A Second Chance
The next phase would be trickier. How would we develop some kind of earned legalization program for the illegal workers already here without creating the expectation that asylum would eventually be granted to all?
Related News
Browse through an archive of columns by Mortimer B. Zuckerman.
Both the Bush and the McCain-Kennedy plans make allowance for illegal immigrants to gain what would be, in effect, a temporary visa. They could work for a prescribed time, pay taxes, and, in time, apply for a green card.
Intuitively, many Americans reject these ideas because they smack of accepting illegality and providing an amnesty. In fact, the proposals don't forgive illegals for breaking the rules but offer them an opportunity to earn their way back to the right side of the law--an American version of a second chance. Yes, they must wait as long as other applicants for full legal status, but at least they can begin the process of assimilation. But there should be one constraint: We must stop the endless chain of immigration that results from an absurdly loose family reunification policy that allows an immigrant to bring a brother who brings a sister who brings a brother-in-law, who brings a daughter, ad infinitum. At the same time, we would do well to balance the influx of unskilled workers by reopening the door now half-closed to people with the unique education skills and vitality we need.
The Bush and McCain-Kennedy programs offer humane and practical ways of eliminating the shadow world of illegal aliens, enhancing security, and nurturing the ever evolving American identity. In the phrase of our founders, let us "form a more perfect union." Objections will come from left, right, and center, but reform of immigration calls for genuine national leadership, and it calls for it now.
advertisement
