The Trancredo/Shuler bill, also called the "SAVE Act" was introduced today and is the new hope of the right wing anti-immigrant forces.
I just read it, and it is as bad as one could expect.
As expected it makes the flawed assumption that harsh law enforcement aimed at a targeted group of people will make them simply disappear.
This bill also lacks any indication that undocumented immigrants should be treated as human beings... there is no family reunification, no relief for kids who spent their whole lives here.
Cruelty has always failed as a social policy... and this bill is more evil than most.
Let's look at how bad it can be...
Targeting friends, churches and families
This bill makes it a crime to "transport" or "conspiring to help" an undocumented immigrant punishable by 5 years in prison. There is a quite generous exemption if the person you are transporting is a family member-- in this case you will get only a year in prison. And there is an exemption for churches provided the immigrant has been a member for at least a year.
This cruel provision targets families and communities in the hopes of making their lives unbearable. The idea is that this will make them disappear.
The result will be whole communities (citizens and non-citizens alike) will be disenfranchised and an underclass that will be even more vulnerable to exploitation.
Making friends, family and communities vulnerable to prosecution with possible jail time... what could possibly go wrong?
More police power
The police powers in this bill are scary... and not just undocumented immigrants will be at risk.
This bill gives the Department of Homeland security access to IRS records.
This bill calls for links between the border patrol and the US military (with specific calls for use of military equipment and even military satellites for law enforcement).
This bill calls for 8,000 more prison beds. (Wasn't this the solution for our war on drugs as well?)
More police powers with access to tax records and links to the military... what could possible go wrong?
More use of private business for enforcement
This bill places unrealistic requirements on businesses that will hurt both the businesses themselves and employees.
All businesses are required to use the Federal databases and fire employees if they are not in the database. If the information is incorrect, it is the employees responsibility to correct it, and you have 10 days (so hurry up).
A government database where errors result in people being unemployable with only 10 days to fix the problem... what could possibly go wrong?
Militarizing the borders
This bill mandating "recruitment incentives" for people leaving the military to join the border patrol (doesn't this mean the Border Patrol will have to compete with Blackwater).
There is a requirement that the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security "develop a plan for equipment sharing including unmanned aerial vehicles, tethered aerostat radars, and other surveillance equipment."
A collaboration between law enforcement and the military... what could possibly go wrong?
Don't forget to fund the propaganda
The final provision in this bill is money for a media campaign.
It "directs the Secretary of Homeland Security explain the scope of this legislation, the associated timelines, and the penalties for noncompliance" and authorizes her to "employ a combination of print, television, internet, and radio media".
A government run "media campaign" to to scare "immigrants"... what could possibly go wrong?
Enforcement-only is a bad idea
Enforcement only solutions to social problems have always failed. It was tried and failed as a way to stop abortions. It was tried and failed to end homosexual relationship. It was tried and failed to end casual drug use.
Not only has reliance on punishment always failed... it has also caused great social harm-- including the deaths of young women, communities broken and the developed world's highest incarceration rate.
This newest attempt, if passed, will be just as bad. The expectation that people will just disappear is wrong (and frankly sinister)-- rather this bill will create more vulnerability, more broken families, more at-risk communities and more expense.
Too many groups at risk
I have faith that this bill will fail-- because there are too many groups American citizens that it places at risk.
The Latino community will rightly see this as an affront and a threat.
The business community will rightly see this as unrealistic and unfair since they will be more responsible for law enforcement (and will have to face the loss of 12 million workers).
Many progressive groups will rightly see this as an attack on civil rights and a dangerous increase in power for law enforcement.
Many Americans will see the cruelty of a plan with no family reunification, no hope for children and no provisions for human compassion or understanding.
There is a natural coalition that can be built to oppose this.
Making the case: The cost is too high
This bill embodies what the anti-immigrant right has been trying to do all along. They want the solution to be cruelty with the idea that making people miserable enough they will just go away.
It is time to start now pointing out the cost-- that is the legal cost, business cost and the human cost-- of a short-sighted plan, based on anti-immigrant hysteria, that relies on cruelty to make people disappear.