Guest Column

By Jaime Castillo

San Antonio Express-News

August 13, 2005

 

Do we or don't we really want to do something about illegal immigration in this country?

I ask the question not to be facetious, but because it has become painfully obvious that politics, not common sense, has consumed the debate about immigration reform in Congress.

Just like the school finance battle being waged in Austin, the attempts to change the nation's immigration laws have become increasingly less about solving the situation and more about scoring political points.

Take the latest legislation filed by Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston. It would create a civilian militia to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border, which in theory would help stem the immigrant tide.

The bill — co-sponsored by 47 Republicans, including San Antonio Reps. Lamar Smith and Henry Bonilla — would allow militia members to operate as armed, sworn peace officers along the border and to "use any means and any force authorized by state law to prevent individuals from unlawfully entering" the country.

I hope it makes them sleep better at night. But if the true intent is to stop lawlessness, why does the bill stop there?

Reasonable people can agree that the untold droves of immigrants who come to this country each year do so out of one of the simplest tenets of economics: supply and demand.

As long as there are employers ready and willing to hire these immigrants — and there are — they will keep coming. Period.

If immigration foes really want to put a dent in the flow of undocumented immigrants, they should lobby Culberson to expand the powers of these militias.

Militia members should be able to create human chains around meatpacking plants in the Midwest and farms in the South, for example, to make sure that business owners are properly checking work documents and not violating labor laws.

Traditionally, businesses that take advantage of immigrant labor hide behind the argument that they can't serve as immigration agents and verify the authenticity of the papers given to them by laborers.

That's where the militias come in. If they can serve as sworn peace officers with the ability to use deadly force, certainly they can be trained to detect fake work permits and detain or fine business owners when they don't follow the law.

Culberson's legislation isn't the only one with impractical responses to the immigration dilemma.

One plank of a comprehensive proposal from Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., would require all undocumented immigrants to voluntarily leave the country and then apply through legal channels for their return.

This is a nice idea that will certainly score points with those who believe that undocumented immigrants should not be "rewarded" with a guest-worker program or other citizenship status.

But is there a Democrat, Libertarian or Republican in America, outside of the bill sponsors, who truly believes that an immigrant who has been here for decades and has a family here is going to just get up and leave?

Right, wrong or indifferent, it isn't likely to happen.

That's why lawmakers can best serve the interests of the country by focusing on realistic proposals that acknowledge the fact that millions of undocumented immigrants are here working for businesses that continue to hold out the "help wanted" sign.

Political Editor Jaime Castillo's column appears on Saturdays. E-mail him at jscastillo@express-news.net

Article at: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/columnists/jcastillo/stories/MYSA081305.3B.castillo.21ea5e34.html

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