfare reform

Immigration in the United States needs to change. Reform will benefit our citizens, economy, security, and the immigrants who are undocumented but love America and have long called it their home.