Melvin Ladousier: We have strong immigration laws, they’re just enforced
Immigration laws in the United States are the most lenient in the the industrialized world. The problems with our system have been created by several factors acting in concert: the lack of funding to effectively run the system, causing excessively long processing times of applications; the exorbitant costs imposed upon applicants for entry and citizenship; the lax and selective enforcement of laws resulting from the inadequate funding for enforcement and the “sanctuaries.”
The laws are good. Politicians catering to the large ethnic segment of legal voters with relatives south of the border are the ones calling the system broken. At the same time, those politicians fail to either adequately fund the existing system or pass a new immigration law. Make the current immigration system function effectively with the current laws by adding manpower to process entry and citizenship applications expeditiously. Remove or significantly lower the cost to apply; secure the borders; deport non-citizens convicted of criminal activity.
The system is not broken; government operation of the system is the broken part.
Melvin Ladousier, Merced
This story was originally published January 30, 2017 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Melvin Ladousier: We have strong immigration laws, they’re just enforced."