Following last week’s GOP presidential debate, the phrase “red card” has been thrown around quite a bit. No, we’re not talking about soccer penalties or black Friday shopping at Target. We’re talking about the Krieble Foundation’s “Red Card Solution” for U.S. immigration and border security.
Since the concept was raised in last week’s debate, critics have dismissed the proposal, claiming it is nothing more than a back-door amnesty and would serve only to make the problem of illegal immigration worse. Hellen E. Krieble, founder and president of the Krieble Foundation, begs to differ:
It absolutely isn’t amnesty.… There’s no amnesty involved.… And it’s not about citizenship or green cards or any of those things, which are clearly the federal government’s job. It gives anybody who is working in the US illegally and has never committed a crime an opportunity to leave the borders, go through the process, and come back legally in one week.
Krieble is exactly right. Let’s take a second to look at the facts.
The Red Card Solution does not propose that illegal immigrants be granted a “path to citizenship”; in fact, it does much the opposite. Citing the fact that many illegal immigrants are not really immigrants at all—many so-called illegal immigrants aren’t here seeking citizenship or even permanent resident status but rather are here for employment, making them illegal temporary workers more than anything else—the Krieble plan seeks to create to separate paths for dealing with the alien population.
One path would deal with permanent-resident, green-card status and citizenship and would fall within the responsibility of the federal government. The other process, however—facilitating a temporary worker program—would fall to the private sector, which would help to match employers with potential employees.
The plan would also require that anyone illegally present in the United States first return home before applying for legal work permit, or red card.
So, not only is the Red Card Solution not amnesty, but it would also adhere to free market principles and help to meet the needs of employers across the United States. Government-certified private-sector entities would work with Mexico and other host nations to open offices abroad and help connect workers with employers so that nobody comes into the country as a guest worker without a job. The private-sector offices would also be responsible for running background checks to make sure criminal aliens would not be admitted into the U.S.
The plan would also alleviate some of the strain on the already overburdened immigration system, and it wouldn’t cost the taxpayers a cent, being funded entirely through user fees. Not to mention the fact that increasing legal avenues for temporary workers to enter the United States would help lower the number of individuals seeking to cross the border illegally, substantially easing the burden placed on border agents.
With the Red Card Solution, “the American people get secure borders, a strong economy, and a safer America.” See for yourself here.
