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Aldridge Kevin Aldridge(Photo: Kareem Elgazzar)

Opinion Editor Kevin S. Aldridge can be reached at kaldridge@enquirer.com.Twitter: @Kevaldrid.

How can two rights make a wrong? The answer is easy when you examine Americas broken immigration system.

Look no further than the deportation case of Fairfield resident Maribel Trujillo-Diaz, an undocumented immigrant and mother of four, for proof. There are those who say Trujillo-Diaz broke the law by entering the country illegally 15 years ago, and she should be sent back to her native Mexico. Meanwhile, others argue the United States government shouldnt be tearing families apart. Compassionate alternatives to deportation should have been explored for a woman, who by all accounts, was an asset to her community.

The truth is both sides are right. We are both a nation of laws and of compassion. But without reforming our immigration system and laws, we will continue to come up with the wrong outcome in cases like Trujillo-Diazs no matter what we do.

When politics and faith conflict, politics must yield

Americans have to start putting more pressure on our elected officials to take meaningful action on immigration reform. Build that wall is a great campaign catchphrase, but it wont stop those thirsting for a better life or fleeing Mexican drug cartels from finding more creative ways across the border. And for fans of mass deportations, good luck rounding up the millions of undocumented immigrants already entrenched in neighborhoods throughout the U.S.

What we need in America today is immigration reform that embraces the reality of the conditions on the ground. Reform that starts with addressing the way things are, not how we wish they were. Some have argued there can be no true reform until current immigration laws are obeyed first. But that stance only doom us to spin on this merry-go-round of dysfunction in perpetuity.

Nothing unfair, unjust or immoral about Trujillo Diaz deportation

America needs a reset.

That reset has to begin with the acknowledgment that everyone wont be happy or satisfied with the end result. Some might even feel cheated. But the reality is theres no good way out of this mess that doesnt harm someone in some way.

The first step should be to bring undocumented immigrants out of the shadows by offering amnesty (not citizenship) to anyone who registers with ICE by a government-specified deadline. These immigrants would not be deported so long as they were employed and had no criminal record. ICE could assign them IDs, immigrant registration numbers and work VISAs, all of which would need to be renewed yearly.

These undocumented immigrants would pay a fee (similar to a drivers license) to cover the material and administrative costs. And they would have to report to ICE officials at least once or twice a year and stay employed to maintain their amnesty status. Failure to do so would result in deportation.

This would allow the federal government to keep better tabs on who is in the country, weed out criminals and potentially collect millions in tax dollars from these workers. This new system could also create hundreds of new government jobs paid for through the fees collected annually from these immigrants.

A path to citizenship could even be established for those who work consistently and stay out of trouble. Some might argue this would be unfair to immigrants who try to enter the U.S. legally. To those people, I would say it is no more unfair than what is already happening.

Letters: Trujillo-Diaz is an asset, not a danger to US

To offset those feelings, our government needs to speed up the process for those waiting patiently to enter the U.S. Theres no reason why an immigrant should have to wait a decade or more to enter our country.

Immigrants add to the fabric of our communities. They work hard and are more likely to start businesses, therefore creating rather than taking American jobs.

We can all agree, no one wants the bad hombres in our country. Trujillo-Diaz was not a bad hombre. But flawed U.S. immigration policy does not make a distinction between a bad hombre and a mother who is part of a beloved community.

Thats a shame, and the loss is ours.

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More:
America needs a reset on its immigration policy - Cincinnati.com

Supporters and opponents of increased immigration have something in common: President Trump is making them nervous.

Pro-immigration reform advocates who want to see a pathway to legal status for undocumented workers say they are horrified by the White House's policies.

They argue that Trump is taking a more aggressive approach to deportation that risks breaking up families and that is raising fears within immigrant communities.

Critics of increased immigration who cheered Trump during last year's campaign, on the other hand, are nervous that Trump is failing to keep his promises.

Breitbart, the far-right news site once led by White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon, called Hassett pro-immigration, pro-outsourcing, and said his confirmation will be a win for the corporatist, business-first faction in Trumps White House.

Other appointments made by Trump have left the other side of the immigration debate fuming.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement hired Jon Feere of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) as an adviser to Acting Director Thomas D. Homan, and Customs and Border Protection hired JulieKirchner of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) as an adviser to Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan.

CIS and FAIR are advocacy groups for reduced immigration.

Instead of offering workable solutions to our nations outdated immigration system President Trump, Attorney General Sessions and their anti-immigrant advisors, Jon Feere and Julie Kirchner, only offer blunt force, Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said in a statement criticizing the hires.

Anti-immigration groups say that despite some reservations, Trump has generally been a step in the right direction particularly from the policies of President Obama.

Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for FAIR, said Trump and Attorney General Jeff SessionsJeff SessionsWhy black and Latino communities must join forces in resisting Trump Sweeping change at DOJ under Sessions Ari Fleischer: Press biased, 'particularly on social issues' MORE have sent a clear indication that they're serious about enforcing immigration laws.

Mehlman also downplayed the importance of Hassletts appointment.

He's got a lot of other people who have advisory positions, cabinet positions, who believe illegal immigration or mass immigration is harmful to a lot of people in this country, he said. I'm not sure that having one person in there with a dissenting opinion is going to change things all that much.

But there is frustration on the right because of the lack of success Trump has had in changing U.S. immigration laws.

We would like to see certainly more in terms of legislation. Most of what has been done to this point is through some form of executive action, but that can only go so far and won't outlast the administration, Mehlman said.

Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA, an organization that promotes reduced immigration levels, said he has some real praise for Trump's immigration policy. But Beck said focus on the wall has detracted from E-Verify, an existing program that requires employers to check new hires against a federal database to determine whether they can legally work in the United States.

The administration is not putting out any signals that I can see about E-Verify. And the indications are that the majority of new illegal immigrants in this country are visa overstayers, so it has nothing to do with the border, Beck said.

E-Verify is currently only mandatory for bigger companies and government agencies, but proponents of making the program mandatory for every hire say it could take away the top incentive to come to the country illegally.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to do away with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which gives undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children a work permit and temporary protection from deportation.

Trump has somewhat softened his stance on the Obama-era program since the election, allowing it to remain on the books.

Pro-immigrant groups say Trump continues to target immigrant communities.

They say that DACA could be wiped out any day, and that the personal information given to the government by applicants to the program could be used to find and deport them.

Brent Wilkes, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, the country's oldest Hispanic civil rights organization, was unsparing in his criticism of Trump.

He's going out of his way to do what's not in the country's interest but what appeals to white nationalists on immigration, he said.

It seems he's declared open season on immigrants. It's deeply concerning, very troubling and unfortunately doesn't take into account the effect on real people.

Wilkes does express optimism over the fact that DACA has survived, something disappointing to anti-immigration groups. They say they will put pressure on Trump to end the program.

We have gone to our members to tell the administration they're very disappointed on the broken promise on DACA, said Beck.

Mehlman and Beck both said they were being patient with the new administration.

We're still waiting to see how things emerge. He has made reasonable efforts through his use of power as president to move things along, Mehlman said.

Overall, I'd say I'd give the administration a B on immigration, said Beck.

Read this article:
Trump frays nerves on both sides of immigration fight - The Hill

Back in 2013, during the discussions to approve an immigration reform, the Senate proposed to assign the amount of $46 billion to complete 700 hundred miles more and increase that number of agents at the border of Mexico to 40,000. Today, the balance of the miles to be completed remains 1,486. It is obvious here that the money needed to complete the whole wall would be much more than the actual estimates of $12 billion, $21 billion and $30 billion.

It has been estimated that 65 to 70 percent (7.1 to 7.7 million) of the 11 million illegal/undocumented people in the country did not enter illegally, but rather overstayed their visas. Some experts also estimate that the cost to deport all these people would be $6 billion or more, plus the impact to the local economy and the bank industry: about 3 million of them own their homes and, of course, who will keep paying their mortgages (?). Not to mention, the tremendous cost of the private detention centers to keep them until their deportation.

Finally, no 11, 20 or 30 million of the illegal/undocumented people weren't here if they don't have a job. Throughout years and years of problems with the illegal immigration, no government has done enough to stop the illegal hiring of illegal/undocumented people by some of our employers. The Washington Post pointed out during the administration of George W. Bush Jr., that 6 million businesses that employ more than 7 million illegal foreign workers. Yes, they needs the cheap labor in order for them to compete with the rest of the world, but they better do it the legal way and not at the expenses of the American taxpayers.

Jose Gonzalez

Brodheadsville

The rest is here:
Letter:Taxpays should not pay for immigration reform - Pocono Record

SUNNYSIDE - Nearly 150 people turned out Thursday evening to hear from U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse on issues ranging from immigration to dairy regulations to President Donald Trump's taxes.

It was the second of three semi-public events Newhouse scheduled to hear constituents opinions for the first time since President Donald Trump took office.

The turnout was the largest Newhouse says he's seen at such an event.

Questions from the audience, which was restricted to people who could prove they lived in Newhouse's Fourth Congressional District, covered a variety of topics including Trumps tax returns and how Republican Newhouse has been working across the aisle. But the most contentious issues focused on immigration reform and environmental regulations for dairies.

When asked how he is working for immigration reform, Newhouse pointed to his co-sponsorship of the Bridge Act, which temporarily bars deportation of people brought to the country illegally as children while Congress crafts a new immigration plan.

But that wasnt enough for many at the meeting.

They wanted to know how Newhouse was going to create immigration reform for all the nations undocumented residents.

He didnt have a specific answer.

If I could be a part of a solution for immigration I would feel comfortable coming back to Sunnyside, he said. When Newhouse said he doesn't believe a wall stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean will be built, he got warmer response.

Some were unhappy with Newhouses stance on regulating dairies, specifically his bill that would prevent manure from being regulated under federal solid waste regulations. The measure has farmers hopeful and environmentalists concerned.

Newhouse contends a 2015 federal court ruling that several Yakima Valley dairies violated solid waste regulations for managing manure misinterpreted the regulations contained in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

Critics argue that allows dairies to over saturate the ground with manure as fertilizer and causes harmful nitrates to leak into the groundwater.

But Newhouse contends his bill simply clarifies that Congress never meant for dairies to be included in the RCRA and that residents would still have safe drinking water.

Some in the audience criticized Newhouse for using pretty words, but not taking any real action on immigration reform, Trumps acts of war in Syria, internet privacy and a host of other issues.

Newhouse said he'd help write a bill making it mandatory for a president to release his tax returns.

Newhouse is one of only a handful of U.S. Congress members from Washington state to host listening sessions or town halls during this recess.

While many residents were happy to see him in person they still had to show proof of residency to get in to the event.

According to a news release from Newhouses office, that was because of limited seating. The Sunnyside High School Auditorium where the session was took place seats about 700.

Newhouse will host a final listening session from 6 to 7 p.m. in Okanogan County on April 20 before Congress is back in session April 25.

More here:
Immigration reform, dairies two major issues U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse discussed with residents - Yakima Herald-Republic

Around the U.S. and especially in South Florida immigration is a hot-button issue under the Trump administration. But a new book by Ali Noorani, executive director of the nonprofit National Immigration Forum in Washington D.C., casts the subject in a more hopeful light.

During the past decade, Noorani, the U.S.-born son of Pakistani immigrants, has learned something that Donald Trumps presidential victory last year confirmed:

Immigration reform will take more than changing politics. It requires changing culture meaning, the prevailing fear and anger regarding immigration and Americas dramatically changing demographics.

What we as folks who care about immigrants and immigration reform did is that we ignored the broad swath of Americans who are struggling with these cultural changes," says Noorani. "And, quite frankly, while we were having a political debate, the rest of the country was having a cultural debate.

As a result, Noorani traveled the country to better understand those anxieties and how Americans are resolving them. The result is There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration (Prometheus Books, $25).

What I took away is a sense of hope," says Noorani, "that those of who identify as politically liberal and conservatives may have a different language about immigrants and immigration, but they want to get to the same goal.

Noorani will present "There Goes the Neighborhood" tonight at 7:30 at Books and Books in Coral Gables.

Excerpt from:
Want Immigration Reform? Then Face The Immigration Culture - WLRN