Last Thursday, the Clear Lake Tea Party (CLTP) and a few other invited activists sat down to a teleconference call initiated by Commissioner Todd Staples. It was his intention to reach out to tea party activists about the upcoming fight over the “Texas Solution” immigration plank prior to next week’s RPT convention. It made sense that Commissioner Staples would reach out to the CLTP since their Executive Board had endorsed him during the Lt. Governor’s Primary campaign.
Commissioner Staples expressed to the grassroots on the call, dissatisfaction with the “Texas Solution” plank in the 2012 Republican Party of Texas Platform and proposed a new “Border Security and Legal Workforce Reform” plank. Staples wanted to coalesce grassroots support behind the newly proposed immigration plank and manage the platform fight. He claimed that the proposed plank addressed all the earlier issues with the “Texas Solution” and would be the basis for resolving the flood of illegal aliens crossing our southern borders. It was his assumption that if the conservative grassroots and most establishment Republicans could get behind this new plank then a messy, contentious platform fight could be avoided.
Unfortunately, that was not a correct assumption and the tea party activists were having none of this. The shock on the faces of those on the CLTP end of the conversation was profound. Here was a former candidate for Texas Lt. Governor who had made border security one of his high-profile campaign issues championing an immigration policy that made no sense to those involved in border security issues. In reviewing the proposed plank, it became immediately apparent, as one activist put it, “This is nothing more than an erudite re-writing of the Texas Solution.” As with the Texas Solution, this new plank is a “market-based” approach to illegal immigration. Again, what is being proposed is a “guest worker” solution that would end illegal immigration if we can just give enough guest worker visas to all who sought them. It is incomprehensible to those who care about their State and their country to see the grand Republican solutions to the human tragedy and national security of illegal immigration centered on “cheap labor.” With approximately 40{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of Americans dropping out of the job market, we are being asked to support more jobs for non-Americans. Although the proposed 2014 immigration plank intends to provide protection for American workers through a reformed visa system for which hiring foreign workers would cost more in visa fees than hiring Americans, there was no answer to the question of why would businesses pay more for a foreign worker visa when they can hire cheaply under the table just as they do today.
As the discussion turned to border security, we were further distressed to see that border security is addressed only in the vague and indeterminate language found in the original 2012 Texas Solutions plank. We made it clear to Commissioner Staples that the issues of border security and immigration reform must be addressed as two separate issues. While Staples initially agreed with this premise, it soon became apparent as we drilled down into the issues that he really did not agree on this point. He indicated that there could be no movement on border security without immigration reform (otherwise known as comprehensive immigration reform). We challenged the Commissioner that his proposed border security and immigration plank only addressed the issue from an economic perspective in that all border violators were economic immigrants looking to provide for their families rather than the true scope which includes drug cartel members, multi-national gang members, criminals, drug smuggling mules (willing and forced), human traffickers and their victims. How can the Republican Party gain respect in the Hispanic and Asian communities if all that is talked about is “cheap labor” and not the sickness that plague their communities. Consequently, we were told by Commissioner Staples that it was impossible to “close” the border. He said the 2000 mile border (really 1200 miles in Texas) was unenforceable and that a “market-based” answer was the only feasible solution to minimizing illegal border crossings. Really, the ancient Chinese built the Great Wall of China to keep out the barbarian hordes, the Roman’s built Hadrian’s Wall to defend against the Picts, and the Israelis’ have built their security walls against Islamic terrorists. Even the USSR built an “iron-curtain” to keep people in. To say that America does not have the ability to close a border is ridiculous. We pointed out “Operation Strong Safety” which reduced illegal border by 80 – 90{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} showed that DPS could manage the border. Staples disparaged the DPS operation and claimed it wouldn’t work on a larger scale. Wow! We brought up the border fence and he said that ranchers on the border prevent a contiguous fence from being built because of individual property rights issues. He even said that he was against any Federal or State intrusion onto his property to police the border and protect our national security. At this point, one of our members stated that if a private individual would prevent our borders from being secure they could be considered “un-American.” At this point, we got a real rise out of the Commissioner who took offense at the implication. If you can take an individual’s property to put in a shopping mall, eminent domain should surely cover the land needed to put up a fence!
Finally, we noted that this new proposal goes even further than the 2012 version by adding language to provide so-called “dreamers” a path to citizenship and modernize legal points of entry rather than addressing all the illegal entry points. Although we did not directly address these issues with Commissioner Staples, this is clearly a direct call for amnesty for some illegals. Ostensibly, this language in the Republican Party plank directly codifies the Obama Administration’s stance regarding the children of illegal aliens. It is this very attitude that is causing the tsunami of children crossing the border illegally causing the Federal government to jump through hoops in order to feed and house these minors. The fact that policies such as this encourage illegal immigration – not discourage it.
Ultimately, while we are sure this conversation did not go the way Commissioner Staples intended it to go, it was extremely enlightening to the grassroots participants. We believe that this is an attempt to “manage” the upcoming Texas Solution plank debate with the Party leadership orchestrating a false dichotomy between two choices that are, in essence, the same. The question to tea parties, conservative grassroots, indeed, the Republican Party at large is what you believe in with respect to the questions of border security and immigration reform. Do you think that the Republican panacea to the immigration issue and subsequent electoral success resides in a “guest worker” solution? Do you think that border security and legal immigration reform are inseparable? Do you think that America cannot “close” its southern border? If you do, then support the Party leadership and business interests and back either version of the Texas Solution.
However, if you believe that the 2014 immigration plank is a continuation of moderate Republican policies that seek to appease progressives and big business, then you must join in the effort to rebuke this approach and provide a real Texas solution. If you believe that Texas border security must be the first step in solving the overall illegal immigration issue, then it is up to you to see that this is the lynchpin of any RPT Platform plank addressing this issue. Rather than offering platitudes regarding border security we should be offering real solutions for securing our border. These could include:
- Offering Federal block grants to States to protect the border
- Call for increased funding to allow the Texas DPS to expand the pilot program Operation Strong Safety to a permanent surge
- Close legal ports of entry until Mexico begins to police its side of the border
- Stop the promise of amnesty
- Ask the Federal Government for an accounting of all illegal aliens captured on Texas soil.
But what can the grassroots do with the convention so close? First of all, immediately begin contacting your Senate District 2014 Temporary Platform Committee members and find out if they support the Texas Solution or not. If they do, begin organizing your convention delegates to vote in a different Permanent Platform Committee member who is against the plank. At the convention, elect SREC Committeemen and Committee women who stand against this approach. Encourage all to change the language from economic migrants to the true bane of illegal immigration that is manifest in drugs, crime, and human slavery. And finally, confront our politicians and candidates regarding their support or non-support for the Texas Solution. These are men and women of standing within the Republican Party and should not shy away from making a stand that so divides us today. Many of them have made promises to get elected or gather in the Party nomination. They can influence the outcome regarding what is in the 2014 Republican Party of Texas Platform. Ultimately, this is on you, the Texas activist, to decide what message you want to send to the rest of America.
Dale Huls is a founding member of the Clear Lake Tea Party.
Dale thanks for being vigilant on this issue. The Texas Solution was a slick slight of hand move by Steve Munisteri and Jerry Patterson at the 2012 convention. Hold Munisteri accountable the party depends on it.
Two years ago at Tom Mechler’s request I served as the “Sargent at Arms” for the Temporary Platform committee on the Wednesday before the convention. While there were many other divisive issues before the committee, I was proud to see our Party make some of the difficult choices by settling on the “Texas Solution” as the balanced approach to our illegal immigrant problem. As a delegate to the convention, I was enthusiastic in my support of this solution’s addition to the Party Platform. I do not believe that the provisions below lead to “amnesty” or a shortcut path to citizenship as some are claiming.
IMMIGRATION
The Texas Solution – Because of decades-long failure of the federal government to secure our borders and address the immigration issue, there are now upwards of 11 million undocumented individuals in the United States today, each of whom entered and remain here under different circumstances. Mass deportation of these individuals would neither be equitable nor practical; while blanket amnesty, as occurred with the Simpson-Mazzoli Act of 1986, would only encourage future violations of the law. We seek common ground to develop and advance a conservative, market- and law-based approach to our nation’s immigration issues by following these principles:
1. Secure Our Borders – The U.S. Border must be secured immediately! We demand the application of effective, practical and reasonable measures to secure our borders and to bring safety and security for all Americans along the border and throughout the nation.
2. Modernize the United States Social Security Card – We support the improvement of our 1936 Social Security card to use contemporary anti-counterfeit technology. The social security card will not be considered a National ID card for U.S. citizens.
3. Birthright Citizenship – We call on the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of the United States to clarify Section 1 of the 14th amendment to limit citizenship by birth to those born to a citizen of the United States with no exceptions.
4. Create an Effective and Efficient Temporary Worker Program – A national Temporary Worker Program should be implemented to bring skilled and unskilled workers into the United States for temporary periods of time when no U.S. workers are currently available. The program should also require:
• Self-funding through participation fees and fines;
• Applicants must pass a full criminal background check;
• Applicants with prior immigration violations would only qualify for the program if they paid the appropriate fines;
• Applicants and/or Employers must prove that they can afford and/or secure private health insurance;
• Applicants must waive any and all rights to apply for financial assistance from any public entitlement programs;
• Applicant must show a proficiency in the English language and complete an American civic class;
• Temporary Workers would only be able to work for employers that deduct and match payroll taxes;
• All participants would be issued an individual Temporary-Worker Biometric Identification Card that tracks all address changes and both civil and criminal court appearances as a defendant.
2012 Texas GOP Platform
The Temporary Worker Program is similar to the H1-B program which is utilized by most corporations to be able to bring in engineers which they have had difficulties hiring due to short supply. As an engineer, I do not see this as impacting my ability to find work. It has helped me to find qualified technical personnel for my company but often is so limited I have to turn some applicants down who miss the deadline for application. No expedited path to US Citizenship is offered that I can see. Extending this to unskilled workers may help agricultural employers meet their needs without a large undocumented worker presence. We need to keep thing in terms of what is practical and necessary.
A key reminder is Texas history where a large immigrant population was allowed to migrate to the “colonies” in what was Mexican sovereign territory. Due to the rapid increase in the population, there were some in Mexico that were worried about the migration of colonist (migrant workers?), the loss of government control and tried to limit their rights and number. They attempted to change the rules. e.g “After Santa Anna’s dissolution of the Constitution of 1824, issues such as lack of access to courts, the militarization of the region’s government (e.g., response to Saltillo-Monclova problem), and self-defense issues resulting in the confrontation in Gonzales, public sentiment in Mexican Texas turned towards revolution”. Those colonist rose up against that perceived injustice and started to resist, even to the point of taking up arms and refusing to give up key cannons. Instead they said “Come and Take It”. This eventually lead to an armed uprising and after a bit of luck by the colonist (or from the Mexican current perspective, was it just misfortune by the Mexicans) they won their independence. Is there anyone among you that cannot say that if the United States or Texas government starts imposing what is perceived as unreasonable threats to the health safety and welfare of the current ‘Illegals” or their families that a similar uprising will not happen? The barn door has been open for too long, the horses are already out, we need to look to history so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. We need to find some common ground so that we can allow those who want to work here because there are opportunities here to do so and not treat them as less than us. We don’t have to make the same mistakes the Mexicans did that caused their “colonist” to revolt against their injustice. Part 4 of the Texas Solution appears to strike that balance.
As a part of the Texas Delegation to the National GOP Convention in 2012, and since the convention, I have suggested to our federal congressional delegation, both Representatives and Senators, repeatedly that they just try to implement the “Texas Solution”. Given the debate in Washington, standing firm in support of this position may be essential to Texas having a say in the outcome of the debate. I see nothing in the above planks of the platform that needs to be changed. We just need more support for the solution from our Party Leaders, elected officials and representatives. We have a strong chance to win back the Senate and Presidency in 2016. We must continue to work towards that goal. The “Texas Solution” should be a key part of that strategy.
Marc Young, PE
Sealy, Texas 77474
Marc: I would be willing to consider your “Texas Proposal” under the following conditions:
1. First, the border must be closed. Period. Not kinda, not “we’re going to work on that” not “we’re preparing legislation. . . ” Closed. No illegal aliens coming through, period.
2. Second, if you’re here illegally, you should leave. If you were brought here illegally as a child, I’m sorry, your parents suck. But you still have to leave. If you were born here, but your parents are illegal, they have to leave, you can leave with them, or find a foster family to stay with here in the States.
3. If you are here illegally, please don’t expect that we are going to expend time, energy and financial resources to hunt you down and export you. But, you should also not expect to reap the rewards of being here legally. That means: No driver’s licenses, not food stamps or other welfare, no social security, no medicare/medicaid or other medical care except for acute emergencies. And, if you leave, you don’t get to come back except legally.
4. Next, we can talk about guest workers when unemployment is under 4{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} for for 2 consecutive quarters. Until that time we don’t need guest workers. I would be willing to discuss exceptions for workers with specific skill sets that are in short supply – such as electrical engineers, etc. Please not that “special skill set” does not apply to mowing lawns, roofing houses, etc.
5. Finally, our current plan for citizenship requires that naturalized citizens be able to speak and read English. Therefore our government (on all levels) needs to cease to print ballots, voters guides, legal notices, etc. in any language but English, period.
Given all of the above, then we can talk about a modest guest worker program and what it might entail.
So, filmmaker, just how do you propose closing 5,000 miles of land borders? Or even the nearly 2,000 miles of the southern border? Build some “perfect” fence? Put the Army there and just shoot them as they cross the river?
What would you tell the farmer who needs 300 workers for 2 months to get the harvest in when he can’t hire illegals, and no one else will do the work? Be realistic, the farmer isn’t going to pay $40 per hour for lazy Americans to not work hard.
And on the language thing? My wife’s grandmother was born here, and never spoke much English at all. I suppose you would have told her to just suck it up and speak English. Here’s a clue for you, not all of the people who need the non-English ballots are naturalized.
You people are so clueless it’s funny. And a bit sad.
Oh, please. What a silly argument. It’s 2014 not 1938. Of course we can build a fence, or use other means to protect our borders. Does it have to be absolutely 100{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} effective 100{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of the time? Of course not – on the other hand surely we can do much, much better than the porous joke of a sieve that we have now. (And – before your raise another strawman argument – I’m NOT criticizing our border enforcement people. The problem is political in nature.)
And, if we implement the other things I think you will find that there’s a lot less urgency for people to come here illegally.
As for the farmer, I would tell him that he needs to explore other alternatives. Maybe what we could do is that that 40{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} to 50{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of inner city youths who are jobless and give them a chance to earn money honestly. Regardless, You might take a look at the actual wage scales being paid for low skill labor. $10 to $15 will get you plenty of Americans who want to work. Maybe what you are actually saying is that you’re OK with farmers exploiting illegals by paying them $5-6 an hour, just so you can buy your produce cheat at the local Randall’s.
I find your characterization of Americans as “lazy” disturbing. If I were to refer to Latin Americans as lazy you would be all over me as a racist, but I guess it’s OK for you to use blanket epithets. Just as an observation, If the reason that Americans won’t work is that they are lazy, why do you and others keep insisting that we give them our hard earned tax dollars to sit on their butts and do nothing?
As for your wife’s grandmother, how on earth could she possibly exercise her voting rights in any kind of responsible fashion if she didn’t read or understand English?
I would never be so disrespectful as to call you “clueless”. I think you know exactly what you’re proposing. You are just wrong.
Sure we close the border. But the incentive for illegals is the freebees.
From the Texas Dept of State Health Services “WIC clients usually receive services in the county where they live. U.S. citizenship is not a requirement for eligibility.”
All they have to do is get in and they can tap in.
See my third point above: “. . ., you should also not expect to reap the rewards of being here legally. That means: No driver’s licenses, not food stamps or other welfare, no social security, no medicare/medicaid or other medical care except for acute emergencies.” You are absolutely correct. In fact, I believe (without, I admit, any hard data to support said belief) that we can solve the largest portion of the illegal alien problem simply by eliminating all freebies to non-citizens.
Nice piece Dale. You sound much more in line with Dan Patrick, than with the Establishment (Staples in this case, Dewhurst just prior). This bunch continues to try to suck-in the Tea Party with a new set of words every year or two – but the bottom-line is that they LOVE the cheap (and high-quality) labor and cannot DREAM of trying to get that labor from Americans, so they’re willing to SELL-OUT their children and especially their grandchildren by, essentially, turning us into just another Latin American country.
Either we get these people (ideally by them walking home to good jobs south of the border…but by other means, if necessary), or the America that we all grew up knowing will be over in 2 generations, or sooner.
Lets cut to the chase. Either we apprehend, incarcerate, adjudicate and deport 12,000,000 men women and children, or we implement a guest worker program without a path to citizenship. After Ruby Ridge, Waco, and Fast and Furious I am uncomfortable with a federal government having enough police power to do the first option. Folks need to quit using weasel words like “enforce our laws” and just say “I’m for immediate deportation of all of them”, or say “I’m for a guest worker program for those who want to work, pay taxes, and send money home to their family while we lock up or deport the criminals, coyotes, narco-traffickers and terrorists”. Wouldn’t you rather have your Border Patrol chasing the bad guys than chasing the guy that mowed your lawn or washed dishes at the restaurant you ate at last night? Jerry Patterson
“Lets cut to the chase. Either we apprehend, incarcerate, adjudicate and deport 12,000,000 men women and children, or we implement a guest worker program without a path to citizenship.”
I assume that you’re JOKING with that comment. There are plenty of things we can do in between, and you CLOWNS know that. First, get rid of Sanctuary Cities. Second, no more goodies for ILLEGALS or their children – starting with the elimination of in-state tuition, but also welfare, education, and health care. Third, EMPLOYER SANCTIONS – If you’re caught with Illegals, you are prosecuted, and prosecuted hard, under STATE LAWS. This is just the tip of the iceberg and has NOTHING to do with deporting people – you just make it worthless to stay here illegally – at least in Texas.
Why do you guys have a DEATH WISH for this country? Why do you want this country repopulated with people from some of the most violent societies on Earth (look up “murder rates by country” on Wikipedia, see what country is on top) – PLEASE look it up – we don’t need to import that culture.
And finally, if you get your way, what do you tell your GRANDCHILDREN when they’re forced to live in a Third World society, filled with rampant crime. Or do you simply not give a damn for them.
And by the way, deporting 12,000,000 people over the course of several years is NOT DIFFICULT…and is way less than the number of people moved by airplanes, trains, or buses during that time. There is NO REASON to fear enforcing the law – unless your greed doesn’t allow for it.
Well Sir, this “CLOWN” is having a little difficulty understanding how the fact that over 12 million people can voluntarily travel by airplane/train/bus over several years is in any way related to deporting a like amount of folks who aint going to the airport voluntarily. As you pointed out, it must because my “greed won’t allow for it.” You figured out my dirty secret – its the greed. I know when I’ve met my match. You win. I lose. I’m done…
JP
Filmmaker, At one time, I would’ve completely agreed with you. Now I’m convinced it just aint that simple. “First prosecute the employers” sounds good and I’m just fine with that, but what about the non employers who subcontract with the framing crew in a new subdivision or maybe just pay cash like millions of folks do when they pay the yard man? Of course we should only prosecute those who “knowingly” hire, but there are all kinds of problems with E-Verify not the least of which is its illegal to use it until AFTER the employment offer is made. As to eliminating the benefits, other than education for their kids (who are probably birthright citizens-something the Texas Solution opposes) and emergency medical care. illegals are not eligible for benefits already. As to making it hard to round trip, its already pretty hard and that’s a problem for a reason not many folks have thought of. Our lack of a guest worker program actually ENCOURAGES more illegal immigration. Here’s why: A drywall hanger making $20/hr can live on $10 of that here in the U.S. and send $10 home to his family. That’s a good economic model for him because $10/hr allotted to his family in Mexico dramatically enhances their standard of living. If this worker was able to easily transit the border. i.e. “round trip” the border, he could go home on holidays or between jobs, visit the family and come back w/o fear of apprehension. Since he can’t do that today, he has an incentive to bring his family here where the whole $20/hr eguals a life of squalor and brings kids into our public school system. Therefore, our lack of a guest worker program encourages more illegal immigration by family members who are a drain on our economy. “Leave on their own” as you suggest might make a small dent in the 12 million, but the best way to get them to leave own their own is for Dad to be able to visit them at their home in Mexico, eliminating the incentive to bring Mom and the kids to the U. S. The idea of “self deportation” has merit and we should provide an economic incentive for that to occur. The temporary guest worker program does that. As to those jobs that the illegals come here for, those are jobs that citizens don’t line up to fill. Work visas for unskilled labor don’t exist. If they did, we would be on the way to solving our problem. JP
Jerry:
With all due respect, there are more than two possible solutions to the problem. And, limiting your choices to two of the worst is not helpful. I believe that there are a couple of easier options. First, you simply begin prosecuting employers who knowingly hire illegals. That doesn’t have to be difficult, it’s politically feasible, and does a great deal to cure the problem. Illegals come here for jobs – if we significantly reduce or eliminate the available jobs, then we eliminate the motivation for illegals to come.
Second, you eliminate the ancillary benefits – free education, free medical care, and free social services.
Finally, you make it much harder for illegals to “round trip”, i.e. to go home to their mother country and come back again.
If we can do those three things, we won’t have to deport anybody – they’ll leave on their own, mostly. Then in a 3 – 4 years we can concentrate on finding and removing the rest.
Jerry, I think there is much merit in the “Texas Solution” and I’m not saying (in any way!) that I have all of the answers. What I am saying is that I’m really uncomfortable with setting up a system to bring in (or legitimize) millions of non-citizen workers, when we already have millions of citizen workers who don’t have jobs. Yes, I know that these are “jobs that Americans won’t take”. But that points up another whole problem. In (I suspect) a lot of cases the reason Americans won’t take those jobs is because it’s easier, and often more remunerative, to simply stay home and collect a check from the government.
In any case, I’m certainly not totally against a guest worker program – I just don’t want them competing against citizens who deserve our first concern.
I’m glad that the mantra wasn’t “enforcement first” when dealing with ending Prohibition, or the federally-mandated 55-mph speed limit. The current immigration law does not recognize the realities of the marketplace. Anytime the government seeks to insert itself between supply and demand, the result is an underground market, and a more expensive, expansive, intrusive government is required to enforce it.
Some wish to spend more money and make government even more intrusive to enforce a bad law. I’d rather have a less intrusive government and spend less money trying to keep people away who wish to come here to work and prosper. Had “enforcement first” been the approach to ending Prohibition, we’d never have done so until all the bootleggers were rounded up. Instead, we decided to change the law and enforce something that made more sense. The same approach is appropriate here.
The idea that we shouldn’t have people coming here competing for jobs when there are people already not working is a fundamental misunderstanding of economics. The economy is not static; it is not a pie to be divided among people; that’s a canard the left tries to use to justify redistribution of wealth. It’s no more correct when used for “conservative” purposes than when used for “progressive” ones.
When people come here to work and prosper, they also consume goods and services. Some of them start businesses. Other contribute in other ways. Our unemployment rate is not the result of too few workers, it’s the result of too little job creation. Keeping people out that wish to work and contribute does nothing to address the root cause.
The irony here is that based on domestic fertility rates, in 20-25 years we’ll be paying immigrants to come here to support the retired Baby Boomers on Social Security and Medicare. I’d rather have them pay us to come here now.
Ultimately, our immigration policy should be based on the same principles we claim to favor in other areas: freedom of association, individual liberty, limited government, free markets, voluntary exchange, private enterprise. When government is involved, it should be as efficient and cost-effective as possible. Building a wall around our economy and prosecuting people based on association and exchange is not consistent with our principles; “enforcement first” requires spending more money on more government to enforce an inefficient policy that is not consistent with the realities of the marketplace.
For most of our country’s existence, those that wished to come here were not subject to arbitrary quotas and a mountain of bureaucratic red tape. The very purpose of “border security” is just that: security. Let’s keep out the people who wish to harm us, while welcoming those who want to live the American dream and contribute to American prosperity.
“Anytime the government seeks to insert itself between supply and demand, the result is an underground market, and a more expensive, expansive, intrusive government is required to enforce it.”
There is no way for me to possibly express how much I love this quote. It applies to everyting we are trying to reduce or eliminate. Chasing after “supply” and trying to eliminate it brings “wonderful” results like The War on Drugs and TSA airport gropings…
First of all – before we throw out the existing law, we might actually want to try it. We haven’t actually enforced existing laws in like – forever. Nevertheless, I agree that using the government to regulate supply and demand is useless and destined to fail badly. I am all for allowing guest workers – assuming that they have come here legally, etc., etc.
For additional action items see my original post above – NONE of which is in contradiction to a reasonable guest worker program.
Please note that NONE of this works unless we can actually control our border. If we don’t do that first all of the rest is just a load of political BS.