by James D. Bentham

Created on: April 06, 2007   Last Updated: April 19, 2007

Illegal immigrants are one of the few major issues many on the right and left can agree on. Although I personally don't view illegal immigration as a threat to my wellbeing, I know what it would take to reduce the influx and possibly even stop it altogether. I propose we enforce equal pay and benefits for illegal workers just like US citizens, and offer incentives for reporting business owners who do not comply and/or have illegals working for them. For US citizens, the whistle blower incentive could be monetary, for illegal immigrants, it could be citizenship for them and their family.

Most will say that it's absurd to consider "rewarding" illegals with equal pay and benefits, along with the possibility of citizenship for simply ratting out their employer, but consider how fast illegal immigration would drop. Business owners will not only have no incentive to hire illegals, but they won't want to risk paying heavy fines, knowing their underpaid employees have everything to gain by ratting them out. It would be safer and more cost effective for them to simply hire US citizens instead of seeking cheap and/or illegal immigrant labor.

The majority of those opposed to illegal immigration see the only solution as being border patrol - It's very easy to put a brown face on the problem, but it's much more than that. Illegal immigrants come for opportunity, but who gives them that opportunity? Employers do. No matter where this issue is discussed, the employer of illegal immigrants is rarely ever mentioned, yet they're the biggest part of the problem. If you could give one illegal immigrant family citizenship, in exchange for scaring employers straight and preventing several from having a reason to enter the US illegally, your investment will multiply exponentially. Factor in US citizens who would have an incentive to report illegal practices, and it makes the hiring of illegals that much harder.

In order to actually get something like this done, lots of US citizens would have to make their voices heard and put their money where their mouth is. At the moment, although most politicians say they are against illegal immigration, they do little if anything to really stop it. Politicians like money, and business owners have more of it than most citizens, so you can see where the problem may lie. Take George W. Bush, for example, he's all about protecting US soil from terrorism, but he's not tough on border control or illegal immigration. In fact, many who are devout Bush followers are displeased with him when it comes to this issue.

So, next time you stop to think about how illegal immigration may be hurting America. Instead of pointing your finger at the brown folk, write to a legislator, boycott some businesses, donate to politicians who have proven that they share your views on the illegal immigration issue. Remember, employers and greed are the bottleneck.

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