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Proyecto Visión 21

Twenty years to solve an “urgent” problem?

How long it takes to solve an urgent problem? Obviously, the answer depends on many factors, including the complexity of the problem, the availability of resources, and even the desire to solve the problem

Last week I had the opportunity of interviewing a congressman from Colorado. His answer about the need of solving “urgently” the immigration problem clearly illustrate that there are instances when it takes a long time to solve an “urgent” problem.

I asked this legislator how long it will take to implement a comprehensive immigration reform, that he himself described as “urgent,” and he immediately replied, “Twenty years.” I thought that perhaps I misunderstood his answer, but before I could ask for any clarification, he repeated, “Twenty years.”

This congressman explained to me that a comprehensive immigration reform will be possible only in the context of a number of other comprehensive reforms, including national security, health, education, and economy.

He told me it will take 20 years to implement all those reforms. Only then, the new immigration laws could make senses and be understood by the people. The debate about the reform, however, could begin this year or at any time during the next three years, he said.

This congressman (who belongs to a powerful committee at the House of Representatives) said that unless there is a complete package of reforms (or, in my words, a new model for our country), any immigration reform would be incomplete.

First, he said, there should be a new banking system, including a new international monetary system. Second, there should be new energy policies, with more emphasis on renewable energy and less use of contaminant fuels (coal, for example) and foreign oil.

At the same time, there should be a health care reform, using technology to reduce health care costs. Technology should also be used to monitor American borders and to improve academic performance at all American schools. Finally, a new guest worker program should also be implemented, to allow certain foreign workers, for example, ski instructors, to come to the United States.

Only then, 20 years from now and with all those elements in place, the immigration reform could be fully implemented, including a “path to legalization” for certain immigrants already in this country (if they fulfill some requirements) and many other elements, such as in-state tuition for students whose parents are undocumented.

A well-known Argentinean tango says that “Twenty years is nothing.” Perhaps from some point of view 20 years may be unimportant. Perhaps from the point of view of the life of a country, 20 years are just but a couple of pages on a textbook about history.
But 20 years is a long time for those, immigrants or not immigrants, who are currently waiting for a solution to the immigration problem. I know it is unwise to rush to implement an improvised solution, but we have been analyzing this issue for so long that it shouldn’t take another two decades to find a good and permanent solution.

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