NEW IMMIGRATION POLICY - An open letter to the U.S. Congress

Dear Senators and Representatives,

I am writing to suggest an idea concerning immigration policy. Although I have been thinking about it for several weeks, only now am sitting down to put it into words in an organized fashion. It will obviously need to have all the details worked out. Nevertheless, here is the general idea:

As you know there are many thousands, some say millions, of people who are in this country illegally. I am not Hispanic or a son of Hispanics, but I know many of them through my association with a Hispanic church. Even though I love these people I cannot condone their breaking the law, because Christians are instructed in Romans chapter 17 to obey the governing authorities.

But here they are. They have found a way to sneak in to our country, and they have found jobs that support them and their families back home.
Here in South Florida, many men from Mexico and Central America work in lawn maintenance and other such jobs. Many women from these same countries work as house cleaners, etc. I'm not sure what they do in other parts of the country, but I think that they are contributing to the betterment of our society; yet it is against the law for them to be here.

Suppose there were a way for employers who want certain foreign workers to request that these people, listed by name, be given visas. Or maybe employers could simply request that a certain number of persons who want to do a certain job be given temporary visas in order to fill their employment needs.

Over a certain period of time illegals from various parts of our country, and I am referring mainly to those from “south of the border”, would return to the border, apply for a visa, and if their name and ID# appears on the list, one would be granted. If their name does not appear, but their occupation does, and it is requested by an employer in a geographical area that they prefer to work in, they could also be granted the visa.

Preference would be given to those who had already been here illegally and who had close ties to a certain area, such as through a job, or family, etc. In a sense this could be considered a form of amnesty, because those who were here illegally could be granted legal status without penalty. But it is not exactly the same as amnesty, because they would still have to leave the country and come in legally. Quotas would have to be waived to allow for this program.

After a certain period of time, say two or three years, this program would be over and the very strictest immigration laws which are now being discussed would be implemented. In the mean time, everything possible would be done to strengthen our borders and enforce our other policies.

Please consider this or something similar. It is a win-win for all.

Sincerely,

Wallace T. Scherer