Colo Gov. John Hickenlooper 12 Million Points Short On Immigration
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper announced his plan for comprehensive immigration reform recently. Unfortunately, his 4 point plan is 12 million points short of a solution for undocumented immigrants.
Hickenlooper’s plan caught the immigrant community by surprise. The newly elected Democratic governor relied upon supporters of the undocumented community to win election. However, when Hickenlooper revealed his plan on the Mike Rosen radio show, he did not mention a solution for the 12 million undocumented workers in the US.
The Governor’s plan relies on four key points:
Secure the border;
an ID system “that works”, could that be driver's licenses?;
a guest worker system;
consequences for businesses that break the law by hiring undocumented workers.
In 2009, Senator Luis Gutierrez (D-Il) outlined a three point plan designed to provide real solutions to the complicated problem of immigration reform. First, the Gutierrez legislation titled CIR ASAP, Comprehensive Immigration Reform As Soon As Possible, is mostly a border security bill. It adds a league of new border agents and beefs up the nation’s sea ports, one of the greatest weaknesses in our current system.
Second, Sen. Gutierrez proposed a guest worker program to provide for the labor needs of the aging baby boomers. It is expected the demands for everything from lawn care to health care will increase as boomers depend upon the next generation during their golden years. The guest worker program would allow people to walk across the border instead of risk their lives crossing the desert. It would also provide future workers a means for them to return home, which many workers want to do.
Third, CIR provides for a solution for the 12 million undocumented immigrants and their families. Considering each undocumented immigrant likely has an average of four documented and US citizen family members, the law would affect 40 million people directly. CIR integrates long term undocumented workers into society to discourage the underground economy and to benefit their citizen families . The process would take years and add 3 billion to the treasury. CIR also included the Dream Act which would have propped up college budgets and given children of undocumented youth a path out of poverty,
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