WEST COAST
Opinion by:
E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author:
In
Search of Robin
Instead of building walls and putting up barriers it's time we open the gates of opportunity. I have watched with interest as global troubles everywhere from Afghanistan to Guatemala have increased the number of refugees and immigrants trying to gain entrance into the United States.
At the same time, I have been amazed at the
large number of jobs that are currently available in the American economy that
are going unfilled.
It seems to me, we may be staring the solution
to our inability to fill open jobs right in the face and not fully recognizing
it.
If all of these jobs are available, and many
if not most of these immigrants are looking to enter the US in search of a
better life and opportunity, then are we missing the opportunity to marry these
two sets of circumstances together?
Maybe it's time to rethink our approach to
immigration both from overseas and at the southern US border.
Let's start down South at the border.
Let's begin by giving everyone over 18 years
of age a three-year work visa with an automatic 3-year renewal barring any
serious law enforcement infractions.
Let's include with that three-year visa, work
training, English training, and training to help reach full citizenship.
This package would include an absolute
guarantee of U.S. citizenship if the recipient of the work visa meets these
criteria:
Six years of continued employment in US
workforce.
No criminal activity.
Fluid in English
A simple non complicated 10 or 20 question
test along with a statement of loyalty to the United States of America would
result in full US citizenship for the individual, his or her spouse, and their
children.
US domestic employers, would employ these
individuals on their work visa, reporting quarterly on the status of all their
work visa employees. The same employers would be responsible for providing
training for the workforce, English language training,
Let's look, for example, at the number of
refugees who are available and looking for entry into the United States of
America.
A similar program to the one above would be
established for European immigrants who would include in addition, full vetting
of any political activity and deep background checks.
These Afghanistan refugees and immigrants
would be granted the same three-year work visa with an automatic 3-year
extension if there is no criminal activity, and a guaranteed simplified path to
citizenship at the end of that sixth year, for the individual, their spouse and
their immediate children.
It just seems foolish to me to be turning
people away from our shores and from our borders who are willing to come to the
United States and work. If participants in this program failed to seek employment,
they should be deported. If applicants for this program failed to meet the
study requirements, they should be deported following due process.
It's time to quit looking at the borders and
the immigrants who want to come here as a threat, and start looking at them as
an asset that we can bring into our workforce, which will improve not only our
economy but also our society.
Not a lot of people will agree with this approach;
they think the United States is for people that are special. Well, here's a new
way of looking at it.
These people are special, at least most of
them. They are fleeing tyranny, political oppression, totalitarian governments,
devastated economies, and all most of them are asking for is an opportunity to
work and participate in an economy and a society that will allow them to raise
their children educate them and give them a better life then they have fled
from.
Will there be those that fail? There certainly
will.
But I suspect, if given the chance, and the
training, and the support, many of these people will go on to be highly
successful themselves and raise children who will be even better educated and
more successful than they are.
It's time we take a proactive look at
immigration and what it can do for us rather than focusing on what it might do
to us.
If you agree with this idea or would at least
like to see it explored a bit more, repost on social media and like it so that all
your friends can have an opportunity to weigh in.
It's time we rekindle the fire under the
melting pot and turn the US into something even more special than the last few
centuries.
See
Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.
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