Another Attempt To Solve The Illegal Alien Problem

Posted by Joshua White on 05.02.2007

It's been one year since I started here at 411. I have amassed many followers. And I have come up with another solution to the illegal alien situation.

One year ago I started writing for 411. It was also one year ago that the illegal aliens in the United States decided to procure May Day as their "we demand rights we don't deserve" day. Well, one year has passed and that means that I have been writing for this prestigious website, and the illegal aliens are complaining again.

Yesterday, thousands of illegal aliens decided to take a day off of their illegally obtained jobs and took to the streets in what could only be considered an illegal protest (how could it be legal, if they are illegally here in the first place?). Some of them tried to reassure the legal citizens of this country that they wanted to help, not hurt, this country. Others were making the ridiculous statement that they "aren't illegal."

As I have given my opinion on this issue before, I won't detail it here. But I will remind all of my year-long followers that people who are in this country without permission are by definition illegally here. Right or wrong, America is a country with laws and these people are not following them. Illegal. And while I will admit that they do America a wonderful service -they keep bananas at 29¢ a pound- that doesn't mean that we should simply roll over and allow all the lawlessness that is occurring. So, we need to figure out what to do next.

One year ago, I offered three solutions: my amnesty through payment option, Neal Boortz's taking away of all public services, and the "Get out or else" option. Since then I have come up with another possibility. One that I think is fair and practical.

I think that we should set up a hierarchy of citizenship. This system would have several levels of citizenship each with its own set of rights or lack thereof. Obviously, the highest level would be a full citizen. But I think that there could be at least two more types of people who could legally be allowed into our country.

After we make the border more secure -which is what the first step absolutely should be- the lowest level of the hierarchy would be the temporary worker. This type of worker would be allowed into our country for a specified amount of time. They would be required to work during that time. Besides paying the taxes on their earnings, leaving when they are supposed to (as agreed up before they enter the country), and following the laws of the United States, these workers would have no further responsibilities. Further, they would get no public services. No food stamps. No medicaid. Nothing aside from life-saving emergencies (and honestly, I'd only compromise on this because it would be absolutely demanded). Lastly, I would make a provision that if they gave birth to a child while working here, the child would not be given legal status. (If this would be absolutely unattainable, then I would simply suggest not allowing women who are more than two months pregnant to come into the country for more than three months.)

In between those who can stay here as long as they want, and those who can only work for a certain amount of time, comes the middle group. Most of this group would consist of the illegal aliens who are currently living in the United States. This final status would be open to anyone who is illegally here now, or to anyone who would like to live and work here without having to go through the lengthy process. This group would be allowed to legally work and live in the United States for as long as they want. However, this is not simply amnesty. The consequence for not having endured the naturalization process is that your taxes will be higher than those legal citizens who make the same amount. Let me explain by giving an example.

The average wage for a U.S. citizen was around $37,000 last year. This citizen paid around $5,800 in federal income taxes for that year (If you're interested where my math comes from click here). This turns out to be about 15% taxes that this average worker makes. This is the tax rate for those who are legal citizens. However, if you did not take the legal route, then you get to pay a substantially higher tax rate. For the sake of argument, let's say that they have to pay a 40% tax rate. This is the "deal" that would be made between the illegal alien and the government. If you don't want to wait the months to years that others have to wait, and you don't want to take the test, then you have to pay a 40% tax rate.

Now, I would argue that these people should get very limited access to public services as well. I would claim that they shouldn't be allowed to vote or get access to medicaid or even social security. What you get for your 40% tax rate is the freedom to work here indefinetly. You won't get deported and you can live here legally as long as you would like. That is all. If you do not like it, you do not have to come live/work here.

Obviously, this sort of program would have to be well thought out before it is put into effect. Hard questions would have to be answered: If the worker gets injured do they get disability? Do the children of these workers get public education? Questions like these would have to be answered. I think that the general concept of it could work not just in theory, but in practice. Further, the money generated by this system would be immense. If there are 12 million illegal aliens that register for this type of status, and each of them make $20,000, then, at a 40% tax rate, the United States would bring in $96 billion a year!

Clearly this isn't the last step in the illegal alien problem. The government would have to institute this along with fining employers of illegal aliens, deporting those who decide not to leave or join this program, and keeping new illegal aliens out. However, I see nothing wrong with taxing those who are breaking our laws as a sort of agreement to end their illegality.

Problem solved.

If you're up for some more reading, might I suggest:

Enrique. The boy tells good stories, but he isn't always right. Friends, the war isn't "lost." War is not like a football game or anything else with a time limit. This war could, theoretically, go on forever. The war isn't lost until one side admits defeat. They haven't done so yet. And we certainly haven't. The war is, therefore, not lost.

Church. He's been here for just as long as me, but he's written four times as much.

Crow. Someone is feeling neglected. Let's all read Crow and make him feel better. (Oh, and Jet Li and Jackie Chan don't have sex scenes because their in martial arts movies. Put them in a love story, and then see what happens. OHH, that's right, they can't act!)

One last point. Illegals, if you want anyone to take you seriously, would you please stop burning effigies of our president? Would you please not put the Statue of Liberty on the cross? This only makes the American people want to deport you even more.

Until next time…don't believe anything unless you read it here.