Here’s my take on Bush’s latest proposals on dealing with the issue of illegal immigration, an issue that has risen to the top of the national agenda in a matter of just the past few months:

Using the National Guard to Support the Border Patrol
I actually don’t have a huge problem with this particular idea because I agree that border security does need to be strengthened. However, I hope that strengthening the borders will be done in a humane way that respects the basic dignity and human rights of those who try to cross into the U.S. to find a better life for themselves and their families, rather than as a punitive measure designed to humiliate the border crossers. As to the concern about whether it will stretch the military too thin, as long as the National Guard troops are ones that have not yet served in Iraq, I don’t have a problem with it.

Allow Illegal Immigrants Already in the U.S. to Stay But Pay Fines & Back Taxes
I also happen to think that this is a fair proposal, but the fine and back taxes amounts need to be reasonable to make sure that illegal immigrants pay them, rather than skip them and continue to stay “underground.” The whole purpose of immigration reform should be to allow illegal immigrants to become legitimate members of American society, not drive them deeper into the shadows and make them even more vulnerable and society even more hostile towards them.

Temporary Guest Workers Program Using a Tamperproof Work ID Card
Again I have no problem with a guest worker program, nor with using a tamperproof work ID card, as long as illegal immigrants are given an opportunity to eventually apply for citizenship. Here is where it gets tricky because even if Bush succeeds in getting this proposal passed that allows the guest workers to ultimately apply for citizenship (not guaranteed by any means), there is already opposition from legal immigrants who feel that the illegals will be “cutting in line in front of them” as they and their family members have had to wait years, even decades for the chance to immigrate to the U.S. legally.

The solution to that particular issue is to expand current immigration quotas and allow more immigrants to enter the U.S., so that the backlog of applicants wanting to enter the U.S. is reduced and there is more opportunity for everyone to come to the U.S. legally. However, this is where opposition from conservatives is likely to be the greatest, since many of them consider family reunification provisions to be an even worse problem than illegal immigration.

Finally, there is the larger question of what to do in the long run. These proposals, if passed, may lead to some short term benefits, but the larger, structural-level factors that continue to drive illegal immigration will still be unaddressed. As I’ve written before, real, meaningful, and long-lasting reform needs to include a strategy to reduce the push factors that drive immigrants out of their home countries to work in the U.S.

Passing proposals that would address those fundamental causes would be nothing less than a miracle in my opinion. Even though many analysts and social scientists would say that it needs to be done, I just don’t see our country and our government as having the national resolve to do it. Instead, we’ll continue to reward the big multinational corporations who can take full advantage of current geopolitical and free trade economic policies to make record profits while the average citizen in places like Mexico continue to look to the U.S. for their livelihood.