Our politicians lack the political will to stop illegal immigration. Although we have a representative form of government, and our elected officials should represent our interests, neither political party is putting enough real effort into a solution that can actually work. Instead, we get straw men that are pummeled by both sides, and it looks like little or nothing will be done anytime soon. That is for the best, because neither the House nor the Senate plan will fix immigration. The House plan has too much stick, and the executive branch won’t enforce it any more than they enforce our current laws. The Senate plan is an embarrassment. Amnesty will not be accepted by the people.
    I could turn the illegal immigration problem around in six months, and fix it in a year. And it’s not like there are not a lot of people smarter than I am sitting in Congress.
    Our problem is that we are the greatest nation on earth, and we have more opportunity for a good life than anywhere else. Yes, the media tell us constantly how much the rest of the world despises us. But numbers don’t lie. We don’t have our citizens emigrating by the millions to some other country to seek opportunity. We have millions trying to start a new life here, even if they have to break the law to do it. And the country to our south provides little hope or opportunity for its citizens, so they seek it in the United States. Mexico has incredible natural resources. Its citizens are enterprising and hard working. But its government is corrupt, and almost all the real wealth is held in the hands of just a few.
    To fix the illegal immigration problem we must remove the incentives and offer disincentives in their stead. The problem is largely an economic one, and the fix must rely on economics as a key element. A true comprehensive solution, IMNSHO, is comprised of several elements.
Enforce the border. We are already making great strides. Illegal crossings in metropolitan regions are already way down. We have a program called the Secure Border Initiative that is already in the proposal stages. Make SBI part of the solution, and make it work. A few more people (not tens of thousands) and some appropriate technology will make our border much more secure.
    Stop the economic incentives without destroying the economy. Some parts of our economy now rely on the comparatively cheap labor made available by illegal immigration. The business models for these industries are flawed will have to be revised. We do not and should not allow businesses to profit from other illegal activities. We have harsh sanctions for failing to pay taxes, child labor, forcing employees to work under hazardous conditions, stealing and cheating. We have to have similar harsh sanctions for using illegal labor.
    At the same time, many employers have simply been taking advantage of the available resources. In fact, some industries have become so reliant on illegal labor that companies that do not hire illegals are not competitive. Employers should get six months to recalculate their flawed business models and find or train new sources of labor. After that, harsh sanctions would kick in, and businesses would have to use legal labor only. But the playing field would be level, prices would rise, then level off, and life would go on. The crime of using illegal labor would be similar in degree to failing to pay taxes or the dumping of illegal pollutants. They are similar offenses. The offender tries to profit over his competitors by illegally reducing what should be the true costs of doing business, and in the process, causes harm to society. Heavy fines and criminal penalties would reduce illegal employment to near nothing. If the jobs go away, the illegal alien problem will go away.
    Employers would need help. They do not have the resources to figure out who is illegal and who is not, and they must not be allowed to continue to plead that they are being duped by false information provided by employees. The Basic Pilot Employment Verification program would have to be fixed or replaced immediately. Full cooperation among USCIS, the Social Security Administration and the IRS would have to begin right now. A social security account would be required for all employment. The program would have to immediately detect and report the use of false social security credentials, and sanctions for social security fraud would have to be harsh.
    One more lie needs to be put to rest, that illegal immigrants do the jobs that Americans won’t do. Or as the bigot Vicente Fox put it, "There is no doubt that Mexicans, filled with dignity, willingness and ability to work are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States". My brother worked construction near Houston for much of his life. He was willing to do the same jobs that illegal aliens do. All over our great nation, in places where there are not large numbers of illegals, Americans are doing those same tough jobs in agriculture, tarring roofs, painting, and landscaping. What is not happening in other places is the devaluation of the price of labor for hard, unpleasant jobs. Illegal aliens are willing to work for less, and they are driving down wages to the point that legal employees refuse to compete.
    We have allowed an artificial labor shortage to develop. Young people are not apprenticing as carpenters, painters and construction workers in the same numbers as in years past. If the government is so intent upon helping, it should provide incentives for companies to set up training programs so that young people are attracted to the trades again. Some employers have gotten lazy. The cheap and easy illegal labor market needs to end now.