Illegal Immigrants

Any plan that provides a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants will not be complete unless it includes a repayment plan for all the benefits provided to them by American taxpayers ("Migrant worker plan in works," Feb. 22). This includes food stamps, Medicaid and especially our public school systems. Maryland spends an average of $11,000 per pupil per school year, which is funded by taxpayers whether or not they have children. The only group in America that is exempt from contributing to school funding is illegal immigrants.

President Obama no longer has to worry about re-election, so now he is free to pursue his so-called "comprehensive immigration reform" - in other words, amnesty for illegal immigrants ("Granting legal status for undocumented immigrants will increase competition in workforce," Jan. 29). Congress must stop any proposal by this administration to give amnesty to illegal immigrants. It must not ignore the plight of the American worker, and we should beware of the administration's lame excuses for rewarding illegal immigrants with American jobs.

Former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has fallen into the trap of the majority of his Republican brethren: They just can't get over the fact that the majority in this country has moved beyond the Republican agenda of lower taxes for the wealthy, health care tied to employment and deporting illegal immigrants ("What if? Life under President Romney," Jan. 27). His column is pure wishful thinking. This country will be far better served when Republicans wake-up to reality and start engaging in productive dialogue instead of pushing a recalcitrant agenda that doesn't serve anyone except the privileged few. Jon S. Meyer, Baltimore Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Immigration reform advocates, including a leading voice from Maryland, pressed President Obama on Tuesday for a pathway to citizenship for the nation's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, calling a bipartisan proposal under consideration in the U.S. Senate "unfair and not acceptable. " A group of eight senators -- including four Republicans and four Democrats -- unveiled the broad outlines of a plan last month that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain permanent residency and eventual citizenship only after tougher border restrictions are in place, a requirement for many Republicans.

The road to meaningful U.S. immigration reform will no doubt prove rocky and difficult, but at least Washington has taken its first big step on the most critical part of the route - down the so-called "path to citizenship" that now has bipartisan support in the Senate. That's quite a change since 2010 when so many in the GOP invoked the term "amnesty" as a dirty word. That's not to suggest that the findings of an eight-person work group have provided the definitive answer for the nation's dysfunctional immigration policy, but getting four prominent Republican senators to sign off on a path to citizenship is a notable accomplishment.

With all due respect to bail bondsmen who play a necessary role in the criminal justice system, the case pending before the Maryland Court of Appeals involving illegal immigrants and whether bondsmen should be liable for illegal immigrant defendants who have been deported raises some troubling questions about the profession. As reported last week by The Sun's Andrea Siegel , the facts in the case of Big Louie Bail Bonds v. State of Maryland are fairly clear cut. Ten individuals, all found to be without proof of legal presence in this country, were arrested on a variety of minor charges in Baltimore County.

Maryland's top court could make it much more difficult for undocumented immigrants to secure bail bonds, in a case likely to resolve long-standing questions about whether bondsmen are on the hook when clients get deported before trial. In a case pending at the Court of Appeals, Big Louie Bail Bonds has been ordered to pay more than $100,000 in Baltimore County in bail forfeitures after 10 defendants were deported before their criminal trials. Lower courts ruled that the company knew — or should have known — it was taking on clients with a high risk of deportation.

Author's disclaimer: Today's piece may cause my center/right readers severe irritability, sleeplessness, and a strong desire to limit your cable television options to Fox. The antidote may not arrive until the midterm elections of 2014. Fiscal cliff negotiations: a real bummer. An empowered president intent on fulfilling his progressive inclination to raise taxes. An emboldened Harry Reid strangely silent about his inability to pass a budget through a Democratic Senate over the past three years.