Mercy Me

Today I had a good night out with an old friend. Actually he will be baby girl's Godfather when we have everything in place to get her baptized. He had a point about Mercy and said that it must be the last thing to go when you are seeking justice, and at the forefront of your quest for justice (essentially, that is paraphrased). He talked in particular about the early Church and how they prayed for the blessings and prosperity of their persecutors even as they were being thrown to the lions. The discussion then turned to immigration.

He managed to convince me that amnesty for the immigrants here is not necessarily a bad thing, and that deportation is not necessarily the answer to all things illegal immigration (not that I believed either extreme to begin with). I guess you can say that I am a pro-amnesty Conservative now, but prior to amnesty, you must answer the what next and how do we prevent this from happening again questions. I propose below a couple simple answers:

What next?
Have those who have come here illegally go through the same process those who have come here legally have had to. That would require them to fill out all the back ground checks, medical paperwork and other useless non-sense those who came here legally had to fill out. If they are healthy, have no criminal history and can support themselves without being a burden on the society (as all immigrants and sponsors have to promise) then they can say provided they pay all fees plus a 30% penalty. If they have any diseases, can not support themselves without public aid or have a criminal past, then they must go home, just as anyone trying to come here legally would be denied entry.

This new set of laws would provide for a couple of exceptions:
1. Asylum for those politically or religiously persecuted.
2. Those who have been here over 3 years (I had to promise the my wife would not be a burden on society (welfare recipient) for the first three years she lived here, it seems only fair that those who have not set down roots must go home).

In the case of an anchor baby under three years old, the baby would be able to return with full US citizenship upon reaching age 18. Prior to this age they are considered a minor, and since the parents are subject to another country's laws and not ours, they can not stay. Once the citizen has re-entered the US they may apply to bring the rest of their family here under existing laws and regulations.

How do we prevent this from happening again?
Secure the borders with a fence and back it up with the necessary personnel to ensure the US remains the US. Re-write existing laws so that it is easier to come here. After talking to someone who works for DHS my eyes were opened to the feelings of a lot in the industry. It seems, especially way up the chain of command, the attitude is that they do not care who is here, or how many come from x country. They just want to know who is here. In other words, drop the quota system. Allow for a new process that lets anyone who wants to come in to the country, provided they bring what is good about their culture with them, and leave what they are leaving behind.

This may not be an ideal solution for all, but it will solve some of the problems. You can not realistically deport everyone that is here illegally, but you can send home the bad eggs,and make sure no more get in. That will keep the US the US and not turn it into a Banana Republic.

As to what Mercy Me has to do with this, I guess that once again my eyes have been opened to the need for Mercy from someone who needs His Mercy...

Prayers,

Pisio