Illegal immigration is one of the most widely discussed issues of our day. As such, it is rare to hear new ideas like the one proposed in the September issue of Forbes magazine. The article is titled "Your Bond, Please" and essentially suggests that one method of obtaining a three year work visa would be to provide a bond which would insure that the applicant pay his taxes for those three years.

The writer calculates that such a bond would cost $3,000, which seems like a lot for an immigrant until you realize that many illegal aliens pay close to that to be smuggled here, and that the cost of an immigration attorney to get here legally can easily exceed that amount. In addition, many businesses would jump at the chance to help out potential employees they need by fronting such a cost.

What I particularly like about the idea is that allows the free market to be a partner in solving this problem by letting bonding companies set a price for guaranteeing that immigrants pay their taxes. I also like that there is no suggestion that we offer any kind of "path to citizenship," particularly for anyone who has come here illegally. I have never understood why so many Republican elected officials buy into the idea that somehow if a person can be here illegally long enough that they should be entitled to become a citizen.

There is one aspect of the proposal that I do not like, which is the suggestion that a current illegal alien could qualify for the visa while here illegally. Any fair proposal for immigration reform should not penalize the person who has followed the rules, applied in their own country, and has been waiting maybe years to come here legally. The only fair way to implement such a program would be for everyone to be eligible on an equal basis, but for application to originate in their own country, and not from the United States unless they are here on some other type of legal visa.