Since the latest uproar about illegal immigration, I haven't heard a good solution. Many claim to understand the situation but still have foggy and illogical perspectives. Recently, I read WORLD Magazine Editor Joel Belz's review on illegal immigration with Bill Tankley, a San Diego businessman with a well-thought-out solution to the problem.

Mr. Tankley has spent time on either side of the border. His experience with both cultures give him unusual clarity and lends credibility to his solutions to illegal immigration.

But don't think Mr. Tankley is a know-it-all. Instead, he admits he doesn't completely understand the issue. Some parts of the problem are just to complicated to understand. Also, Mr. Tankley was very reluctant to even let Joel Belz use his name in the WORLD article.

Bill Tankley has an interesting simple solution to illegal immigration. We should let Hispanics come here and work. After all, he reasons, entire industries rely on immigrants, specifically construction. Even many government agencies use immigrants. We need to crack down on illegals and the businesses that hire them.

A huge fine and possible arrest should await businesses who are caught using illegals. When we send a clear message that we won't tolerate businesses who disobey the law, they'll get the picture pretty quick. Allowing illegals to come legally with a one-year visa will help some, but we need to send a message that illegals are illegal and will be treated as such.

Mr. Tankley says that houses, cars, and other property should be subject to seizure when an illegal immigrant is caught. Sending a clear message that immigrants are welcome, but they'll have to play by the rules will certainly help the situation.

Another thing we must consider is the physical circumstances many Mexicans live in. I myself have seen the cardboard houses, and other terrible conditions many live their entire lives in. The average annual income for a Mexican is around $8,300! Also keep in mind that those who want to come to the US are much poorer than average US citizen.

When I went to Juarez, Mexico, many of the people I met had an income of about $300 a month. Juarez is on the border and receives more aid from the US than much of the interior. Several of the people I know have gone into the heart of Mexico and found entire villages almost starving to dearth because they are so poor.

So don't be surprised when these poor people want to share our American benefits! And when it's extremely difficult to receive a visa into the US, why not just walk in?

This is the very heart of the illegal immigration problem. Bill Tankley says our government needs to make visas easier to obtain and cracking down on illegals and the businesses that hire them will be a major improvement to the problem. I like this man's common sense. I like what Joel Belz says, "We should roll out the welcome mat but beef up the rules."

Learn more about this author, Jordan Green.
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