For America’s Security

The immigration system we have today makes little sense in terms of America’s security. With few legal options to come in through the system, many seek ways to go around it. The broken system has spawned a thriving market for smugglers and has generated chaos on the border. A seemingly random enforcement regime targets ordinary immigrant workers and families, diverting resources away from protecting against genuine threats. Millions of immigrants are unknown to the government. Unscrupulous employers have little fear of punishment for recruiting and exploiting undocumented workers and undermining their honest competitors.

Immigration reform will allow more immigrants to come with a visa, not with a smuggler. It will require undocumented immigrants to get right with the law, register with the government, and go through government background security checks. This screening process will separate ordinary immigrants who have come seeking opportunities to better their lives from those who may be exploiting opportunities a broken system provides to those who may be coming to do us harm.

Enforcement resources can then be trained on employers who flaunt labor laws and exploit undocumented immigrants, on smugglers who traffic in drugs and guns who are creating chaos on the border, and on violent individuals inside the country who may pose a threat to public safety.

By getting ordinary immigrants in line for citizenship and prioritizing enforcement actions to target genuine threats, immigration reform will be good for America’s security.