Gun Registration vs. Illegal Immigrant Registration

Interesting article from Front Page Magazine.

Seems that some in congress want to force the registration of actions by American Citizens, but are totally against registration of immigrants for working in the US. They point out hypocrisy, and I think I'm going to agree with them.

At least one member who supported the gun control measure is challenging the proposal to crack down on illegal immigrants.

"A database this large is likely to contain many errors," said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-TX, during a May 12 hearing on the Illegal Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act (H.R. 98). "Any one of [the errors] could render someone unemployable and possibly much worse until they can get their file straightened out."

But in 2002, Jackson Lee argued for the "Our Lady of Peace Act," (H.R. 4757), an expansion of the National Instant Check System (NICS) for handgun purchases.

"I strongly support this legislation," Jackson Lee said during the Oct. 15, 2002 consideration of the Our Lady of Peace Act. "A major problem with the instant check system has been the incomplete records of state and local governments."

So the database on illegal immigration would be too large, but an even larger database on gun ownership is ok? Amazing the logic that flys around in politics.

There is discussion on why an immigrant database would be a helpful tool associated with rewarding legal migrant workers and enforcing the laws related to illegal immigrants.

Jack Martin, director of special projects for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), told Cybercast News Service that the effectiveness of IRCA was reduced because employers could accept fraudulent documents and still claim they made a good faith effort to "verify" the eligibility of an illegal alien employee. As a result, serious legal action against offending employers has been rare.

"The employer sanctions law needs to be made effective by requiring employers to verify the work eligibility documents," Martin explained, "and a program already exists to do that."

Martin is referring to the Employment Verification Basic Pilot Program, which was created in November 1997 by the federal agency that would eventually become the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

And there is this:

Rep. David Drier, R-CA, introduced the Illegal Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act (H.R. 98) in January 2005 to achieve that end.

The new legislation requires that once a federal Employment Eligibility Database (EED) is implemented, no person may be hired by any employer in the U.S. unless they have presented their Social Security or Alien Registration card to the prospective employer and that employer has verified the applicant's legal right to work in the U.S. with the database.

Martin believes such a nationwide, mandatory system would produce multiple benefits.

"If we had the verification system, foreigners would quickly realize that it is not worthwhile trying to come to the United States illegally," Martin predicted, "and the resources of the Border Patrol would be much more effective in controlling the borders."

Strikes me as logical. I don't see many issues with this other than the problem with inaccuracies, but it seems proper that even errors will ensure higher levels of safety and security for the American citizen. Errors maybe inconvenient, but the ability to come to the USA for work isn't a right. Some, like Jackson Lee, seem to think that that inconvenience is enough to cancel this form of control. Though that inconvenience to a citizen gun holder is irrelevant to Lee. One would think that the preservation of citizens rights would be first to mind for an American representative rather than the convenience for illegal immigrants.

Read the rest of the article, it's quite interesting.