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A new federal program dubbed “Scheduled Departure” calls on undocumented immigrants to self-deport. It’s not a new idea or a very good one, but it may be the reality check the government needs to see the immigration issue in a new light.
Back when Comprehensive Immigration Reform or CIR was in the throes of being tossed, turned and twisted by Congressional legislators to make it fit everyone’s idea of a perfect remedy, it wasn’t surprising that the final result looked more like a bad dream waiting to happen than a real solution.
Since then, many have voiced their concern about the future of CIR. In fact, GOP Colorado Senate candidate Bob Schaffer recently stated he believes it will take decades to deal with the issue.
“The strategy that was tried last year of trying to pass one bill that was going to fix everything, it’s not practical.” Schaffer said. “It’s not going to happen. You have to compromise on every single section of the bill to the point where you’re going to get a mediocre attempt at a solution.”
One such mediocre idea that floated around at the time of the CIR debate dealt with having undocumented immigrants self-deport. When it was first proposed, the idea seemed too ludicrous to be taken seriously. However, the idea has taken root at the federal level where Washington is finally getting the reality check it needs when it comes to the immigration issue.
It’s called “Scheduled Departure” and it’s a pilot program by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a way, according to their press release, to satisfy the concerns of “aliens, community groups and immigration lawyers who say ICE unnecessarily disrupts families while enforcing the law.”
The idea is that from August 5-22, in five cities across the country, “ICE fugitives” — identified non-criminal undocumented immigrants who haven’t honored final deportation orders or reported to ICE after receiving a notice — will show up at any one of the five sites, voluntarily, and be screened for the program by an ICE officer.
If the person qualifies, he/she will be outfitted with an electronic monitoring device and given a 90-day time frame to make arrangements to leave the country.
To their credit, ICE states that they know there will be people “less inclined to accept the intentions of such a compassionately conceived enforcement initiative.”
So, it shouldn’t have been too big a surprise that on the first day the program went into effect, there were no long lines of migrants eager to take advantage of a ride back home. In fact, there was only one taker in the whole nation.
It’s a far cry from the 535,400 that ICE has identified as qualifying for the program. As far as it being perceived as “compassionate,” common sense would tell us that since many families are of mixed-status these days, the probability that a parent would willingly walk into a federal building with the prospect of a long-term family separation hanging heavy on their heart is not a realistic expectation.
Nor is the assumption on our government’s part that parents of mixed-status families would naturally pack everyone up and return to a parent’s birthplace, especially if there is literally nothing to return to.
For these parents, and other immigrants without the proper authorization, the most common reasons given for living below the radar and subjecting themselves to bouts of depression and fear of being discovered, are the opportunities, higher quality of life and the potential for a successful future they and their families have here.
Scheduled Departure is as impractical as saying that over 11 million people will be rounded up and deported. Both of these concepts fail to recognize the fact that illegal immigration is about people trying to work their way past poverty and restricted opportunities.
It’s time the government pinched themselves and woke up.
