Hi,
I've been living, working & studying in Dallas for 3 years. I work for Immigration and Customs Enforcement as an intern. I am a very small cog, but in 3 years I've seen it all, the good & the bad. And the really really bad.
The real problem is that the number of illegal immigrants is too great for the government to satisfactorily resolve all cases at once. The borders have been porous for too long. Even if tomorrow we managed to hermetically seal the borders, it would be years before the existing laws could be enforced, allowing some to stay, and deporting others.
A blanket amnesty, BTW, would be even worse, because it creates a bigger legal nightmare than what it solves! (It's been tried before, under Reagan, & the result was bad--it would be worse today). You'd first have to decide who gets amnesty & who doesn't. For example, amnesty would not apply to gangbangin' murderers, so the murderers have to be sorted out from the 'guest workers'. And who's a guest worker? Just anybody? Anybody with a job/looking for a job? And, do we give amnesty to Africans, Russians, Iranians, Pakistanis who are here illegally, or only the Mexicans? The amnesty law would have to specify, new gov't forms and fees would have to be instituted, new enforcement guidelines issued, investigations done, hearings held... and my job would suddenly be 13x more difficult, requiring 13 more gov't employees, larger gov't buildings, higher taxes to pay for enforcement...
RE: property ownership, taxes, etc. Bear in mind different taxes are earmarked for different expenditures. Home property taxes fund schools, which is one of the issues being discussed. Rental property taxes may be handled differently, because they are essentially commercial--I don't know how Texas handles such taxes. Sales taxes fund a little of everything. Gasoline taxes are
supposed to be earmarked for road repairs/improvements. Regardless, the issue is, some illegals do not pay the taxes that fund schools, yet their children have access to public education. It is a legit concern. I don't know that it is that important, but I do understand the frustration. One solution: pay for private school & take a tax break b/c your kid isn't in public school (unfortunately, such tax breaks are generally not available).
Insurance: many illegals do drive w/o insurance, cause accidents, then flee--either they flee the scene of the accident, or they flee the country b/c they can't pay the damages. One reason they drive w/o insurance is b/c they fear their status as illegal immigrants will be revealed to Federal authorities. Funny thing is, driving w/o insurance, even causing an accident is not a big enough offense to get them deported.
Jobs Americans don't want to do: If Mexico (its government) would clean up its act, then Mexico would be more appealing to the Mexicans, and they wouldn't have to take our low-paying jobs. BTW, it would not be enough for Americans simply to buy more Mexican goods. There is corruption in the Mexican government such that the money would not go to the workers, but back to the pockets of a select few. In fact, one of the top 4 richest men in the world is the head of the oil industry in Mexico--and the government controls Mexico's oil. It is inevitable that the Mexicans would rather be here, by whatever means, until Mexico becomes a better place to live than it is now--if not better than the U.S.! When do you think that will happen?
No. The issue of illegal immigration cannot be resolved overnight, or in 10 years, or in 50 years. Notice that an ocean in between doesn't keep Cubans from trying to get here? You think a big wall will matter?
Illegal immigration--and openness to terrorism--is a risk we take simply by being a nation of freedom, 'equality' (in some sense), and prosperity. If you are willing to dispense with your own freedom--if you're willing to submit to constant background checks, airport screenings, 'biometric' scans,
everywhere you go, every job you perform--then, yeah, maybe we can end illegal immigration, and end terrorism on our soil, forever.
For my part, I think we should remain somewhat of an open society, but streamline & toughen our laws. Patrol the borders, but don't waste time/money building an impenetrable wall (if there is such a thing). It would probably help to deny aliens access to public services such as schooling, regardless of whether they have paid taxes. It seems harsh, but imagine trying to regulate a system where aliens have access to public services they've paid taxes for, but are denied services for which they haven't paid... you'd have to track every dollar they spend, to know whether they are eligible for schooling, Medicare, disability, unemployment, roads without potholes, etc.
And pay us enforcement guys a little more...
