I can definitely understand Ed Morrissey’s point in his post yesterday on the immigration issue in which he writes that it is his belief that the government is unable to process all these new immigrants:
For those who support the establishment of new Z- and Y- visa programs to settle the status of illegal immigrants, consider the scope of the management function this requires. The immigration compromise envisions a system that can process and manage a minimum of 12 million people who have never registered for services in the past, and one that can do so successfully almost immediately — as a matter of national security. However, the government’s track record on system management in this field looks decidedly poor, especially if you’ve been unfortunate enough to travel abroad recently
He then links to an article detailing the huge backlog created after the 9/11 travel rules went into effect, specifically that those traveling to and from Mexico, Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean must now have passports The government didn’t anticipate the huge amount of new work which would start almost immediately (how in the world could they not anticipate this?) and couldn’t handle the millions of new applications, at least in a timely manner.
Ed makes the case that this new immigration bill makes no preparations for the 12 million new applications which will be incoming within days of it’s enactment. Good point, but after reading this comment left by the White House staff on Ed’s blog I feel better about this aspect of the bill:
I can see how, in order to score a quick point, it would be tempting to equate the passport backlog with the issue of Z visas.
However, you make a false analogy.
Background checks are not a significant factor contributing to the current backlog in processing passport applications. Instead, the key reason for the delay is the non-automated and very labor-intensive process of verifying that the individual is indeed a U.S. citizen. Another major reason for the passport backlog is the time-consuming process for producing the passport itself, which requires an electronic chip, a machine readable strip, and other tamper-resistant features.
By contrast, adjudication of a Z visa application does not require verification of citizenship status because the individual acknowledges at the outset that he or she is illegal. And any delays due to production of the document, of course, are irrelevant to DHS’s ability to handle the background checks.
The background check at issue for the current undocumented is an automated process involving an electronically captured print that will be run through database checks.
Of the five components of the background check, four of them nearly always generate answers within 24 hours. The DHS Interagency Border Inspection System check is immediate as is the DHS immigration records check. The biometrics check in DHS’s IDENT is completed within 24 hours and so is the FBI biometrics. The current FBI fingerprint load is about 60,000 per day. Assuming checks had to be done for all 12 million over a six-month period, this adds another 67,000 name checks per day – well under FBI’s current capacity of up to 200,000 per day.
The only one of the five that sometimes takes longer than 24 hours is the FBI Name Check. 68 percent of names checks are returned within 48 hours and another 22 percent are returned within 60 days. Others may take significantly longer, but if the FBI name check is not completed within 24 hours, it will continue during the probationary period — and if any adverse information is found, the alien’s probationary status will be terminated, and the Z applicant will be deported with no chance of gaining a Z visa. No Z visas will be awarded until all appropriate background checks begun during the probationary period are completed to the satisfaction of the Homeland Security Secretary.
I completely understand that a huge amount of the passport backlog is due to the government verifying the person is actually a citizen. With the Z visa there is no need for that, they are already admitting they are not a citizen, but want to become one.
The checks they will make on the fingerprints and such also make sense. I never usually have to wait more then 30-45 minutes for a return on fingerprints from any person I have arrested, confirming that they are indeed the person they said they were. Lots of this kind of information gathering is indeed computerized nowadays.
The government can be inept, no doubt about that. But if we want that same government to handle the border security issue, and have faith that given the money they could do the job well, why cannot we believe they could handle this new Z visa influx?
Now don’t get me wrong. I do not want a bill which will give these new Z visa’s out UNTIL the border is secured with a wall and more Border Patrol, then and only then should the rest of the bill’s provisions be put through. Senator James Inhofe guest posted today at CQ and this passage I particularly agree with:
The inescapable fact is that this bill guarantees amnesty for 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants with no clear indication that the border will be secured once and for all. Until real progress is made in stepping up border security and preventing the flow of new illegal immigrants, the question of what to do about illegal immigrants already here is irrelevant. As long as the source of illegal immigration, a porous border left irresponsibly neglected, remains unaddressed, it is impossible to have a meaningful discussion about a path to citizenship for those already here.
If this is taken care of before, say some kind of benchmarks, then I would wholeheartedly agree with the Z visa aspect of the bill. More stringent enforcement of businesses that hire illegals and more stringent testing of new immigrants to ensure that they are assimilating are two more of my priorities. But something needs to be done, and doing nothing is getting us nowhere.
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Curt you’re getting soft in your old age 🙂
First “already admitting they are not a citizen, but want to become one.” There’s no indication that people with Z visas want to become citizens. There is a separate pathway in the bill for that. But as I learned in my larger study on assimilation, not all these folks want to be Americans (remember all those Mexican flags at protests?).
Second, the idea of paying back taxes, which President Bush and other repeated over and over again last year when this issue was discussed has been dropped entirely. I’ve looked at the entire section of Title VI covering Z visas and it’s not in there.
Third, the idea that new immigrants would learn English is also a farce. Z visa holders only have to show they have signed up or been put on a waiting list for a class to get their first renewal. Even later renewals offer little in the way of any enforceable provision.
And I agree with Ed’s point. Do federal workers have so little to do that they can drop everything and administer this massive program? If so, we should have fired them a long time ago.
If the open borders and amnesty crowd want this Z visa fine. But then I have to insist on REAL enforcement of every provision of the bill and total, verifiable border security FIRST!
Which is what I said =)
I also stated I wanted something to ensure assimilation, and actually did not bring up back taxes at all in my post.
Listen, I understand there are plenty of things wrong with this bill but with enough pressure it could change into something I would support. I am not one who does not understand the give and take of the real world. Negotiations require that those on one side give way to another side in return for something they want. There is nothing perfect in life and I am willing to allow babysteps to take place first before giant leaps.
But no baby steps on enforcement. Giant leap there and then the rest can follow.
As far your belief that the government couldn’t handle the Z visa’s I already listed the reasons why I think they could….but that is just one small issue in this whole package.
I realize you hadn’t brought up the taxes issue, but it is a big change from the previous pronouncements of the bill’s supporters.
And as I stated in my letter to Senator Grahamnesty I agree with you that there are many good points in this bill.
But I continue to see this problem of an unassimilated, self segregated uneducated underclass as a HUGE problem now and down the road. The Z visa, particularly because of it’s weak to non existent enforcement provisions, is the absolute worst part of this bill.
It looks like the fix is in for preventing any real amendments that would address these issues. The “clay pigeon” whereby the Senate overcomes the 60 vote threshold to move forward BEFORE amendments are voted on, and only then selected amendments are offered will either kill this bill altogether or leave us stuck with something that the House will have to tangle with.
Now, with both Senators in Georgia who previously supported the bill backing off I see it even less likely to pass.
Maybe then we can get back to focusing on border security and workplace enforcement FIRST!