Illegal immigration is a matter of great concern to 5th District citizens. It’s not that anyone is opposed to immigration. After all, we are a nation descended from immigrants. But many people are concerned that our national security is at risk with 12 million people in this country illegally and our national borders unsecured.

Immigration is an issue which is easy to demagogue for political purposes. Politicians make sweeping statements and broad promises, and talk tough for made-for-TV sound bites… but in the end, all that puffing and posturing changes nothing. What we need is not a plan that sounds good during the election cycle, but one that will actually work. We need an immigration plan that is both achievable and humane, in keeping with our national character.

My solution?

1. Stop the Hemorrhaging

Before dealing with those who are here illegally, we must prevent the problem from worsening. We must secure our borders. A variety of means will be necessary. A fence may be effective in some areas, but without increased border patrol and electronic surveillance, a fence will only stop cars and cattle, not people who really want to get through. And we must develop a policy which promotes coordination of efforts between immigration officials and state and local law enforcement.

Once our borders are secure, we must deal with those who are already here illegally. I believe the best way to achieve this is to provide an incentive for illegal immigrants to return home while simultaneously discouraging their primary reason for being here—employment. This will result in attrition of illegal immigration. Here are the basics:

2.  Incentives to Return Home

Allow illegal immigrants to register with the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services and voluntarily leave the country within a specified window of time. Those who register and return home voluntarily will be allowed to apply for legal re-entry into the U.S. Those who do not register and return home will be involuntarily deported, and will not be considered for re-entry. We must also reform and modernize our system for legal immigration. Without this step, illegal immigrants will likely gamble on remaining undetected in the U.S. rather than face a ten-year wait to return here legally.

3. Disincentives to Remain Here Illegally

We must strengthen and actually enforce laws against hiring illegal immigrants. We should also require proof of citizenship or worker status as part of the hiring process. And we must stop providing tax and social benefits to those who do not pay into the systems from which they are drawing.

I know this plan doesn’t have the flash of a “round ‘em up and throw ‘em out” sound bite. But mine is a campaign of substance over style. I’ll stick with a plan that will actually work, and leave all the political blather to the politicians.