Will amnesty and a path to citizenship fuel more illegal immigration?

This is the question that is almost certainly to be the main sticking point as House and Senate members meet to reconcile immigration reform legislation. And, it’s apparent that House Republicans believe that the answer is yes.

House Majority Leader John Boehner said House negotiators will oppose "troubling policies that encourage open borders and invite more illegal immigrants into our country."

"Our most important priority is to secure our borders and stop illegal immigration," said Boehner, R-Ohio.

GOP Rep. Peter King of New York, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he would vote against any legislation that included amnesty or legalization for illegal immigrants. King is expected to be among the House negotiators.

What these Republican leaders are failing to understand is that immigration reform and securing our borders are two distinct issues that require more than simply building a fence and making everyone who is here illegally a felon.

Any effort to reform immigration must first start with securing our borders. We certainly need to take steps to begin the process of strengthening our nation’s border security, but we must do so in a manner that addresses all types of illegal immigration – not just that directed at stopping illegal immigration through the southwestern boarder with Mexico.

We must recognize that any fence or other type of barrier and an increased presence of personnel at the border will not immediately stop all illegal immigration. It will take time to build the infrastructure, train and deploy personnel and technology, and even after resources are deployed that gaps will still exist. We should also remember that the individuals who attacked our nation on Sept 11th entered our country legally. They may have overstayed their visa and been here illegally at the time of the attacks in some cases, but none of the Sept 11th terrorists came through our nation’s border with Mexico illegally. Proposals to end illegal immigration targeted entirely at our nation’s southwestern border smack of racism, not security.


Even if we can stop all new illegal immigration, we are still faced as a country with the question of what to do with those who are already here. It is not feasible to round these individuals up and deport them from either a logistical or economic standpoint. It is not wise to remove them from our national workforce as they hold jobs that are vital to our continued economic health. Threatening to remove these individuals or tagging them with a “felon” label will only encourage them to stay underground. By offering amnesty and a path to citizenship we will be welcoming them into our society and giving them hope for the future. And, as this is a one time amnesty, it should not spark concerns of a new wave of illegal immigration which would have hopes of gaining US citizenship.

The Republican leadership is wrong to outright reject amnesty and a path to citizens for those already in our country. We should be giving everyone in America hope and opportunity – principles our nation was founded upon. It is the right thing to do and it will make our country safer.



Here’s a quick recap of the major provisions of each chamber’s legislation:

The House bill, passed on a largely party-line vote last year, is generally limited to border enforcement. All illegal immigrants would be subject to felony charges and it has no provision for either a new temporary worker program or citizenship for men, women and children unlawfully in the country.

The Senate bill would increase security at the border by (1) urging the hiring of 1,000 more Border Patrol agents this year and 14,000 by 2011; (2) supporting the President’s plan for a short-term deployment of National Guard troops to states along the border with Mexico; and (3) calling for the construction of 370 miles of fencing on the border.

The Senate version of the bill would also (1) create a guest worker program that would admit 200,000 individuals a year. Under the program immigrants could eventually apply for a green card, which confers legal permanent residency; (2) allows for the admission of about 1.5 million immigrant farm workers who also may apply for permanent residency. And, for those who are already in this country illegally, the Senate version would (1) allow those who have been here for five years to stay, keep working and eventually apply for citizenship after paying at least $3,250 in fines and fees, settling back taxes and learning English; (2) those illegal immigrants here more than two but less than five years would have to travel to a point of entry before re-entering the United States legally to begin the process of seeking citizenship; and (3) any illegal immigrant in the country for less than two years would be required to leave with no guarantee of return.