Immigration

Let me begin by first saying that I love the Mexican people. In fact, I love all men and women of every country. The Book of Mormon teaches that all "are alike unto God".

He inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen ; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile. 2nd Nephi 26:33

The United States ought to be liberal in granting citizenship for those who want to come here. The Mexican and Latino people come and they want to work hard. They do not come wanting hand-outs.

I believe that there ought not to be a long waiting period, or maximum yearly number for immigrants. Any who will meet the requirements ought to be allowed to enter our country.

There ought to be order in bringing them to our country. We are the United States of America. That means that we are United. We speak one language and have one Constitution.

I think that the following requirements would solve America's problem of illegal immigration.

To obtain citizenship a immigrant must:

1-become fluent in English
2-not be convicted of major crimes in home country or US
3-if married, bring family to US
4-not utilize any government welfare
5-obtain and maintain full-coverage health insurance
6-pay a one-time small fee $500 or so

To obtain a temporary work permit an immigrant must:

1-take English classes
2-pay higher % taxes than citizens
3-obey the laws of the United States
4-if married bring family to US
5-obtain minimal health insurance

How to enforce rules of immigration:

1-issue cards to all citizens that verify citizenship. Also issue cards for the temporary work permits. These cards would be protected by a PIN# and would be administered by VISA or other credit card company.
2-require use of the citizen card/temporary work card to purchase gas, open a bank account, get a cell phone, get a driver's license, buy a vehicle, or any other major purchase. This would be slowly fazed in...with plenty of notice in English and Spanish...but eventually the purchase of groceries would be require the showing of the card.
3-require employers to have citizen cards or temp work cards scanned before paychecks are given.
4-Temporary work cards expire every two weeks and are reactivated when they attend English classes.
5-English classes are free for first two years. Then the fees increase to $20/class.
6-Fluency tests given whenever applicant is ready. Fluency is considered a basic ability to speak at a sixth-grade level.
7-Heath Insurance must be paid for card to become activated, but fees are small.
8-Taxes are withheld from the paycheck of the temporary work permit worker.
9-Employers will incur large penalties if any employee is not a card-carrier.
10-Taxes for those who are temporary workers are on a flat rate...and will be based on the income of the worker. 10% for those who earn 10k or less a year, 20% for 20,000 ; 30% for 35,000 and 40% for those making 50,000 or above.
11-If the immigrant is married and has children in their native country, they will receive tax credit if they bring their family here.
12-Cards are issued with some kind of biological ID. Retinal scans or fingerprinting. That way, if an immigrant violates the laws of the United States, he or she will be deported with no chance of returning.

There are those who want to build a fence at the border. I think that this approach is too expensive and not necessary if the cards are issued that are required to do anything in the US. Why would people come here if they can't do anything when they get here without the card?

Another concern with immigration is the high costs of eduction and health care to the immigrants. My plan solves that problem by requiring tax payment to maintain an active card.
The revenue generated ought to cover these expenses.

There are some who want to grant amnesty to those who are already here. I think that we ought to give the advantage to those who do things according to the rules. For those who are already here, they can obtain temporary work cards. If they want citizenship, they can obtain it by fulfilling the requirements.

Why does my plan require the families to be together? First, I think that people are more likely to become good citizens when they have a family unit. People are more likely to obey the laws of the land if their wife and children are watching. Second, it keeps the money earned here in the United States. Many illegal workers send their money across the border. Some male workers get two families, one in the states, and one back home. Eventually the immigrant forgets his old family and leaves them more impoverished. The United States and the rest of the Americas will be more prosperous if families stay together...both here and abroad.

This is a work in progress. Please leave your comments as to what you view are the problems and limitations of my immigration proposal.

To sum up, my plan would make immigration open to all as long as some common sense requirements are met.