Immigration Reform [Joe Mannix]

It's a new year and there will be a new "battle" over immigration reform in Washington. 2022 was not a good year and we probably saw at least two million fresh new illegal aliens enter. For Fiscal '22, the number from CBP is 2.76 million and is running at a clip of about a quarter million per month. That's about a new Boise, ID every month. Title 42 is still holding - for now - but it will fall and when it does, the floodgates will really open and the Biden administration will do nothing to control the border.

What follows are some ideas to work to contain the problem and make progress. I have zero expectation of anything positive happening, but there are things that could be done if we had an honest government. So what could be done if we had that honest government? Plenty. Here are nine things that could be done and would probably be effective.

1. Control the border
Finish the border wall. Assign CBP to its actual job of patrolling the border. Temporarily augment their workforce with the National Guard if needed, or even the regular army. Restrict the flow.

2. Turn back illegals
One of the major problems is that even when the CBP manages to catch an illegal alien, they all too often get released. Yes, they claim asylum. Yes, most of those claims are probably fraudulent. "Remain in Mexico" was an excellent policy from the Trump era. It isn't enough, but it helps. Restore it. End catch-and-release and close the loophole for minors. All petitioners remain in Mexico. No more using kids as shields.

3. Tax money transfers
Remittances are the glue that holds the illegal alien complex together. Tax them and do so punitively. Put into place a 75% tax on all money transfers to Latin America for amounts up to $25,000. For transfers over that amount, which are more likely business than personal, tax them at 15%. Starve the capital flow and stop sending US Dollars directly to those who are invading the United States.

4. Make Mexico pull its weight
Most of the illegal aliens are not Mexican nationals anymore, but they have to get in from Mexico. There's only one country with which we share a southern border, and the onus is on them to step up. There are a few ways to do this, but my preferred route would be trade. First, impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Mexico. Withdraw from USMCA if necessary to accomplish it. Increase cargo inspections at border crossings by at least 100%. Slow down the trade and use the opportunity to look for drug or human cargoes. If Mexico doesn't take meaningful action to contain the problem, implement export controls and impose an exit tax of 25% on all medical, agricultural, high-tech and industrial products or precursors exported to Mexico. If they still fail to take action, cut off all trade with Mexico and seal the border completely. Suspend all financial support to all of Latin America. No subsidies, no loans, no interest exemptions, no public works, no in-kind aid. Nothing. And make it very clear to all Latin American countries that it's Mexico's fault that Uncle Sugar's teats have run dry.

5. Mandatory E-Verify
Mandate that all businesses with more than 10 employees use E-Verify. If E-Verify fails, the employee must be terminated within six months, with the six-month delay to be used for appeals if needed. This leaves a lot of illegal alien professions (particularly domestic help and smaller construction outfits, as well as day labor) uncovered, but it's a start.

6. Suspend all Latin American immigration
For at least ten years, end all legal immigration from Latin America. This country needs time to recover.

7. Sanction the sanctuary cities and states
Suspend all Federal support to sanctuary cities and states. No transportation funding, no education funding, no new government contracts, etc. Suspend Medicaid block grants if possible. Decline all requests for assistance from Federal law enforcement. You have a hostage situation? You need that fancy FBI lab? Too bad, so sad. Your books are blowing up because the federal money has run dry? That's very unfortunate for you. Comply with ICE and CBP requirements to report and deport illegal aliens or no more handouts.

8. Cut off all NGO support
NGOs are major part of the illegal migration complex and a lot of their money comes from the United States government. Cut them off. There is no justification for government support of NGOs in the first place (it's sort of in the name, after all), and this is as good an excuse as any to curtail that problem generally. End the quasi-NGOs ("quangos" as our friends across the pond call them).

9. Make Deportation Great Again
As illegal aliens are identified, deport them. If their home country cannot be identified, send them to Mexico and let Mexico deal with it. No more exceptions.

Any of these would help. All of these would probably help a ton. It won't happen because there are too many vested interests opposed to fixing the problems. To those groups, these aren't problems but opportunities. They get their pseudo-slave labor, they get their dependent populations in thrall to their power, they get the ballots, they get rich. The modern slave trade - and the illegal migration crisis in this country is very similar to a slave trade, regardless of what the liars in the State/Media/Party/NGO Complex says - has a lot of benefit to that same Complex. The harm it does to the country and to you is just the cost of doing business.

The problems with the border and illegal migration are not unsolvable. They're hard to solve and solving them will be expensive and disruptive, but they can be solved and solved fairly quickly. We could have the problem contained within a year or two and more or less solved within five years if our rulers cared to do so. They don't care to do so. They're getting richer and more powerful, and the damage and costs are borne by you. And they don't care about you at all. Far from it. When they can be bothered to think about you in the first place, they find that they don't like you in the slightest.

posted by Open Blogger at 12:15 PM

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