Illegal Immigrants

In our 2009 book, America At Risk: The Crisis of Hope, Trust, and Caring, we presented our views on how to deal with the matter of illegal immigrants. Here is what we wrote.

A current issue facing Americans that has great potential for dividing them in warring camps is the question of what to do regarding the estimated the 10 to 12 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States. Most of those undocumented migrants are Mexican nationals, while some come from Central American nations. Most have come to the United States in search of a better life for themselves and their children, and Americans are divided about how welcoming we should be to people who have broken the law and what should be done. Let us exclude for the moment the views of groups that have their own agendas, like political groups that see immigrants as potential voters, union leaders who see them as workers who can be organized, and xenophobic or racist groups defending white supremacy. The remaining Americans who disagree on this issue tend to be divided into those claiming to be compassionate and generous versus those who are firm law abiders.

In order to move beyond the shouting and divided zealots on both sides, it will be necessary to identify a set of values that both sides embrace. For example, if both side in the immigration debate can agree on endorsing the values of family and hard work, then it may be possible to develop legislation that both sides can endorse. Let's call it the Working Family Pathway to Citizenship Law and apply it to the current population of undocumented immigrants. Under this plan, if an illegal is married, has a family, has been employed in the United States for at least five years, has been paying Social Security, has children in local schools, and gets a reference from an employer, than he/she will be on the fast track to U.S. citizenship. At the other end of the spectrum, unmarried immigrants who have been in the United States a short time and have erratic employment records will be eligible for deportation. The law would list eligibility for citizenship according to the family-work conditions of the immigrant, with some becoming citizens and some deported.

We think that a Pathway to Citizenship Law that affirms certain shared values has a chance of unifying Americans who, on the one hand, want to be welcoming because they acknowledge that we were all immigrants once, with Americans who place high value on being law abiding and fair. The goal is to find common ground on divisive issues that identify values that bring Americans together rather than those that divide. That is the only way in which a nation of people that has many identity groups can engender trust of each other.