Sunday, June 10, 2007
An Afterthought about Fences
In my previous blog I seemed to be agreeing with those Americans who insist on "controlling the borders" before attempting to do anything about the millions of immigrants who have come without papers. The position of stopping them at the border sounds simple and logical. The problem is that it is very expensive and probably impractical. It may be one of those simple solutions to complex problems that are popular, logical, and wrong.
I think a more practical solution is to enforce the law regarding the hiring of an illegal alien. If this approach is taken, every worker should be required to present evidence to an employer that he or she is legally in the country and entitled to work. A Social Security card would seem to do the job.
Of course, this approach runs afoul of the dislike that Americans have for any requirement to carry identity cards with them. There will be the argument that it is easy to counterfeit a social security card. To forestall that problem, our government must create a social security care that is very hard to counterfeit and which can be verified quickly by a computer connection to a federal database of social security number holders. We believe that we have instant verification of the right to purchase a gun. Why not instant verification of the right to have a job?
I await comments.
I think a more practical solution is to enforce the law regarding the hiring of an illegal alien. If this approach is taken, every worker should be required to present evidence to an employer that he or she is legally in the country and entitled to work. A Social Security card would seem to do the job.
Of course, this approach runs afoul of the dislike that Americans have for any requirement to carry identity cards with them. There will be the argument that it is easy to counterfeit a social security card. To forestall that problem, our government must create a social security care that is very hard to counterfeit and which can be verified quickly by a computer connection to a federal database of social security number holders. We believe that we have instant verification of the right to purchase a gun. Why not instant verification of the right to have a job?
I await comments.
Labels: border control, employer sanction, social security card
