That New Immigration Bill

I don't know what to make of the new immigration bill. Unlike many conservatives I don't find myself invested in opposition to "amnesty." The current bill as proposed sounds like amnesty. Any crime which is forgiven with a less penalty than is just for the crime is considered amnesty. In this case, the penalty for being illegal should at the very least be deportation. Thus, any penalty that requires something less is amnesty.

Nevertheless, amnesty is a tradition in this country. We gave amnesty to the supporters of the crown during the Revolution. We gave amnesty to half a million rebel soldiers in 1865. The penalty for them was death. Robert E. Lee spit on his oath to this country. He should have been hung along with his entire army. Yet, we granted him amnesty. In fact the radicals in Congress despised Lincoln for his amnesty plan. Today we hail Lincoln for his compassion and credit him for keeping the union together.

I am not opposed to some sort of amnesty, however, the key to any immigration bill needs to be enforcement. Plan 1 is to stop any more illegal immigration. We can do this by building a wall, forcing local police to bust illegals, and putting employers in prison for hiring illegals. Regarding the illegals that are here I say we give them amnesty. I say we give them 3 months to register. After that they have 5 years to learn fluent English, not commit any crimes, and pass the citizenship test. If they accomplish this, they get a green card. If not, they and any of their dependents, including children born here, are immediately deported.