A 21st century approach to Immigration
I want to take a few minutes to talk about an issue that has been used as a political football for far too long: Immigration. What is happening today is completely unacceptable. To be clear, the need for laws isn't the problem, it’s the archaic, reckless procedures being used. We’ve seen enforcement tactics so outdated they have actually cost the lives of American citizens in the process. When a policy endangers the very people, it claims to protect, the system has failed, and it’s time to move past the rhetoric. We need to start relying on reality and facts instead of fear. We hear a lot about the desert, but the fact is that most drugs enter through legal points of entry. We need to stop the shouting and start using 21st-century technology, heat sensors, motion sensors, and advanced drug-detection equipment, to actually secure our borders properly. The truth is that we need a strong immigration system because this country thrives when we have one. Immigrants in the system today, including those here illegally, pay around $100 billion a year in taxes, money they can’t even access. At the same time, we’re seeing billions in investment for new manufacturing plants, but we have a massive labor shortage because, frankly, many Americans don’t want those jobs. We need a workforce that does, and we can find it at our Southern border if we do it the right way. That’s why I am proposing a "Train Now, Pay Later" program.
I want to see a massive investment in apprenticeship schools right at the border focused on elder care services, farming, manufacturing, assembly, and the trades. There are over 600,000 vacant jobs in these sectors that urgently need trained, qualified staff right now in America. These schools will be open to both Americans and immigrants, but we will always ensure that American citizens looking to enter these fields get the first available slots. This isn't a handout; it’s an investment. We’ll use a self-funding model where graduates pay a small percentage of their paycheck back into the program for life. Based on an average tradesman's salary of $70,000, an American citizen would contribute on average1.5% (about $1,050 a year), while an immigrant would contribute and average of 3% (about $2,100 a year). To keep things orderly, an immigrant family would send one representative through the program first. Once they’ve secured a job and can support themselves, the rest of the immediate family will be vetted and moved across to join them at their own expense. I believe in a fair system. If you cross illegally, you move to the back of the line because it’s not fair to the people doing it through legal channels. But if you are willing to work, learn a trade, learn English, and assimilate into our work culture, you belong here. This program also gives our local farmers, healthcare providers, and business owners a direct pipeline to hire pre-vetted, pre-trained, and highly skilled workers. It’s a win for the worker, a win for the employer, and a win for the American taxpayer. We can have a secure border and a thriving economy at the same time; we just have to choose people over politics.
I want say two more things about immigrations, first off, I do believe in creating a pathway to citizenship but it needs to be something bipartisan so we are never in a situation where a new administration can rip away the hopes and dreams of people that came here planning on doing everything by the book and then are told because of politics, they have to drop everything.
Secondly, the two parties have both been disingenuous about the immigration system and benefits going to "illegal" immigrants. During the Biden years they made big changes to something called TPS or Temporary protective status. These changes essentially fast tracked and heavily loosened the process for bringing migrants into America on TPS making it so the Biden administration could bring in 700,000 to 800,000 more TPS immigrants then past years. Under these new TPS guidelines these additional immigrants are considered here legally and yes, they are eligible for some federal and even more state funded benefits like public schools, free medical, dental and mental health screenings, food assistance, housing and more.
Now look, I personally don't have a problem helping immigrant families with some of this type of stuff. My issue here is with how this stuff gets explained and how that lack of explanation divides our nation. Never once have I heard a Democratic lawmaker explain on the news that hey look the GOP can say "illegals" are getting benefits all they want but the fact is we changed the rules to make sure these people are under TPS which is considered a legal status but yes, they are getting benefits. I've also never heard a Republican lawmakers say look, we know that "illegal" immigrants are not getting benefits, but we disagree with the huge changes to TPS that allowed for nearly a million people that would in the past not been able to get TPS now made legal and eligible for benefits.
My point is that both explanations offered by party line lawmakers are disingenuous and designed to keep us fighting each other and to keep us generally uninformed.