At a post-Shabat gathering of a bunch of ex-pat Israelis the guy next to me - a good friend - asked what I would do about the illegal immigrants to the U.S.
Simple, I said, throw them out.
What? Throw them out? Where's your Jewish mercy?
What I should have done is give him the following example which I believe to be accurate.
Let's say the U.S. has an immigration quota for Israel of 10 Israelis-a-year.
We'll use small number for convenience - and that I can manage.
There are 100 Israelis waiting to immigrate; 100 Israelis doing it according to the law.
Now, there are 20 Israelis in the U.S. illegally. They came on tourist visas and "disappeared." They are productive. They are working and getting paid - under the table so the IRS knows nothing of them - they are buying things (sadly, most of which are "Made in China") and spending much of what they make where they make it. They have managed, by slight-of-hand, to integrate into the community; kids in schools, driver's license, etc. No Social Security. Since the Israeli requires a residence, he or she is paying property taxes (directly or as part of the rent) to support local services: library, hospital, emergency services, etc.).
OK.
POTUS (President Of The United States) declares that all illegal aliens are henceforth LEGAL aliens and they are on a "fast track" to citizenship. For this tirade, that means 20 illegally-in-the-U.S. Israelis now are legal.
By the way, this amnesty business is done by presidents of both parties, a trend started by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1986.
Remember that the U.S. - in our demonstration - allows 10 Israelis-per-year to enter legally to become U.S. citizens.
The amnesty just used up two years of Israeli immigration.
Remember the Israelis in the line at positions 91 through 100?
They expected to be considered for immigration in 10 years, assuming they live that long.
NOW they need to wait two EXTRA years for a total of 12 years.
MEANWHILE, back on the shores of America, more Israelis are sneaking in. Overstayed visitor visas, overstayed student visas, overstayed any visa. Aside from overstaying the visa, the only laws that may have been broken are the prohibition to work and tax evasion. They expect that another president will grant yet another amnesty and our hopeful at the end of the line can expect to reach these shores in time to be buried here - maybe.
As my friend pointed out, the government - and I heartily agree - should go after the employers
.
But the fact remains: the illegal immigrants - sorry, "undocumented aliens" - ARE here illegally, they ARE breaking the law, and in breaking the law they risk both deportation and a refusal by the U.S. government to issue them a new visa for "n" years.
I'll concede that the immigration laws and quotas need to be revisited. When the quotas were established many of the countries whose citizens want to come to the U.S. didn't exist.
The U.S. rewarded Al Capone with a prison sentence for his crimes - he was caught for tax evasion.
The U.S. government wants to reward secret revealer Edward Snowdon with a lifetime of free room and board, with medical care; the only "catch" is that his freedom will be forfeit.
Why, then, should the U.S. government reward people who committed a crime by entering, or remaining, in the U.S. illegally? (Never mind tax evasion.)
Does the U.S. need the foreign workers?
Yes, and no.
Americans - like modern Israelis - are "too good" to do "stoop labor" and nasty jobs. Latinos are allowed into the country on work visas to work farms and to raise our children. In Israel, Filipinos are allowed into the country to care for the elderly and ill. (And Israel, following the U.S. lead, gave citizenship to many of these people who managed to give birth there.) Arabs from occupied Israel (the so-called West Bank) are allowed in to perform the work Latinos do in the U.S.
Do we really need Israelis as local kashrut supervisors, hazenim, teachers, or even rabbis? Don't we have enough American Jews with the knowledge to overwhelm the job market? (Granted there are no Sefardi yeshivot so importing Sefardi educators might be in order.)
My friend accuses me of lacking "Jewish mercy." The "undocumented immigrant" is only trying to make a buck, he says.
But my friend sees only the person already in this country. He fails to see the person at the end of the line, trying to LEGALLY enter this nation so he, too, can make a buck.
Level the playing field. Send the illegal immigrate out - I don't care where; let the illegal decide - anyplace that will take him and by any means of transportation for which he can buy a ticket.
If the illegal cannot afford to leave, let him be a "guest" of the federal prison system to earn his transportation to "wherever." (If he had a permanent employer, make the employer pay for the illegal's stay in the lock-up.)
It is NOT a lack of "Jewish mercy" to toss out the illegals; it is an act of mercy to give the guy at the end of the queue a chance to realize his dream - legally.
yohanon.glenn at gmail.com
