Introduction

The complexity of the current set of immigration laws makes the income tax code look simple. It is racist. It treats different people differently based on their ethnicity. It is far too complicated. There are more than eighty different visa categories. And it does not serve the best interests of our country by keeping out bad people and attracting good ones.

This proposal scraps the entire unworkable mess of current law and starts again. It is in tune with our countries needs for the 21st century. It puts individual rights and responsibilities ahead of the rights of the State. It increases freedom in the world. And it contains provisions that correct the problems of undocumented workers and separated families caused by the unworkable laws that have been on the books for the past twenty plus years.

When implemented it will usher in an era of increased prosperity and freedom in the world that has not been seen since the 1950’s when trade barriers were reduced in a similar sharp break with the past.

The Basic Law

The United States was, is and will continue to be what John F Kennedy called in his famous book “A Nation of Immigrants.” We must set the allowable rate of immigration at one percent of our current population per year. All new permanent immigrants must obtain visas and they must post a bond or have a sponsor to guarantee that they will not become an undue burden on their new communities for five years after entering the country.

Visas should be allocated on a first come first served basis with no preference to any race, nation, region or religion with two exceptions. Political refuges would continue to be allowed. They would move to the head of the line and would be exempt from the “undue burden” requirement. And undocumented peoples in the United States before January 1st, 2007 would be allowed over time to become permanent residents. They would have one year after the legislation is signed to register, prove their resident status, meet the “undue burden” requirement and pay a $1000 fine. One third of the new immigrant visas would be set aside each year for this category for the first ten years of the program.

A commission appointed jointly by the President and the Congress would license financially responsible companies and set the “undue burden” bond amounts initially. Within five years the bond amounts would be allowed to float to the market. It will be acceptable for different individuals to have to post different amounts. Money collected to fill the “undue burden” requirement on immigrants would be administered privately the individual immigrant or sponsor would pay a guarantor a fee and if the immigrant then incurred any state supplies expenses for medical care or other public assistance the guarantor would reimburse the agency for the expense. Education and other normal government supplied or subsided services like roads, public transportation, courts and administration would not be considered an “undue burden.”

The new immigration law will have a provision requiring that it be renewed in twenty years.

Analysis of the Expected Results

Immigration will increase back to pre 1924 levels. In the 1990’s about one million people per year entered the country legally and another half million per year entered illegally. Since 2001 legal immigration has been reduced to about six hundred thousand per year. Under this legislation about two million new immigrants per year will be allowed into the country for the first decade and about three million per year for the second decade. In the first ten years this would be an increase of about five hundred thousand per year over the 1990’s level.

The objection of many Americans to current immigration is the burden it places on public services. This burden would be greatly reduced by the “undue burden” bond requirement.

The amount of the bond required would vary by the individual but it has been estimated that the average cost would be about $2000. This is about the amount that many migrants from Mexico pay coyotes to get here.

With many, if not most, of the currently undocumented coming out of the shadows and with the Real ID act about to go into effect this new approach to immigration will allow us to get control of our borders and to fill the need of our society for young, productive, law abiding new citizens.