I worry that the Senate is working to consider a series of little-noticed provisions in comprehensive immigration reform that may provide a pathway to a national ID card for all individuals present in the United States - citizens and noncitizens.
I support local solutions to illegal immigration as protected by the 10th amendment. I support making English the official language of all documents and contracts.
After ensuring border security, I then would normalize the status of 11 million undocumented citizens so they can join the work force and pay taxes...I would normalize them at a rate of about two million per year.
Let's start that conversation by acknowledging we aren't going to deport 12 million illegal immigrants. If you wish to work, if you wish to live and work in America, then we will find a place for you.
You can see why there are more people wanting to come from economically-distressed areas, and they can't all come to America. So it gets into the valid, legitimate debate over immigration as to how do we choose. Do we have a diversity lottery and take people from everywhere, do we base it more on merit?
I do want to see an immigration compromise. And you can't have an immigration compromise if everybody's out there calling the president a racist.
