Solution to Arizona immigration law troubles: 'Safe passage' home?

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A political action committee, Americans for Legal Immigration (AILPAC), believes safe passage could be a breakthrough idea in Capitol Hill's immigration-reform deadlock. That remains an open question. But some experts say it taps into Americans' mixture of antipathy and sympathy toward undocumented migrants, many of whom share bedrock values with conservative Americans, such as a strong work ethic and deep religious beliefs.

"I don't think most people support a mass deportation, so a safe passage speaks to a more voluntary return," says Audrey Singer, an immigration expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "The complicated part for people returning has to do with opportunities abroad and opportunities here, how embedded they are socially, whether they have kids who have grown up, and how long they've been here. But there are others, especially young men, who are more footloose who are thinking of leaving or who have already left."

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ALIPAC President William Gheen says safe passage checkpoints on the border could negate the need for reform as it could calmly repatriate illegal aliens.

"If we needed buses to transport people back to destinations throughout Central America, the American public would volunteer to drive them," says Mr. Gheen, in Raleigh, N.C.

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For her part, Singer of Brookings thinks safe passage could find a political foothold. Other experts are doubtful. University of Minnesota demographer Katherine Fennelly is skeptical that any sort of immigration reform can succeed in the current political climate.

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"We can talk about safe passage and making this sort of forced repatriation more humane, but I think it still begs a larger issue," says Ms. Fennelly, who specializes in migration policy. "It's really too bad that we're not trying to think of policies that would benefit both US-born Americans and immigrants, because it is, in fact, not impossible to craft."

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2010/0728/Solution-to-Arizona-immigration-law-troubles-Safe-passage-home

[mawilson 2,133]

No f*cking safe passage for law breakers. Arrest them, fingerprint, fine, ban for life, then deport them.

[Texanadian 10]

I support the safe passage idea.

[Pooky 3,816]

I support the safe passage idea.

Only if we're allowed to import crocodiles as a little entertainment on the short walk back across the border

[Sofiyya 1,687]

I say strap 'em to a space shuttle and make it a trip to remember.