Amnesty Bill Passes Senate

The U.S. Senate passed its version of the Illegal Immigrant Amnesty and Reward program. I do not have much hope that the most odious parts of this bill get culled in conference with the House of Representatives. I have probably bitched about this enough times, but it merits repetition on what an immigration 'reform' package should look like, in order:

1. Border security first. All reasonable efforts must be made to secure the borders to prevent the massive influx of illegals into the U.S. This is a critical national security issue. This should materially increase the difficulty of illegal entry, turning it from a torrent to a drip.
2. Real enforcement on employers who hire illegals. Sanctions should be real, and enforcement should be vigorous.
3. Start deporting illegals caught by authorities. No more 'catch and release' - if in the course of normal policing, law enforcement officials have in their possession an illegal, they should be deported immediately - no questions asked. Once a significant percentage of the illegals already here have their employment opportunities reduced and the threat of deportation significantly increased - many will 'self-deport'.
4. No more federal and state benefits for illegals - no discounted tuition, no social security, no legal preferences, no legal standing - period. This should be a no-brainer.
5. Reform the INS - operations should be streamlined. There is no reason that it should take years to process some visa or naturalization applications. There should also be consistency in the application of immigration law, no the current situation where any border guard has their own interpretation of the law. There should be a clear cut set of rules of what type people should be admitted, and a process to timely process them.
6. An open debate on what kind of immigration policy should the country have. Should the focus be economic or humanitarian, with an emphasis on the long-term impact. The current bill would bring in a large influx of permanent residents who are uneducated, unassimiliated, low-skill and would be a large burden on government resources long-term.

Otherwise, anything else is a sham. The current bill would be a mess because of all the issues mentioned above. It gives preferences to a class of people who are breaking the law at the expense of those who follow it. That is inherently wrong and unjust.