"Earned Citizenship"

The United States cannot expel eleven million people. That figure is a conservative estimate for the number of people in this country illegally.

Such a policy of mass expulsion is both inhuman and inhumane.

However, this nation cannot give a carte-blanche for rampant disregard of the law, either.

Blanket amnesty only encourages the same illicit behavior of individuals crossing the border illegally. A nation based on the rule of law cannot permit unfettered immigration.

The naturalization process has been part of the problem, not the solution.

Why must it require nearly thirty years before someone from South East Asia can become a citizen? If the United States still relies on quotas to determine how many people from select populations may immigrate to this country, this practice must be halted at once.

Another deterrent to illegal immigration -- undo the welfare state, which enables born, naturalized, and illegals to skim off the state without offering anything in return. Currently, there is no greater draw for illegal immigration than the easy handouts which anyone with any trace of dependence can take advantage of.

With a limited government protecting the rights of all and securing the borders, greater employment opportunities will make themselves available, and local communities will be positioned and financed to safeguard the rights of citizens while providing a streamlined pathway for recent immigrants to earn citizenship.