European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 25, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                May 2007 stars and stripes Mideast edition Page 13 opinion take a run at producing a Law that works even before congressional backers of a i Migra Tio Reform proposal had finished sharing their Rabid critics began foaming at the As the Senate plunges into the expect the acrimony to such behaviour causes me to worry about the future of this coun especially its ability to make necessary for too Ameri cans have resided in a House divided Over Ille Gal for too the immigration situation de spite its worsening year after year has eluded a for too those caught in the Middle people who take an unlawful path to secure a better life have suffered a second class for too employers of illegal Immi Grants have shamelessly reaped the Bene fits of their shadowy work and for too Washington has talked about Security while winking at the Borders i if our current political Lead ers fail to find common ground on immigration Reform in then we should look for new faces in although i do not agree with every aspect of the latest immigration Reform it rep resents a instead of shredding the concept into unrecognizable Why not acknowledge what it has to offer for sex is it not appropriate to talk about a mechanism for dealing with the millions of illegal immigrants already Here in an Ideal people would wait their turn to come to but in the real they simply do not for multiple Rea mostly those associated with economic to Many such circumstances warrant a Blanket i and my Reading of the new plans provisions suggests nothing of the the proposal recommends avenues to Speed Many undocumented immigrants toward Legal opponents May View those gestures As Overly but they should face the the alternative of rounding up All Ille Gal immigrants and deporting them to mexi co and other countries of origin would defy probability and practicality and decency demand another a it is needlessly alarmist to suggest that reasonable accommodation of illegal immigrants within a revised system of rules is tantamount to surrendering Border it is essential to aim for improved Border Security As part of any i Migra Tio Reform the Sieve like nature of the Border is substantially responsible for the problem we As a Rem some wrongheaded by advocate constructing a continuous Wall along the Bor not Only would the Cost be but i have my doubts that such a Wall would Stop the flow of illegal even it could easily boost the number of people who die or injure themselves in Bor Der Crossings each an array of additional defences from More Border patrol radar and Aerial surveillance vehicles to better identification tools just might do the Why not ask More of employ ers quite if businesses did not hang out the Welcome sign to unlawful work those individuals would have Little Rea son to Cross the i fully support stiffer penalties for unlawful hiring and fraudulent As Well As More stringent verification of employee identities and work there is to be that requires at Tention in the immigration Reform discus from the number of and parameters for guest workers to what should be required of future let us put it All out give it a thorough suppress the tendency to and summon the Cour age to achieve a sensible and balanced com Promise this the Effort is Worth making because the immigration Issue deserves Resolution not for the legacy of the president or other elected but for John Bersia is an Orlando Sentinel go the full value of families by Bill Ong Hing a bipartisan group of senators and the White House recently struck a Deal on a sweeping i Migra Tio Reform it seems on the face of it to have something for everyone a path to citizenship for the country 12 Mil lion undocumented a guest worker program for Industry and a re doubling of Border Security for enforce men minded but theres one group for whom this com Promise int so grand anyone in the United states with family if passed and signed into this propos Al would dramatically shift How the nation chooses its future priority has been Given to those with family members last 63 percent of immigration visas were granted to relatives of citizens or Legal the Senate wants to adopt a new Point system that would favor applicants who speak those with higher education and some with specific Job Senate republicans held the legalization aspect of the plan hostage until democrats agreed to eliminate the immigration categories reserved for siblings of citizens and unmarried older children of lawful Resi this represents a huge step just a year the Senate approved a Bill that would have retained a family categories and even issued additional visas to re Duce severe five million foreign ers Are awaiting visas so that they can be re United with their and Many of them have waited there also Are serious racial overtones to eliminating family Cate which Are currently dominated by asian and latino family reunification has been the bed Rock of immigration policy since the nation a origins quota systems of the and it was reaffirmed in the 1965 legislation that eliminated racial in the select commission on Immi Gration and refugee policy again deter mined that such policies were in the National concluding that psychologically and the reunion of family members with their close relatives promotes the health and welfare of the United lets get something else straight about family immigrants especially the siblings and adult offspring they enter the United states and immediately go to helping to support the social Security system and fill ing a Range of jobs in according to the Bureau of labor there is going to be a shortage of workers in coming it also Doest take much More than a stroll through any neighbourhood in califor Nia to realize that Many of these work kinship immigrants Are the ones who open Small businesses Light Industry that create jobs and Gentr Ify any thorough reconsideration of immigration policy must take into account How the nation has benefited economically and socially from our family based it May be impossible to calculate the value of Reni but we could begin by thinking of our own families including our siblings and older How less productive would we be if we were constantly worried about their sustenance or safety How More productive Are we when we know that we can come Home at the end of the Day and enjoy their company republicans claim that there is a tension Between retaining family immigration and adding employment based but that a false there is Only ten Sion if we accept the premise that visas Are a scarce we View the two systems As complementary ways of achieving and reflecting our goals and values As a then we dont have a tension prob Lem at in other if we use immigration to help our to promote the social Wel fare of the country and to promote family then family and employment categories together can meet those in an Era of promoting family proposals to eliminate family immigration Cate Gories seem entirely out of whats the message Brothers and Sisters Are not important once children reach a certain they need not Bond with their parents eliminating such categories institutionalizes an ant family the preamble to the Universal Declara Tion of human rights highlights the Unity of the family As the foundation of jus Tice and peace in the and for Good our families define us As human be our families Are at the Center of our most treasured our families make us our families make the nation Bill Ong a professor of Law and asian Ameri can studies at the University of wrote deporting our souls morality and immigration this column first appeared in the los Angeles prickly City by Scott Stantis the 00 of