CEI’s John Berlau: US Needs ‘Rational’ Immigration Program

Newsmax insider John Berlau, Newsmax insider and senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told Newsmax on Monday he feels the wave of undocumented children being brought into the U.S. from Mexico is a product of the Obama administration's absence of a "rational program" when it comes to immigration.

"It shows how the lack of a legal, rational program for legal immigrants, legal guest workers, contributes to the problem and the national security and safety problems of illegal immigration," Berlau told co-hosts Dennis Kneale and Diane Dimond on "The Steve Malzberg Show."

Berlau said his idea for immigration reform would be to have a "guest worker" policy in place that would allow parents to come to the U.S. as workers, but not citizens.

"It should be a long process, learning English, everything else, but be able to do the work that our farmers say that they need and help our farmers at the same time," Berlau said.

Berlau added that the threat of terrorists crossing over the border is very real, but an organized guest worker program that required background checks could make things safer.

"Not everyone will register as an alien, as a worker if you have that, but for the ones who do, we could take our eyes off them and concentrate on the ones who are crossing in illegally and are here to cause trouble," Berlau said.

"If you had a … rational program where people could sign up as guest workers, where some of those who are here could register and then you could check them out, then … it would free up resources to find those who are dangerous criminals who are sneaking across the border."