Let's Get to work on Immigration Reform

I am a conservative and I support immigration reform. In fact I also support a form of amnesty for a good number of illegal immigrants that our currently in our country. Our country has been facing a long standing question on immigration reform, which is: What should we do about the 11 million undocumented illegal immigrants who are living in our country? Should we deport them all to their country of origin, grant them amnesty and let them stay with a path to citizenship or just continue to ignore the problem and hope that it just gets taken care of on its own.

Now let me make this clear I do support all current laws on the books and I think that Obama's actions of giving amnesty without legal backing is unconstitutional. It is his duty to execute the law as dictated by congress; he does not have the authority to pick and choose which laws to execute.

Being a firm believer that presidential authority has surpassed constitutional limits through  decades of overreach, I  firmly believe that the president's authority should be scaled back significantly. The easier it is for the president to act without restraints and checks, the easier it will be for an evil man as president to bring upon mankind tyranny and injustice.

As a full supporter of the law, I support congressional authority on this issue, as it is a national issue, which affects the entire country in trade, security, education, and health care.

Considering the events of the last few weeks, securing our border has never been more important. Before addressing the topic of what is being considered I want to first discuss where I have come from so maybe you will see how I have come to my point of view on the issue.

There was a point several years ago where I was all for kicking out every illegal immigrant from our country. They broke our laws, came here illegally and had to be punished for that no matter what. This lasted for a quite a while.

One day I shared these opinions with my mom and she responded by asking me "what about your Aunt?" I have an Aunt who had recently married my Uncle, a paranoid schizophrenic. She came here legally but lost legal status and just stayed here and has since struggled to work toward legal status. I thought about this for a little while.

Before this point I hadn't known anyone who was in the U.S. illegally. I was still stuck in my thoughts and opinions, but it started me thinking. If she were to be deported, what would be the impact on my uncle? He would probably have another episode or possibly something worse.

 While in college I talked to several people including a friend who was working on his path to citizenship. He was born in Canada, but moved to the U.S. around age 3. It took him over 18 years to be able to get citizenship. Even for those who marry citizens the path is not always clear or easy. It can be a long, laborious process that takes many years.

There was a time that we welcomed everyone to come to America. I’m not suggesting that we encourage everyone to come here, but by far we seem to believe that only a few people should come - that they should be similar to who we already are and should speak English perfectly. We used to be a melting pot of countries, ideas and immigrants, but now we are becoming more intolerant and ignorant of other cultures and beliefs.

 In 2007 I was in Las Vegas, and I saw many people whom I was familiar with take to the streets to rally for immigration reform that had been supported by President George W. Bush. This attempt at reform was struck down by congressional Republicans. A few years passed, and our country dipped into what is now being referred to as the Great Recession. I talked with friends of mine from Vegas who mentioned that many illegal immigrants were returning back to their countries due to lack of work. I wondered if this would continue. If so we would not have a problem anymore. The issue with that idea is that many of these people grew up in the U.S, and to them this is their country and many of them don't even speak the home language of their country of birth.

While interning in the Senate I had a long discussion once about my views on immigration with a fellow intern, during which we did some what-ifs. What if someone was brought here as a 2 year old and they are now 23, have never known the country they were born in, and only know this country as their home? How then do you justify punishing a 2 year old for the actions of their parents? I still remained pretty stiff in my response. I looked at what I felt is the burden of illegal immigration. If somehow we got rid of 11 million immigrants then maybe the 14 million people who are out of work would have enough jobs available for them. Maybe our school system would get better, maybe our country wouldn't have as much debt.

 I even thoroughly liked Mitt Romney's idea of self deportation by discouraging illegal immigrants through e-verify and similar methods. The change had started though, as I realized how my ancestors had come to this nation at a time when this land was a shining beacon to all who wanted a new life. We didn't tell others that they couldn't come to our nation because they were poor, or because they couldn't speak the language.

Instead we inscribed on the Statue of Liberty the phrase "Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."  

Now that I've addressed some whys of immigration reform, let's think about the what. What is being considered? The current senate bill that was passed last year included a long list of ideas including securing the borders, a path to citizenship for illegal's and changing and modernizing the rules for legal immigration to prevent such a backlog and some of the other issues occurring due to the current system.

A simple breakdown of the bill can be found here. I will not go into detail as you can find all of that information for yourself about some of the benefits here, here and here. I would also suggest taking a look at both the Heritage Foundation's opinion and the Cato Institute's opinion on the issues.  I will say a few words however. The bill calls for significant increases to border security through drones and electronic surveillance equipment in addition to the security increase we have seen in the last decade. It would establish a board made up of state leaders to determine when securing the border is complete, which would be made in a final decision by the Director of Homeland Security. Also it calls for an effective plan to enforce employers using documented legal employees which would most likely be through the e-verify system.

This bill may not be perfect, but so far it is the best plan that I have seen. We need our legislators to get to work on this issue now, and stop kicking it down the road for the next Congress to deal with.

Part of the bill also lays out a plan for dealing with both legal and illegal immigrants, giving preferred green cards for those who obtain advanced degrees in areas such as science, math, and engineering. In dealing with the 11 million illegal immigrants the plan calls for increased background checks for immigrants and increased cooperation between government organizations in order to respond to issues that come up. It would create a tracking system to make sure that those who come legally continue to abide here legally.

Those who are currently here illegally could apply for legal status if they pay a fine, pay back taxes, and if they pass a background check. They would then be on probationary legal status. However, for full legal status and a green card they would still have to get to the back of the line and wait for all security measures to be put in place. The earliest that any of them could become citizens is in the late 2020's. They also would not get access to public benefits, such as welfare, until granted full citizenship.

So what has been the response to this plan? Some republicans continue to raise the issue that amnesty supports tearing down our current system of laws and encouraging people to break them in the future, although the party seems split on the issue. Earlier this week there was some suggestion that maybe we should rethink pushing immigration reform right now coming from Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), but this was shot down by several republican members of congress including Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)

Also, with this has come the issue of whether to pass a comprehensive bill or to go through the process of passing some of the bills piecemeal. Some members suggested that attaching amnesty would surely doom the bill.  The House is set to consider several portions of the bill in small pieces including security and legal immigration changes.

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has lead the front to support the bill from the republican side. He recently went to the senate floor to support reform at this time saying, “Here’s my encouragement to my colleagues who don’t agree with the bill that we’ve crafted – change it. Let’s work on changing it. If you believe that what we have today is broken, if you believe that the status quo on immigration is chaos and a disaster...If you believe our laws are not being enforced and we need to pass laws that force the administration – this one and a future one – to enforce our laws, let’s change it. I’m all ears." Surely none of us is opposed to enforcing our proper laws and having a president that supports and upholds the laws of the land are we? However the current system does not do that: it encourages the president to act on his own and not have to take responsibility for his actions.

He continued by saying, "But let’s not leave it the way it is, because the way it is chaos. It’s bad for our country. What we have today is not good for the United States. And our job as policy-makers is not just to come here and criticize. Our job is to come here and to make a difference. .. And what we have now just doesn’t work, it’s not good for our country. We can’t leave it this way. And we have a chance now to, I think, truly improve it. This is not an effort to force anything down anyone’s throat. This bill that we’ve worked on is a starting point. It’s not a take it or leave it proposition. It never has been....Let’s work together. Let’s come up with a solution that modernizes our legal immigration system so it’s good for our economy, that once and for all forces the administration – this one and future ones – to enforce our immigration laws, and that once and for all deals with the 11 million people that are here illegally in a way that’s fair and compassionate. But also fair to the people that did it right, and also a way that ensures that this never ever happens again.”

So what are my views on this issue? Greatly changed: partly due to an increased compassion for other people who I have met and who I have not; partly due to politics and seeing that real change could be made here and now and that we need more compromise; and partly because I understand that there are millions of people that are affected by living here illegally that could be productive members of our society if we allow them.

This plan is fair and fairly straightforward. It does bring about a consequence for those who have committed the crime of coming here illegally through fines, back taxes, a waiting period, and through back of the line status. It also upholds our laws by helping us to have 11 million immigrants become legal. I wonder sometimes how many crimes are not reported because someone is afraid to call the police out of fear that they or their parents might get deported over it. It would lay out a pretty clear plan that would have to be followed with the opportunities for our border to be secured and for people to be able to come to the U.S. legally in the future.

It also allows for the great American Dream to spread further to these people who have come here for a new life, one which they hoped would be better than the one that they left. There was a time when America was a shining beacon to the world of freedom for the oppressed peoples of the world. We even inscribed on the Statue of Liberty the phrase "Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Those who would benefit from this bill are for the most part looking for hope and freedom, much like most of our ancestors when they came here. This plan gives them that hope. This hope and freedom was what we were founded upon. Let us not fail again to be the hope of a brighter day to the world by oppressing those within our country who wish to partake of the American dream.

Anthony Wiener: Are morals irrelevant in U.S. Politics?

Does what happens at home or away from the office matter in U.S. Politics anymore? After the second round of accusations against former Rep. Anthony Weiner we must wonder if they don't. He has since begun to fall behind in polling, but is still a major contender for Mayor of New York City. This same sexting scandal was thought to be so disgusting to the American public that he resigned from the House of  Representatives in 2011. Much seems to have changed since then . 

We shouldn't pretend that fidelity and morality are as high of priorities to the current generation as they were to our parents and grandparents. We are certainly living in an age where many people see morals as relative, rather than the moral absolutism of the past. If anything it seems that the winds are blowing against traditional morality today more than ever. 

We are far from the days of the Victorian era of high morality, but the question remains, shouldn't we require a higher standard of honesty and fidelity from our politicians when it comes to basic honesty and fidelity in marriage? Should a concern arise about the type of role models we put to our children through our political leaders if we elect men that lack credibility and any form of basic honesty or integrity.

John Adams said "(It) is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue." Many of our founders believed that morals and honesty must be the foundation of our society. Though these men were not perfect, I would say that they were men of profound vision. Some of them were known to be less that perfect on this very topic, but they understood the need for virtue in society. 

So to what standard should our politicians be held? If adultery and lewd behavior is an acceptable fault then why not dishonesty in business, cheating on taxes or stealing? It seems the only thing that seems to matter in political contests is that the name is well enough known, that they have enough money and that they are popular enough. It seems that it has become the new norm to ignore all questions of integrity, but rather to focus on their popularity instead. I understand there are differences of opinion on morality and what moral values should be upheld, but when we are talking about marital vows that have been broken and continue to be broken. It is pretty easy to see the basic need for high moral values for our leaders when it comes to honesty, as they are dealing with large amounts of power and money. With special interest groups holding a great deal of power, how do we fight back against that when our leaders are immoral as well?

We need to encourage good men to stand up and accept the role of leadership ones who have integrity and who are not merely wealthy and popular. What it will take though, is the American people to wake up, become informed, and get involved. Voting is not the beginning and end of our civic duty. Honesty and integrity need to be renewed as basic values to Americans, starting in the home, where both parents teach those two values. It then continues in our school, where cheating isn't just discouraged but unthought of. If we continue this chain we can regain a great deal of the foundational values that our forefathers built this country upon, without it our foundation will crumble and be lost.

Where did the Greatness Go? Part One

By Zach Baker
This video is a clip from a TV show called The Newsroom staring Jeff Daniels. He goes on a rant about how America is not the greatest country in the world anymore. Here are the stats he points out that prove America is not the greatest. We are 27th in math, 22nd in science, 49th in life expectancy, 7th in literacy, 3rd in median household income, 4th in exports, 4th in labor force, 178th in infant mortality, 1st in number of adults who believe in angels, 1st in military spending, and 1st in incarcerated citizens. I wont be talking about all of these statistics but I will focus on a few major ones that I believe to be important.


























First I would like to focus on where we are number one. Military spending accounts for almost 700 billion dollars out of our GDP(Gross Domestic Product). I hope those reading will not think I am anti-military. I have many friends who are in right now and I give them my full support. I do, however, feel that this massive amount of money we spend on developing ways to better kill people could be lessened. With the current stockpile the US Armed Forces has at their back, we are unstoppable. The warheads and WMD's that we posses could send everyone in the world back to the Stone Age twice over. This is not even counting how many guns and how much ammunition the civilian population in the US owns. In 2007 there were an estimated 88.8 small firearms per 100 residents. If someone is going to try and invade this country all I have to say is "you are not gonna get far". So why do we spend so much on military? This country is fully protected from just the firearms the civilians have. It comes down to foreign politics. In order to be the biggest player in foreign affairs we need the biggest military. Foreign politics and policies will be something I'll cover in the future.

Incarceration in the US is the highest in the world. The US spent 74 billion dollars on corrections in 2007.

 

I hope everyone sees the problem with this. We spend about an average of 30,000 dollars per inmate in federal and state correctional institutes. I only wish we spent that much per pupil in public schools which is at around 11,500 dollars per pupil in 012-13(Source). This brings me to the one point I would like to say. Perhaps if we spent less on criminals and more on children then our math, science, and reading skills could be closer to the top while the incarceration rate could lower substantially. They say children are our future. I would also like to say inmates are our past. They have made their choices and while some can be rehabilitated there is a majority that will end up back in or stay in the correctional system. If anyone knows of a site with more up to date, please post it in the comments. Thanks.

Our hearts and prayers are with the people of Boston

By Tim Newton

It amazes me how quickly life can change. Events can often have the greatest affect on individuals, communities and nations. We mourn together all of the victims of this tragedy. It is with a heavy heart that I have read the news this morning, learning of the lives lost due to senseless acts. It is with gratitude that I read of the brave individuals who ran to the aid of the fallen, and gratitude that more lives were not loss. These occurrences often bring up in our memories similar events that have passed in my lifetime, Oklahoma City, Columbine, 9/11, Virginia Tech and Newtown, and this tragedy has no less affect upon my mind at this time.

I now ask that we stand united once again supporting the people of another tragedy which has occurred in our nation. We must unite and stand with the people of Boston, and make sure that they know that our hearts are with them. Let us pray for peace for the families, mourn for the victims, and hope for justice against those who committed this atrocious act of terrorism.

May God truly bless America, for we need it now.