For the past few years, I reviewed all of Barbara Jordan’s testimony to Congress and what she recommended in 1995 is more relevant today than it was then. Congress praised her-then ignored her.  

 

The current members of Congress will also praise her work but it’s likely they will ignore her again. The purpose of this work is to convince members to go to work.

 

This pamphlet is organized by problem, not politics. Each chapter explains a major flaw in the system and offers a common-sense solution. Some of these ideas you may agree with. Some you may not. But they all come from the same place:

A belief that our immigration system should be fair, fast, firm, and focused on national interest. (America First)

CHAPTER 1: COME OUT OF THE SHADOWS

THE PROBLEM

Millions of people are living in the United States illegally. Many have been here for decades. They work. They open businesses. They raise children. They own homes. But they live in fear. They are undocumented, unauthorized, and technically removable. So, what do we do with them?

Some say: Deport them all. Others say: Give them citizenship.

Most Americans don’t fully support either option.

What we need is something different: A legal status that brings people out of the shadows without handing out automatic citizenship. Something that rewards good behavior and long-term presence—but still respects our laws.

THE FIX

Create a new category of legal presence called "Blue Card Visa".

• Available to undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for 10+ years without a felony conviction.
• Requires employment, tax compliance, biometric ID, and registration in a new national system.
• Does not lead automatically to citizenship but does provide renewable legal work authorization.

The Blue Card Visa isn’t amnesty. It’s accountability. It says: If you’ve been here for a long time, paid your dues, and stayed out of trouble, we’ll give you a way to stay—but on clear, lawful terms.

It brings people into the system. It reduces the size of the shadow population. And it lets law enforcement focus on the people who truly don’t belong here.

That’s not weakness. That’s strength through clarity.

CHAPTER 2: VISA LIES & BORDER BUYS

THE PROBLEM

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people come into the United States legally—and then don’t leave. They overstay their tourist, student, or work visas, quietly blending into the population without detection. In fact, visa overstays now account for nearly half of all undocumented immigrants in the country.

Meanwhile, thousands of others cross the border illegally, including children smuggled in by cartels or sent alone by desperate families. These border entries overwhelm immigration courts, border patrol, and child welfare systems. The result is chaos, delay, and often tragic outcomes.

THE FIX

We need a system that can distinguish between people with real asylum claims, people fleeing specific and provable threats, and those simply looking for economic opportunity. We also need to shut the door on those who manipulate visa systems or try to disappear into the interior.

 

Here’s how:

1. REAL Interviews Before Arrival

• All asylum claims must be initiated outside the U.S., either in the applicant's home country or a designated safe third country.
• Applicants will participate in secure video interviews with trained officers using the REAL (Remote Evaluation for Asylum Legitimacy) system.
• No more claiming asylum at the airport or border unless already vetted through REAL.

 

2. No Visa Overstay Loophole

• Under current law, a person can enter legally, overstay a visa, and still apply for asylum from within the U.S.
• Under this reform, overstaying a visa disqualifies you from applying for asylum unless you meet extraordinary humanitarian exceptions.

 

3. Special Protection for Unaccompanied Minors — With Clear Guardrails

• Children apprehended at or near the border must be transferred to licensed care facilities within 72 hours—not held in adult detention.
• If a minor is found already residing unlawfully inside the U.S., their sponsor or guardian must appear with them, submit to biometric and background checks, and comply with all court proceedings.
• Knowingly harboring an undocumented minor outside the legal process may trigger civil or criminal liability.

 

4. Mandatory Exit Verification

• All visa holders must scan out of the country using biometric data.
• Failure to exit will flag that person in the national system and trigger automatic visa suspension and removal proceedings.

 

We want to be a nation that welcomes—but not one that is fooled.

We protect our values when we make clear who is welcome, who must wait, and who must leave.

That’s not cruelty. That’s clarity with compassion.

CHAPTER 3: THE FRONT DOOR WORKS—WHEN IT’S OPEN

THE PROBLEM

The legal immigration system in the U.S. is so backed up, bureaucratic, and outdated that many qualified people simply give up or never even apply. Whether it’s a skilled worker, a student, or someone seeking to join family already here, the process takes years—and often makes no sense.

Worse, we’ve tied legal immigration to political fights, leaving the front door jammed while the back door is wide open. In a time when America needs workers—especially as we bring manufacturing back home and rebuild our economy—we’re slow walking the very people who can help us most.

 

THE FIX

We need a front-door system that works. One that is fast, fair, and flexible enough to meet America’s real needs. Here’s what that looks like:

1. Create a Cabinet-Level Immigration Directorate

• Move legal immigration processing out of the Department of Homeland Security.
• Create an independent, cabinet-level agency focused solely on welcoming legal immigrants, separate from border enforcement.

 

2. Streamline Employment-Based Immigration

• Prioritize immigrants with needed job skills in critical industries.
• Offer faster green card pathways for individuals in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), health care, and skilled trades.
• Allow states to nominate employment-based immigrants based on regional labor needs.

 

3. Simplify Family-Based Immigration

• Cap processing times to a maximum of 12 months for immediate relatives.
• Digitize paperwork and use secure online case tracking for all applicants.

 

4. Use Technology to Speed Up the System

• Integrate real-time data checks using fractal technology to prevent fraud and duplicate entries.
• Automate the vetting of clean applications to reduce bottlenecks.

 

5. End the Diversity Visa Lottery

• Replace the outdated visa lottery system with a transparent, merit-based points structure that rewards education, work history, and English proficiency.

 

The message is simple: If you want to come here legally, we want to make it work. Not take your money, lose your file, and tell you to wait ten years.

A working front door discourages illegal back door entry. It rewards people who play by the rules. And it helps our economy and society grow with people we need.

Legal immigration should be like a well-run airport: secure, efficient, and built for the future.

CHAPTER 4: VERIFY TO PROTECT — THE EVS ACT

THE PROBLEM

One of the biggest incentives for illegal immigration is the ability to get a job using fake documents. Employers often lack the tools—or the legal confidence—to verify work eligibility with certainty. The current E-Verify system is outdated, voluntary, and easy to bypass. As a result, millions work in the shadows, and law-abiding businesses are placed at a disadvantage.

The result is a system that punishes honesty, rewards fraud, and undercuts American workers.

THE FIX

The E-Verify system needs to be mandatory throughout the nation The EVS Act (Employment Verification System) is a modern, national, fraud-resistant system built for speed, security, and fairness. Here's what it would do:

1. Require Universal Participation

• All employers, regardless of state, size or industry, must use the EVS to confirm employment eligibility before hiring.

 

2. Replace E-Verify with Real-Time Fractal Technology*

• Integrate employment data with federal databases for Social Security, immigration status, criminal records, and visa expiration.
• Use fractal pattern recognition to flag identity mismatches instantly—without storing personal data in a single vulnerable location.

3. Biometric Digital ID for New Workers

• New entrants to the workforce (citizens and non-citizens alike) are issued a secure, unforgeable, digital biometric ID number.
• No more reliance on fake Social Security numbers or fraudulently prepared green cards.

 

4. Protection for Lawful Workers

• A formal process allows workers to contest errors, ensuring no one is wrongly denied employment due to system mistakes.

 

5. Criminal Penalties for Employers Who Game the System

• Companies that knowingly hire unauthorized workers or bypass the EVS face civil fines and possible criminal charges.

Work authorization should be as simple and secure as a TSA Pre-Check scan—not a paper chase through a leaky system.

If we make it easy to verify—and impossible to fake—we level the playing field for every worker and every business.

 

CHAPTER 5: CHILDREN AT THE CROSSROADS

THE PROBLEM

Nothing pulls at the heart—or fuels political outrage—like the image of a child crossing the border alone. Unaccompanied minors are often caught in the middle of adult decisions, trafficker manipulation, and legal gray areas. We need to protect these children—but we also need to prevent a system that encourages families to send them into danger.

Under the current rules, unaccompanied children who arrive at the border are placed into a tangle of inconsistent care, lengthy legal proceedings, and eventual release into the U.S. with little follow-up. It creates a pipeline that enriches cartels, drains resources, and puts vulnerable kids at risk.

 

THE FIX

We need a system that protects children without creating incentives for unlawful entry. Here’s what that looks like:

1. Safe Processing, Not Open Gates

• Children should not be held in jail-like settings, but neither should they be released without vetting.
• All unaccompanied minors must go through the REAL system from outside the U.S., or in special licensed centers in a safe third country.

 

2. Rapid Transfer and Care

• Children encountered at the border must be transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement within 72 hours.
• Shelters must meet high standards for safety, healthcare, education, and child protection.

 

3. Mandatory Background Checks for Sponsors

• Any U.S.-based individual seeking to sponsor a minor must undergo fingerprinting, criminal checks, and agree to appear at future asylum proceedings with the child.

 

4. Stop the Incentive for Smuggling

• End policies that reward parents for sending children alone.
• Smugglers and traffickers who bring children across the border illegally will face enhanced federal penalties.

 

5. Special Humanitarian Exceptions

• Children rescued from abuse, trafficking, or war zones may be fast-tracked through humanitarian parole but must still go through appropriate review.

We need to protect kids. We also need to stop pretending that letting them in without a plan is protection. Real compassion means creating lawful, safe, and accountable ways to help—not creating chaos in the name of kindness.

 

CHAPTER 6: WHO’S HARBORING WHOM?

THE PROBLEM

Across the country, some local governments and nonprofit organizations openly defy federal immigration law by refusing to cooperate with removal requests for individuals known to have committed serious crimes. These “sanctuary” policies might feel righteous in theory, but in practice they allow dangerous individuals to slip through the cracks—sometimes with deadly consequences.

When a city releases a violent offender after ignoring an ICE detainer, and that person commits murder, who is accountable?

Right now, no one.

 

THE FIX

We need laws that hold jurisdictions and organizations accountable when their decisions lead to harm. Here’s what that looks like:

1. Civil Liability for Ignoring Federal Detainers

• Cities, counties, or NGOs that are officially notified by ICE of a detainer for a violent criminal and ignore it can be held civilly liable if that individual commits a violent act.
• Victims or their families may sue for damages resulting from that act of non-cooperation.

 

2. Shared Enforcement Responsibility

• Federal immigration enforcement should not depend solely on local cooperation—but when local authorities knowingly obstruct justice, they must face consequences.

 

3. Reporting Requirements

• Require quarterly reporting by sanctuary jurisdictions on detainer requests received, honored, and declined, with justification.

This isn’t about targeting good-hearted charity or local control—it’s about ensuring that our laws protect the innocent first.

CHAPTER 7: CONSEQUENCES FOR SHIELDING CRIMINALS

THE PROBLEM

There is currently no meaningful penalty for a government official or nonprofit who knowingly protects a violent offender from deportation. These gaps in accountability lead to avoidable tragedy.

It’s not enough to just talk about safety—we need laws that back it up.

 

THE FIX

1. Criminal Penalties for Obstruction

• Any official or NGO leader who knowingly obstructs the removal of a violent criminal alien—and whose obstruction leads to a violent act—can face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.

 

2. Public Safety Registry

• Establish a registry of sanctuary actions resulting in criminal harm. Transparency is a deterrent.

 

3. Standardize ICE Notifications

• Ensure ICE detainers come with clear digital acknowledgment protocols, leaving no excuses for local entities to claim miscommunication.

 

The message is simple: If you knowingly protect someone who later kills or rapes an innocent person, you bear responsibility. Accountability isn’t vengeance. It’s justice.

 

CHAPTER 8: ILLEGALS - REMOVE IMMEDIATELY

THE PROBLEM

We send the wrong message when crossing illegally doesn’t lead to swift and certain removal. Right now, the system rewards delay and gaming the process. That’s not compassionate—it’s corrosive.

Asylum laws are twisted into excuses. Court dates are missed. And by the time the government catches up, the individual has put down roots and gained sympathy. It’s not fair—to citizens, to legal immigrants, or to the idea of law itself.

 

THE FIX

1. Fast-Track Removal System

• Anyone who crosses illegally forfeits the right to claim asylum, unless they meet narrow exceptions like immediate danger or trafficking.

 

2. Biometric Border Screening

• Every individual encountered at the border receives biometric tagging and tracking. No paperwork, no confusion.

 

3. Reentry Ban

• Any individual removed under illegal entry protocols is banned from lawful reentry for five years. Repeat offenders face criminal prosecution.

 

4. Expanded Return Agreements

• Secure formal return agreements with more nations—so no one gets stuck in limbo, and no one gets released simply because their home country refuses to take them back.

Borders mean something. Laws mean something. And yes—compassion can coexist with consequences.

  

CHAPTER 9: THE TECH FIX

THE PROBLEM

Our immigration system is not just broken because of bad policy—it’s broken because of bad technology. Federal databases don’t talk to each other. Fraud goes undetected. Paper files go missing. And systems designed in the 1990s are still being used to manage 21st-century migration.

Billions have been spent on modernization projects that never delivered. Meanwhile, the private sector continues to innovate. It’s time the government caught up.

 

THE FIX

1. Deploy the REAL System Nationwide

• The Remote Evaluation for Asylum Legitimacy (REAL) platform uses secure video conferencing to conduct credible fear interviews before individuals arrive at the border.
• It can also connect USCIS, consulates, and vetted nonprofit partners across the globe to streamline screening and scheduling.

 

2. Use Fractal Technology to Integrate Systems

• Fractal data systems can analyze, cross-check, and flag fraudulent identities across over 70 government databases in real time.
• Faster, more secure, and cheaper than legacy systems.

 

Feature

Conventional Systems

Fractal Technology

Integration Speed

Slow (Weeks to Months)

Instantaneous / Real-Time

Scalability

Requires Massive Data Centers

Lightweight, Cloud-Based

Fraud Detection

Manual / Limited AI

Advanced Pattern Recognition

Implementation Time

12–36 Months

3–4 Months

Estimated Cost

$100M+

< $5M

Security & Privacy

Standard Encryption

Decentralized, Multi-layer Security

Database Compatibility

Fragmented, Difficult to Merge

Real-Time Cross-System Linking

3. Eliminate Duplicate and Fraudulent Applications

• A unified digital ID and biometric record prevents individuals from submitting multiple claims under different identities.

4. Modernize Case Management

• Applicants should be able to track their cases like a FedEx package: real-time, secure, and transparent.

We already have the tools. Now we need the political will to plug them in.

 

CHAPTER 10: THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

THE PROBLEM

Everyone knows the immigration system is broken. So why hasn’t it been fixed? The answer is simple—and uncomfortable: Both political parties benefit from the chaos.

Some on the left use immigration to build voting blocs and leverage humanitarian outrage. Some on the right use it to raise money and rile up base voters. Neither side is fully committed to solving the problem, because the problem itself is politically useful.

THE FIX

1. Tell the Truth

• Call out both parties when they block common-sense reforms. Reward leadership. Punish performative outrage.

 

2. Build Public Pressure from the Ground Up

• Don’t wait for Washington. Use this manual to educate, share, and spark real conversations in town halls, school boards, editorial pages, and campaign platforms.

 

3. Start Somewhere

• If we can’t pass all five bills, let’s start with one. If we can’t fix the border overnight, let’s secure the process with tech and accountability. Progress is possible—when politics gets out of the way.

 

Immigration is not impossible to fix. But first, we must fix the incentives for the people who say they want to fix it - but don't mean it.

APPENDIX A: THE FIVE LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS

For readers who want to go deeper, the following legislative proposals form the foundation of this manual. Each has been drafted in full, ready for introduction in Congress:

1. The Welcome Act – Rebuilds and streamlines front-door legal immigration for workers, families, and skilled talent.
2. The Fairness Act – Creates "Blue Card" status for long-term undocumented immigrants who meet strict criteria.
3. The Asylum 2.0 Act – Establishes the REAL (Remote Evaluation for Asylum Legitimacy) system to vet asylum claims outside the U.S.
4. The EVS Act – Modernizes employment verification and identity security through digital records and fraud prevention.
5. The Harboring Act – Holds sanctuary jurisdictions and NGOs accountable when their obstruction leads to harm.