Issues: Immigration
Immigration
As Americans, the majority of us are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. Over time, we have learned to live together and accept each other as fellow countrymen. Many immigrants have worn the colors of this great United States and bled for freedom. Immigration is woven into the fabric of our country and is one of the many things that make America the great land of freedom and opportunity that it is. Many endured rough and dangerous seas to pursue life in America and the ‘American Dream.’
The way our current immigration system is set up, it allows immigrants the opportunity to subscribe to the American dream legally while not compromising our country’s security. Over time, illegal immigration has become a problem because of the failure to enforce the laws within that system. Our system would be more effective if the Federal government enforced the laws in place and it is Congress’ job to do that. The issue has been ignored for 20 years, and now we are facing a crisis of epic proportions.
We need to shut off the most enticing incentive for illegal immigration into this country: the employment incentive. In order to do this, we need to hold employers who do not follow immigration laws accountable. We do this by providing every employer in the U.S. with a system to ensure that they are not enabling people who are in this country illegally.
Under current law, employers have to verify their workers’ employment eligibility. Enforcement of the current verification law is sporadic. It is absolutely essential that Congress wield its influence to ensure the law is enforced. That is why I support a nationwide verification system. An example of a verification system in use is the E-Verify system. E-Verify is an automated program run jointly by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration that checks a prospective employees status in the United States and whether a Social Security Number is valid.1 There are more than 69,000 employers in the U.S. that are voluntarily enrolled in the E-verify program right now.2 For the 2008 fiscal year there have already been over 4 million checks made to ensure the person being hired is authorized to work in the U.S.3
Our nation’s illegal immigration problem will be spear handed if we take away incentives for illegal immigration. We do that by enforcing the laws we have in place and it is the job of Congress to lead that fight.
[1]2[3]Department of Homeland Security, E-Verify. http://www.dhs.gov/xprevprot/programs/gc_1185221678150