Krieble has met numerous times with Administration officials and others in recent years, urging a private-sector contracting approach to various aspects of the illegal immigration dilemma.  She has advocated the use of smart cards, modern technology, fingerprints and biometrics, private employment agencies and background checks.  She says foreign workers do not have to wait years for approval, and border control would be much easier, with such a practical system.  “This new proposal is an excellent first step, and it will demonstrate clearly the ability of the government to achieve important national security goals, using the quick responsiveness and the cost competitiveness of the private sector.

The new electronic system, called the “transformation initiative,” will permit government agencies and law enforcement personnel throughout the country to access immigration records faster and more accurately.  Krieble says such records could also make it much easier for employers to check the immigration status of potential workers if it were also available to them.  That is not part of the current plan, but Krieble says it is a logical next step. 

The government says, in addition to initiatives to link digital fingerprints to unique identification numbers, the plan will create a lifelong digital record for applicants.  That could eliminate the need to file millions of paper forms, and enable border agents, employers and policemen to instantly check the legal status of foreign workers.  Krieble says that will allow employers to hire legal workers they currently have trouble f inding, and give workers a means to come out of the shadows and work legally.

Krieble points out the need to fix two remaining problems that also contribute to the problem: a bureaucratic system for issuing the visas themselves (which takes much too long), and an artificial limit on the number of workers allowed.  She says the number should not be unlimited, but rather tied closely to the demands of the labor market rather than “picked out of the sky” like the current limit. 

“This new proposal is an excellent start toward modernizing a badly broken system,” said Krieble.  “A couple more importa nt changes would go a long way toward fixing one of America’s most frustrating problems, so I hope the new Administration and new Congress will seriously consider my proposal to build on this work and take it to the next level.”

This novel and practical approach will link the need to secure our borders and add a temporary labor component.  Workers would be allowed to apply for jobs through a private agency.  Once hired, they would be issued a credit card-sized identification card that stores the worker’s biometric data. 

“The fact is 85%-90% of people crossing our borders illegally just want to work. They have no intention of becoming American citizens, they have committed no other crime and pose no security risk. If they are moved to a simple legal path to enter as temporary workers, border control would be much easier and more effective,” said Helen Krieble, President and CEO of the Vernon K. Krieble Foundation.

When a worker’s employment has ended, they will return to their home countries.  Under this plan, anyone working in this country illegally would have to return home to become a legal worker under U.S. law.   If this bill becomes law, illegal workers will be able to come out of the shadows, to bargain for a reasonable wage, to gain medical attention and other services.

 “Most such workers would rather be legal, but two all-powerful incentives keep them illegal and underground: a bureaucratic system they know doesn’t work, and an artificial limit on their number,” said Ms. Krieble.  “The answer to both has been in front of us all along. Let the free market work and our economy can remain strong while our nation becomes more secure. We commend Rep. Pence for showing Congress how to solve this problem.”

As a Colorado rancher who has hired temporary workers, Ms. Krieble developed the plan as a conservative solution to bridge the divide in the immigration debate.

Ms. Krieble is president of the Vernon K. Krieble Foundation. Information on the plan is available at www.krieble.org. To schedule an interview with Helen Krieble, please contact Kevin McVicker at Shirley & Banister Public Affairs at (703) 739-5920.

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The survey of 800 Americans of both parties was conducted March 14-16 by Public Opinion Strategies. Among other findings, it shows that by an astounding margin of 78% to 16% Americans agree with the statement, “It is not possible to have absolute border control without a better system for handling guest workers."

Similarly, a majority (51%-41%) believe a better guest worker system would do more to ensure border security than increasing law enforcement. “We have said for years that our country desperately needs to find a better way of handling guest workers,” said Helen Krieble, president of the Vernon K. Krieble Foundation. “We have published a plan that would do exactly that. As a result, border control would be easier because the vast majority of people now crossing the border illegally wouldn’t be there if we had a safe, practical legal guest worker system."

The foundation’s plan is based on privatizing the day-to-day operation of the program, because private companies are more efficient than government agencies and can run instant background checks to ensure that guest workers issued permits for temporary work in the U.S. are law-abiding people, and that they in fact have jobs. The poll also shows overwhelming support (91%-8%) for elements of the Krieble plan that would require criminal background checks, and smart cards with encoded biometric data on workers.

"Congress remains deadlocked on this issue because one side wants border control only, and the other side insists on an unworkable guest worker program that most Americans view as amnesty for law-breakers,” Krieble said. “Neither approach will work, but Congress must act to solve the problem. The presence of millions of illegals in this country, and the unchecked flow of thousands more every month is not safe for our national security, and it’s not smart for our economy. There is a much simpler and better way to do this."

The Vernon K. Krieble Foundation is a non-profit public policy foundation based in Colorado. It’s immigration proposal and the complete polling data is available at www.krieble.org.

To schedule an interview, please contact Kevin McVicker of Shirley & Banister Public Affairs at (703) 739-5920 or (800) 536-5920.

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