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President Bush has proposed what may be a sweeping measure to update, expand and reform the immigration policies of the United States. Then again, it may not be. The biggest problem with President Bush's proposal is that there aren't enough details to properly critique it.

President Bush is correct that immigrants have contributed much to this nation, and that this nation was built through immigration. Indeed, previous generations reacted to "new" waves of European immigrants the same way that some people are reacting to the current issue of illegal aliens—largely Mexican immigrants. The problems that must be addressed by any legislative action are those of illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States, preventing future illegal immigration, and providing a better system for processing legal immigrants and allowing for "guest workers".

There are currently millions of illegal aliens living in the United States. It is not practical to round all of them up and expel them, nor is it economically worthwhile. What may be a potential solution is to place immigrants who are currently here illegally into a system where they can earn legal status through a combination of future work and points for previous years of working in the United States. The time frame should be longer than those currently waiting for legal immigration but short enough to make the process better than trying to remain here illegally. President Bush's "guest worker" idea may be just such a solution, but the legislation to enable it has yet to be written.

I have always believed that on the whole, legal immigration is good for the country. Waves of immigrants from around the world have come to these shores seeking a better life, and for the most part they have found it. Whether it was immigrants seeking religious freedom in the 18th century or immigrants fleeing war and agricultural disasters in the 19th century or those who simply wanted a chance to live in the greatest country in the world in the 20th century, the people who have come here have made this country a better place for all of us. However, throughout our history people came here largely through legal immigration.

Illegal immigration is much more of a threat to national security in the post-9-11 world. Terrorists who previously were able to enter the country on student visas can turn to the groups smuggling illegal aliens into the country. A tighter border patrol system, coupled with better screening and cooperation from host nations, will greatly increase our security and diminish the threat of terrorists trying to infiltrate the country by exploiting our immigration system. Any new, stricter border policy would cost money, but in the end it is more cost effective than supporting millions of undocumented aliens, their children and their education and health care needs.

Illegal immigration is a problem not just because of national security concerns, but also because it undermines the infrastructure of our nation. Illegal immigrants place a great strain on our social services, especially medical care. The policy of granting citizenship to anyone born within our borders compounds the problem. We now have millions of children due all the rights and services granted to citizens whose parents are illegal aliens. Illegal aliens are not paying for schools, or health insurance, or just about any other costly aspect of raising children. There is no way that illegal aliens are of net economic benefit to the United States under the current system. Only a system where so-called "guest workers" would start paying taxes can reverse this trend.

Moreover, the problem with illegal aliens is not just economic but also legal. Illegal immigrants live outside of our laws and thus outside of our legal system. They have nowhere to go when they are victims of crime and similarly, illegal aliens do not participate in the usual responsibilities of society such as driving with a license and insurance. Allowing illegal aliens to get driver's licenses and insurance would not solve the problem because as a group, illegal aliens mostly work migrant and seasonal jobs. As they move from place to place seeking work, they would have to get new licenses and new insurance. Few, if any, would go through the bother of obtaining a new license as they moved from state to state and few insurance companies would want to insure someone who was always moving every few months. Instead of treating a symptom of illegal immigration—failure to follow the laws of our society—we should address the source of the problem: a broken immigration system.

In addition to discouraging illegal immigration, reforms must address illegal aliens who are currently working in the United States. Most of the illegal immigrants are here working jobs, so it would be of enormous benefit to society to make these workers "legitimate", not just for the benefit of the government (which would start receiving more in tax dollars) but to the immigrants themselves, who would enjoy the protection of our legal system and could start working towards legal residency. The biggest problem remains how to integrate illegal aliens without rewarding their illegal behavior. Improvements to the current immigration system should be twofold. First we need to plug the holes in our current system that allow illegal aliens such easy access to the United States. This, coupled with a guest worker type program for existing illegal aliens will greatly improve the economic problems associated with illegal immigration. However, the program must be structured so that illegal aliens are not favored over people in the legal immigration system. Any accommodations for guest workers should come after legal immigrants have been accommodated.

We also need to rethink the concepts behind immigration and overhaul the system for allowing people into the country. President Bush made the comment that people with an offer of a job (and after Americans have been given the chance to fill those jobs) should be allowed into the country. To an extent, I agree. However, I would add more conditions to this such as the workers must be under the age of 30 so that their Social Security and other program costs are fully met by the workers and only children of United States citizens will be granted automatic citizenship. Children born of guest workers must undergo the same naturalization process as other resident aliens. Short-term guests such as students and workers here for less than a year who choose to have children should be returned to their host countries. We can not become the day-care center of the world. Finally, guests of the United States who wish to have the privileges offered here, such as driving a car, must also honor the responsibilities associated with those privileges, such as obtaining a valid license (that clearly states their guest status and length of time allowed in the country) and insurance.

As can be seen, this is a very complex issue. Matters of security need to be addressed, the current system needs overhauled to better process legal immigrants and provide a mechanism for short-term guest workers to be allowed into the country and the problem of people here illegally needs to be addressed. A problem this complex is usually not met well through legislation alone. Care must be taken not to make the problem worse, or to encourage more illegal immigration. Last, but not least, people who have broken the law will need to earn their citizenship.

President Bush is correct that immigrants have contributed much to this nation, and that this nation was built through immigration.

I have always believed that on the whole, legal immigration is good for the country.

Illegal immigration is a problem not just because of national security concerns, but also because it undermines the infrastructure of our nation

We also need to rethink the concepts behind immigration and overhaul the system for allowing people into the country.