As a U.S. diplomat in Honduras and Mexico, I saw the impacts of our immigration policy first-hand. It is inefficient, inhumane, and it needs substantial changes.

Those immigrants who are trying to enter illegally are not bad people, but they are breaking the law. There are far more people who want to enter the United States – in the search of a better life for themselves and their family – than the United States can reasonably admit. There will need to be limits. Those limits will need to be enforced at the border and through deportation activities within the U.S. itself.

Policy Proposals:

1. More funding and more robust enforcement of employment law within the United States. Employers that hire illegal immigrants should heavy fines and prison sentences. We cannot fix illegal immigration if we do not address the root demand for a cheaper, more exploitable labor force by American employers.
2. We need a more flexible and streamlined system for low-skill workers that allow them to work throughout a state, rather than being tied to one employer. The current system reduces worker bargaining power and facilitates abuse.
3. We need to increase the amount of high-skill/high-wage immigration, both temporary (work visas) and permanent (residency/citizenship).
4. We need to increase the efficiency of our immigration system: no visa category should take more than 30 days to process from application to interview.