Why More Illegal Aliens Self-Deport
‘What to do with millions of illegal aliens in the US? The issue is still a sleeper in the presidential campaign. But maybe not for long. Americans who want strict law enforcement before a “total” immigration solution now have proof that stronger enforcement can bring results,’ the Christian Science Monitor opines.
Exhibit A: The illegal migrant population has dropped an estimated 11 percent through May after hitting a peak last August, based on census data used in a report by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS). Much of that decline is due to people who self-deported by slipping back across the border.
The drop began well before unemployment went up, which points to the real success story: Washington’s wake-up call last summer to beef up enforcement, from plugging leaks in the border to cracking down on employers who hire illegal workers…
Much of the credit for stronger enforcement goes to Secretary Michael Chertoff of Homeland Security. He has quickly increased the number of Border Patrol agents and detention centers. Employers are feeling the heat to hire legally. The fenced portion of the border is longer, too.
This means that approximately 1.3 million illegal immigrants, of a total of 12.5 million, have left the country in a relatively short amount of time. The two approaches as described by the CSM seem to be paying off more than most people had anticipated; 11% is a gigantic number. And keep in mind that these people don’t leave the United States because they are forced to leave, but because they think they may be forced to leave. In other words; the threat is enough to send quite some people back home.
Illegal immigrants who left are probably those who lived in the US for a short amount of time and are, therefore, also the ones the government could forcibly remove if they were caught. But what about the millions who have lived in the US for years, possible a decade (or more)? Those people will not be sent back by the US government, regardless of their status as illegal aliens. Neither will they leave voluntarily, considering the fact that they have a life, home, and friends in America.
Additionally, a CIS study ‘estimates a 50 percent drop in the illegal population is possible in the next five years if current enforcement continues. Such a sustainable decline would send a credible signal to Americans that government is serious about enforcing immigration law in a post-9/11 world.’
In other words; one can wonder whether there is any use to calling for a more aggressive policy towards illegal immigrants. The current approach - actual enforcement - works quite well.
Frank McEnulty, who I’ve been following, thinks that if all social services are pulled out from under them, illegal immigrants will leave on their own.
I’ve been boiling over the idea, and while I think it has merit, there are some problems. Sanctuary cities/towns and the like.
What say you all?
If the federal government would stop all funding for governments which fail to enforce all applicable federal laws, the problem might be a lot less severe. One reason the sanctuary movement has been so successful is that it has been ignored, much as the feds ignored employers who had illegal immigrants on their payroll. Across the board enforcement of the immigration laws seems to help.
For the whiners out there, I see this as every bit as voluntary as Seattle’s tax on plastic shopping bags. If you want a bag in Seattle, you bring one or you pay for it. If your city wants federal dollars, you enforce all the federal laws in your city. Otherwise, no federal dough. So San Francisco, Berkeley, and other such communities may go ahead and remain sanctuaries. But, the citizens may have to up their taxes to pick up the portion of their budget they not longer receive from Uncle Sam. If it’s a matter of principle, they should not mind.
I remember reading a minority opinion last year from people who opposed the immigration bill as saying we have laws in place. We just need to enforce the ones we got. Not create a new pork type bill thats designed to fuel an expanding economy and yet take it back in additional services for the poor.
Lets face it we all know that these people come here to do mostly the lower paying jobs and they aint gonna have insurance or company benefits for the most part.
Securing the border could make way for a new bipartisan bill that addresses the remaining Illegals but I personally would like to see a contracting America for a few years as we desperately pay down the debt after balancing the budget for a number of years.
Once we have paid our debt off we could have 300-400 billion extra per year to provide all those social programs like health care, day care etc. I dont oppose those programs if we can pay for them reaonably.
For now I have always said. Simply enforce existing laws and we will succeed what a monsterous bill would have never been able to accomplish.
I would still suggest the US economy benefits from immigrant labor…so I suggest enforcement with immigration reform is the way to go. I would not expect to eliminate all illegal immigration.
PS My opinion is not generally shared by my fellow party members (read Republican) but at least one other Arizona citizen agrees with me, you may have heard of him…
Reversing Illegal Immigration Report Backed By Media Reports
August 1, 2008
CONTACT: William Gheen of ALIPAC, WilliamG@alipac.us, (866) 703-0864
Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC), which manages the largest archive of information in the world on the topic of illegal immigration, is confirming that media reports from across America confirm the primary findings of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) report released this week detecting a reduction in the illegal alien population in America.
"We know that illegal aliens are leaving certain states, local areas, and the nation in much greater numbers and they are leaving, as a direct result of more immigration enforcement," said William Gheen of ALIPAC. "While the economy is certainly a factor, media reports from Georgia, Arizona, and Oklahoma report mass exoduses of illegals from those states and many say they are going back home in reaction to new enforcement measures."
Illegal alien supporting groups are now attacking the report, entitled “Homeward Bound: Recent Immigration Enforcement and the Decline in the Illegal Alien Population,” which is available at the Center for Immigration Studies web site http://www.cis.org The report indicates that their analysis of US Census data shows a 1.3 Million (11%) decline in the number of illegal aliens in America since last summer.
The information collected in ALIPAC’s archives suggest that four factors are responsible for the reversal.
More Federal immigration enforcement, local immigration enforcement, the bad economy, and a massive public backlash against illegal immigration manifest on talk radio shows and hundreds of new groups fighting against illegal immigration in America.
"The illegal aliens are feeling the heat from authorities, groups, and American citizens," said William Gheen. "Many are getting the clear message to vamoose!"
Many reports indicated that attempts to cross the border illegally are declining, remittances sent back to Mexico are dropping, and illegal aliens are leaving areas where local law enforcement are implementing the 287(g) program and states that are cracking down.
While illegal alien and amnesty supporters have often offered the public a false choice between amnesty and mass deportation, ALIPAC has promoted the political concept of ‘Attrition Enforcement’ found in the groups platform and an attached articles titled "How To Reverse Illegal Immigration In America" and "Why The Illegals Must Go"
The platform plan proffers that if we simply "enforce our existing immigration laws" and take the four steps of securing the borders, empowering local police, removing taxpayer incentives for illegals, and crack down on employers that the numbers of illegal aliens in America can be gradually reduced in a humane and sustainable way.
"America’s entire illegal immigration crisis has been created by the under enforcement of our existing immigration laws, at the behest of the Executive Branch, big business, and some leftist organizations," said William Gheen. "When the states and local governments start doing the job the Feds should be doing, the illegal aliens immigrate to areas of lax enforcement or back home."
To assist lawmakers and members of the media with documentation of the beginning phases of the reversal of illegal immigration in America, ALIPAC will begin assembling media reports that support this study and these conclusions beneath the copy of this press release on the homepage at http://www.alipac.us
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Paid for by AMERICANS FOR LEGAL IMMIGRATION PAC
Post Office Box 30966, Raleigh, NC 27622-0966
Tel: (919) 787-6009 Toll Free: (866) 703-0864
FEC ID: C00405878
The report spoke of how legal immigration actually increased. You see this actually good and good news.
We are aware of the many negative effects the current ‘illegal alien’ situation has brought upon this country…but I think there is an additional negative being overlooked. How much money is being sent out of this country( by illegals) to support their family members in other countries? (Western Union…to name one…. should have a pretty good idea!)
The Feds should:
1. ‘NOT’ even consider the idea of another amnesty…it would become a habit…every 5 years!!!!!!!
2. impose/enforce harsh fines/penalties on businesses employing illegals.
3. ’SEVERE’ punishment on individuals supplying ‘fake’ documents…driver’s license…social security card…etc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4. cut-off all funding to sanctuary cities and the states that allow these activities to exist/continue.
Citizens can assist by:
1. choosing(as much as possible/reasonable) not to travel to and spending $ in sanctuary cities and states.
2. locally identifying and refusing to do any form of business with businesses employing illegals.
Evidentally our vote(s) don’t mean much anymore….but….where and how we spend our $ does….I’m sure that in this situation….
where and how we spend our $ could get the message across!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!