EDZs:  Business and government to work together to solve business’s needs for low cost workers in the short run and many more workers over the long run, while allowing state and federal governments to gain control of illegal immigrants and further economic growth.  EDZ’s:

         
1. Allow state and federal governments to set up an ongoing manageable process to bring illegal immigrants into the work force by giving them a special immigrant classification in the short term, moving those who meet U.S. Immigration requirements to regular immigrant status over the midterm and then allowing them to eventually apply for full citizenship for themselves and their families if they want. Once registered in an EDZ immigrants can live outside the EDZ with family and or friends who are in the state. They can also go back to their native country for visits and return once they get the appropriate credentials. For those along the border whose families live in Mexico, they can go there if they want when they are off work or they can stay in the EDZ if they choose.

              
2. Allow U.S. businesses both inside and outside EDZ’s to employ illegal immigrant workers as soon as the workers have registered and received their special immigrant status.  Businesses hiring workers with this special classification would be exempt from U.S. minimum wage requirements and providing benefits and would be allowed to show immigrant labor as an appropriate business expense.  Businesses inside the EDZs could also receive other government incentives for operating there such as tax exemptions and so on.

                      
3. Set up an opportunity to continually resupply our aging work force, thus allowing U.S. businesses, both inside and outside the EDZs, to continue to focus on and drive forward competition and productivity issues key to their survival by allowing illegal immigrant laborers in EDZs to study and apply for entry into the United States having the potential for citizenship down the road.

                      
4. Allow U.S. companies operating in EDZs to continue to receive the benefits of copyright, trademark, patent, and other important protections of the U.S. legal system unlike in most Third World Countries.

                 
5. Put a damper on labor based human trafficking across our borders.

                    
6. Form the foundations for bilingual education programs where immigrants and citizens teach each other their native languages.

                 
7. Form the foundations for job training and skill development of immigrants based on the needs of business and government, so immigrants can be qualified for higher paying jobs and positions.

              
8. Allow state governments to get better control of illegal immigrants within their areas and a reduction in outsourcing pressures caused by globalization; outsourcing that continues to significantly erode both federal and state government tax bases.

                 
9. Gives the federal government immense cost savings for not having to invade our own businesses to capture and deport illegal immigrants.  Over the long run, the federal government would also benefit by placing special processing centers for new immigrant classification application s within EDZs, causing a flow of illegal immigrants already in the country and allowing for more efficient processing of requests. When set up within a state, there us a good case to be made for no fences at all.

When set up along the border with Mexico, most immigrants would work in the EDZs and go back home when they are not working because most of them prefer to be close to their friends and families across the border.  This means they spend much of their earnings on the Mexican side of the border, which creates more jobs and opportunities there and reduces economic pressures behind illegal immigration.  When workers go back to Mexico during their off times, they continue to use the low cost medical services and buy low cost medicine in Mexico thus reducing the burden on our country.

EDZ's are necessary regardless of whether we choose to do amnesty or not because amnesty does not solve the border security issue nor slow illegal immigration.

If we do amnesty, we drop the whole processing load on an already overloaded immigration center. EDZ's would de-load existing centers and spread the processing load over 3 to 7 years because although special status is granted up front, long term processing can take longer and can include family applications.

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