The situation that you describe has turned me partially around on the idea that we no longer need ANY unskilled immigration. We do, but that's not the same as 1890s style unlimited unskilled immigration.
The Labor Department should be charged with setting an annual number of unskilled people who can probably be employed, and that number w…
The situation that you describe has turned me partially around on the idea that we no longer need ANY unskilled immigration. We do, but that's not the same as 1890s style unlimited unskilled immigration.
The Labor Department should be charged with setting an annual number of unskilled people who can probably be employed, and that number with an overage of up to 10% can be admitted, and can stay, provided that they're gainfully employed and enrolled with Social Security within 90 days, with failure of employers to pay a living wage plus benefits being a federal offense.
I agree that Trump should constantly be compared to Reagan: he'll never come out well on THAT. As for the Reagan Amnesty, you don't hear suggestions to repeat it because it failed in its primary goal of wiping the slate clean to make room for something better. Instead, we got the same old-same old. "Fool me once ..." For my thoughts on how to address the state of the illegals already here and working productively for a long time, see my response to @TomD below.
I’m circling back belatedly. I want all immigration regulated, with the goal of no “undocumented” over time. I think we need a reasonable level of amnesty, together with really, really meaning it this time with regard to further unlawful entry (through legislation with enhanced sanctions), as well as relatively free availability of non-immigrant visas for the labor we need.
Please see my comment on this in response to TomD, immediately below. One of my frustrations with the US immigration debate is that other countries have already found solutions to a lot of these questions, and we can copy them rather than reinventing it all from scratch. The US is the world's greatest immigration magnet so not all solutions are scalable, but some of them are, and others can be adapted.
The situation that you describe has turned me partially around on the idea that we no longer need ANY unskilled immigration. We do, but that's not the same as 1890s style unlimited unskilled immigration.
The Labor Department should be charged with setting an annual number of unskilled people who can probably be employed, and that number with an overage of up to 10% can be admitted, and can stay, provided that they're gainfully employed and enrolled with Social Security within 90 days, with failure of employers to pay a living wage plus benefits being a federal offense.
I agree that Trump should constantly be compared to Reagan: he'll never come out well on THAT. As for the Reagan Amnesty, you don't hear suggestions to repeat it because it failed in its primary goal of wiping the slate clean to make room for something better. Instead, we got the same old-same old. "Fool me once ..." For my thoughts on how to address the state of the illegals already here and working productively for a long time, see my response to @TomD below.
I’m circling back belatedly. I want all immigration regulated, with the goal of no “undocumented” over time. I think we need a reasonable level of amnesty, together with really, really meaning it this time with regard to further unlawful entry (through legislation with enhanced sanctions), as well as relatively free availability of non-immigrant visas for the labor we need.
Please see my comment on this in response to TomD, immediately below. One of my frustrations with the US immigration debate is that other countries have already found solutions to a lot of these questions, and we can copy them rather than reinventing it all from scratch. The US is the world's greatest immigration magnet so not all solutions are scalable, but some of them are, and others can be adapted.