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Holding to principle on immigration reform

May 31, 2006 | By Nathaniel Ward

Last Thursday evening, the Senate passed its version of immigration legislation, which would, among other things, grant amnesty to most of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the country and establish a guest worker program that would increase the population by more than 60 million over the next 20 years.

Heritage has continued to play a central role in this debate, and our hard-hitting research garnered more attention over the weekend. A New York Times editorial cites Heritage's “much buzzed-about report” on immigration, while columnist Phyllis Schlafly wrote that conservatives “are indebted to the Heritage Foundation for its stunning report” on the Senate’s amnesty bill.

As the House and Senate come together to negotiate a final bill, our elected leaders should keep the following principles in mind. These principles should be included in any immigration reform package.

  • Do not grant amnesty to illegal aliens—No matter what it’s called and regardless of the penalties included, any program that grants special privileges to those who broke the law and entered the country illegally is wrong. It rewards illegal behavior and punishes those who play by the rules.
  • Secure the borders—This is a fundamental national security problem that must be solved with a combination of intelligent new border initiatives, stepped-up internal enforcement and cooperation with foreign countries.
  • Uphold and enforce the rule of law—Any new program must include new measures to enforce the law and ensure that the problem of illegal immigration is not made worse.
  • Renew a program of patriotic assimilation and citizenship for legal immigrants—America must welcome and assimilate permanent immigrants and encourage them to become American citizens. New citizens must understand the principles of free government, speak our common English language, demonstrate good character and civic virtue, and establish an allegiance to this country.
  • Carefully consider a temporary-worker program—While a well-designed temporary program could help improve national security and the economy, a poorly-designed or poorly-implemented temporary worker program could make things worse. Any temporary worker program must be temporary, must not encourage illegal immigration and must not be an amnesty.
  • Use private enterprise, not big government, for solutions—Any temporary worker program should be as flexible as possible. Rather than being micromanaged by government agencies, such a program should look to the private sector to develop innovative and effective ways of matching sponsoring employers to eligible employees.
  • Encourage freedom abroad—One way to reduce illegal immigration is to encourage economic and political freedom abroad, so would-be immigrants have less incentive to break the law and come to America.

Many Congressional leaders remain firm in their commitment not to approve any form of amnesty for illegal immigrants. They are right to do so. It is also important that they remain committed to these other principles as well.

We can help put these principles in place

The Heritage Foundation is working to educate Congress about the principles that must lie at the heart of any immigration reform.

But we need your help. Here’s what you can do.

Leaving legal immigrants behind

The Associated Press profiles legal immigrants who do things by the book—who would be left in the lurch if Congress approves amnesty.

“They are putting as a priority illegal immigration, and legal immigrants are left out of the loop. It’s the curse of doing things right,” one legal immigrant told the AP. “They think that the legal ones can wait.”

The story addresses some important questions:

Even though they have loyalty to their immigrant origins, many legal immigrants also feel a twinge of resentment toward others who have broken the law, and they fear illegal migrants could complicate their own quest for citizenship.

Will the already backlogged system gridlock because of a surge in applications from illegal immigrants? Will those who jumped the Rio Grande jump in the line ahead of those who have spent an average of $10,000 and five years waiting to be granted permanent residency? Will legal immigrants feel the backlash from those who resent immigration without making status distinctions?

Honoring the fallen by finishing their mission

Honoring the fallen.

In a stirring Memorial Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery, President Bush honored those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. “Our nation is free because of brave Americans like these, who volunteer to confront our adversaries abroad so we do not have to face them here at home.”

“Our nation mourns the loss of our men and women in uniform,” he continued. “We will honor them by completing the mission for which they gave their lives—by defeating the terrorists, by advancing the cause of liberty, and by laying the foundation of peace for a generation of young Americans.”

The future of marriage

The fight to ensure the survival of marriage as the fundamental building block of our society has revived, with the Senate set to consider a Constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the amendment on a party-line vote on May 18.

If passed, the amendment would prevent activist judges from overturning thousands of years of human history, undermining the beliefs of all major world religions, undercutting Western legal precedent, and setting aside the long-held views of most Americans supporting marriage as between one man and one woman.

Meanwhile, a new survey suggests that young people have inherited a distaste for marriage from their parents in the Baby Boom generation. Only 35 percent of those aged 40 to 64 and 30 percent of those 18 to 39 believe marriage is very important when a couple has a child. Nearly 60 percent of those over 65 believe it is very important to be married when raising children.

This news is distressing for several reasons:

  • Children in single-parent homes are more likely to become involved in drugs and crime and to fail at school, compared with children raised by two parents
  • Children raised in single-parent households are seven times more likely to live in poverty
  • Mothers who are married are 50 percent less likely to suffer from domestic violence than are those who have never been married

This is a crisis that needs resolution. Among the many steps they could take, Congress should strengthen and expand President Bush’s Healthy Marriage Initiative, an important program to instruct young people about the importance of marriage which was enacted earlier this year.

In other news

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Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.