A statute of limitations on unlawful entry would humanely address illegal immigration

WASHINGTON, DC - A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate by Ted Kennedy and John McCain offers a plan for dealing with the nation's illegal immigration problem. Undocumented immigrants would be able to pay a fine, receive a three-year work visa, renewable once, and then, in McCain's words, "get in the back of the line for a green card and eventually become citizens." Foreigners could enter as temporary guest-workers and then apply for permanent residency.

The approach has merit: Giving visa-holders the opportunity to stay means that today's guest workers won't become tomorrow's illegal workers. But the bill sets a cap on the annual number of temporary-work visas at 400,000. With an estimated eight to 10 million undocumented immigrants now in the country, not to mention continued emigration pressures from Mexico, Central America and Asia, undocumented immigration will probably continue.


Even if Congress raised the ceiling on annual legal immigration, demand from some areas would probably continue to exceed the supply of legal admissions. Illegal immigration is a hard problem to solve because it involves myriad issues that are difficult to reconcile: domestic and international politics, competing economic interests, the need to prosecute lawbreakers, and the desire to be humane. But we often overlook simple solutions that have historical and legal precedent. We used to have one policy that is worth revisiting: a time limit -- a statute of limitations -- on prosecuting unauthorized presence.

Source: The Washington Post
Photo: Associated Press