My parents immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines in the late 1960's.  I was fortunate to have been born here in the U.S.  I was raised here in the U.S.  As an immigration attorney, I see first hand the anguish of those striving for legalization.  Putting aside, for the time being, the economic or national security issues, there are also human stories behind the immigration debate. 

With the recent death of Ted Kennedy, I'm drawn even more to the human effects of immigration.  My family is a direct beneficiary of Ted Kennedy's immigration leadership.  Please read this article courtesy of Long Island Wins. 

http://www.longislandwins.com/blog/in_the_news/if_your_family_came_here_after.php

Where would I be, were it not for Ted Kennedy?  Where would my parents be? Why did a wealthy, privileged, and powerful person like Ted Kennedy care about Asian and African immigration into the U.S.?  Seriously, can we really say that even if Ted Kennedy was never born, that the U.S. would have just figured it out and allowed non-white immigration into the U.S. anyway? 

It should make you think.  It makes me think.  Thank you Ted Kennedy.

There is no question that convicted felons return after deportation.  See:  http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/08/16/20090816borderreturns.html.  This simple fact shows is that it is too easy to cross the U.S. border illegally.  However, I further submit that what this fact also shows is that it is too difficult to cross the border legally.  If you remove the necessity of crossing illegally, far fewer people will do so, and those that do try to cross illegally, would be much easier to spot.  You remove the necessity of crossing illegally if you provide a realistic way to legally immigrate into the U.S.

The solution posited by the anti-reform faction is to build a fence or to further limit or even stop immigration.  As the proliferation of drug tunnels conclusively show, however, a fence will only create more jobs and opportunities in the "hole-digging" business.  While the border fence may slow the migration of various non-human species.  See:  http://bit.ly/17D6Gs, it will not slow human migration.

Insofar as limiting legal immigration is concerned, convicted criminals are not re-entering the United States because they are allowed to come through via legal immigration.  They are SNEAKING across the border.  How do they get away with it? Because there are so many others, who have no legal way of entering, no queue to line up in.  For them, it is a life or death issue.  Stay in your home country and starve and watch your children die or cross a vast desert (even at great risk to your life) for a chance to make some kind of living. Not really a difficult choice.

President Bush recognized the need to to take the pressure off the border by implementing a method that would allow (yes, INCREASE) legal immigration so that the number of people sneaking across would be lessened.  Nobody would sneak across the border if they can realistically and legally cross the border.  If the number of those crossing illegally were to diminish, it would be easier for Customs and Border Protection to detect and stop those few who still seek to violate our border.  So, the anti-immigration proposal of even further limiting immigration (some would like to stop it altogether), would have the undesired effect of increasing the number of illegal crossers which would increase the chances that criminals will be able to get through (since Border Patrol would be focused on the hordes of others trying to cross). 

Their "solutions" have not been adequately thought through.  It is clear that immigration reform (with both benefits and enforcement components) is the only way to responsibly address the mess that is U.S. Immigration Policy.  I suspect that the immigration debate will become even hotter within the next few months (particularly around Labor Day).  Please feel free to reply to me @dballecer on Twitter.  I'd love to hear your views.

Well, I'm honored to have been chosen as the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Advocacy Liaison for the Arizona Chapter.  Truth be told, I'm not sure whether there were any other applicants, however, be that as it may, it is an honor nevertheless.  Specifically, my job description will be as follows:

 As a member of the Team, the liaisons join regular conference calls to receive legislative updates and discuss opportunities for chapter engagement in national advocacy strategies. They are also charged with disseminating pertinent legislative updates, promoting advocacy to their chapters, and reporting back to AILA National about relevant state and local politics and opportunities. The liaison is also involved in National Day of Action preparations by either coordinating the Chapter’s lobby team or by delegating that responsibility to another member of the Chapter.

Many have assumed that the change in administration would make reform a cakewalk.  They would be wrong.  We underestimated the grassroots organization skills of the anti-reform folks.  We should not make the same mistake again.  We must join together and organize our efforts to bring about the change that will help our country move forward instead of being satisfied with the system as it is now.

Immigration law, as it stands now, is broken.  Our current policy of deporting as many people as possible has not made a dent in the undocumented population, nor has it served to be an employment boon for those legally here.  In fact, the closures of businesses that cater to Latinos, in particular, has itself created further unemployment among US Citizens.  The closure of Food City here in Arizona immediately comes to mind.  That is only one example.  Furthermore,  the law now breaks apart families, leaves children without parents, and creates a shadow population numbering in the millions. Who are they?  Where are they? What are they doing?

The immigration system does not provide us with security, economic or otherwise.  It needs to be changed.  It must be changed.  Follow me @dballecer on Twitter and let's make it happen.

For an interesting article about the "busy schedules" of Congress vis-a-vis Immigration Reform see the following article:

http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2009/06/25/20090625congress0625.html.

Last I checked, there were 435 Representatives and 100 Senators.   Between them, they probably have thousands of legislative aides.  They have, allegedly, three legislative priorities: 1.  Health Care Reform, 2. Climate Change, and Immigration Reform (with Sotomayor's confirmation thrown in the mix (of course, this last item is only for the Senate)).  That's a lot to do, but there appears to be a lot of people to spread that work around, and, besides, that's why they're paid the big bucks, right?

While, admittedly, that appears to be a full plate, well, I guess no sympathy comes from me.  We didn't just elect these people to lounge around in golf clubs schmoozing with lobbyists and campaign donors.  We elected them to do the supremely difficult job of governing our vast and complicated country.  It's a hard job.  Guess what?  They knew, or should have known, that coming in.  If they have to work long days and nights until their Christmas break (what non-teacher adult gets Christmas break anyway?), then so be it.  By the way, the House apparently adjourns for their "Christmas Break" on October 30. Yeah, I know.  What?

In the meantime, our border is insecure.  Millions of immigrants are in the U.S. unlawfully.  Families are being torn apart.  Children are being raised in far less than optimal circumstances (either here in the U.S. or elsewhere).  The steady stream of deportees are being replaced in this country with some of those same deportees, as well as new undocumented immigrants.  Detention facilities are filling up, at an alarming rate, with both criminal and non-criminal detainees.  Here's a news flash:  it's not getting better.  This country's immigration system is hurting this country.

I appreciate Obama including immigration as a top three priority, but where is it said that three action items for one year is too much?  Has the law of diminished expectations really brought us down this low?  Today, June 25, 2009, Obama will meet Congressmen and women at the White House to discuss Immigration Reform.  Sen. Schumer of New York already has a basic outline of a plan in mind.  The Senate Majority Leader, Reid, believes he has the votes in the Senate to pass Immigration Reform right now.

Come on Government.  Surprise us for once and show us that the Government can take on a controversial topic and do the right thing for America instead of constantly kowtowing to a poll (which, incidentally, appear to suggest that the majority of Americans favor an immigration reform package which includes a legalization pathway).  

Stop hiding behind the excuse of "Oh, we're so busy" and get to work! 

Dan Ballecer (@dballecer on Twitter).