423 Rogers Avenue
Media Square Building., Suite 203
Fort Smith, Arkansas 72901
--------------------------------
Telephone (479) 242-2292
Fax (479) 242-2296

Dear Reader:

Being an introductory letter designed to acquaint you with Citizenship Quest Systems of America © ("CQSA"), I'll not belabor the minutia of our proprietary, integrated, data/document gathering and immigration support services for foreign workers currently living in the United States. Suffice it to say that in the contemporary national debate on proposed immigration reform legislation, CQSA believes that business efforts are least efficiently allocated by having to function as small detective agencies for the government in connection with document authentication. Moreover, given the current lack of legislative guidance from Washington D.C. on such a critical issue, CQSA further believes that educating peers on the heightened need for real, practical, and competent leadership on immigration reform is among the best practices of an informed law firm and human resource manager. 

Speaking generally, it's no subtle observation that most undocumented workers already living in the United States are extremely hard working and decent people who pay their bills on time. What's less obvious, however, is that some of these same folks may possess minimal, even questionable, forms of documentation (usually to comply with our form I-9 requirements). Such a posture exposes their vulnerability to a major prong in the pointed immigration debate (i.e. identity). Sadly, recent efforts by many of our political leaders to address the identity issue on a comprehensive basis have been undertaken in very narrow election-cycle terms. As a result, rank-and-file constituents have been increasingly subjected to a “just enforce the law” mentality, which amounts to little more than demagoguery-a demagoguery that reduces leadership to a singular and unrealistic action, deportation. So, if leaders are elected to deal with domestic issues, among other things, why then is immigration such a challenge? Why is there seemingly only one solution, a solution with hidden implications that range broadly across the landscape of our country's domestic policy? 

With this in mind, consider the following: if we are to give in to the “just enforce the law” rhetoric and succumb to the old political adage to “get along by going along”, and ultimately allow these “leaders” to deport all the undocumented, are we also prepared to deal with the consequences such a draconian "solution" would produce? Furthermore, can we afford to break the generational commitment such a direction in policy requires?  Interestingly, in the United States, there are actually many ideas and approaches that deal with immigration. Practically speaking, however, proliferation of these views tends to be governed by adoption into our political structure, which is largely dominated by the two-party system. So, while there are two parties with many views, we are in reality only one country and, practically speaking, must have one policy.

In general, recent policy trends in immigration are eerily reminiscent of those similarly held leading up to the Great Depression.  In addition to such isolationist ideas, the United States is facing a sobering demographic reality. Our workforce will be cut in half over the next fifteen years through retirement (think "baby-boomers"). Such a development forms the basis of a generally accepted, looming insolvency crisis soon to impact the United States Social Security System, mostly due to the fact that adequate supplies of native born workers necessary to replace these soon-to-be retirees do not exist. Moreover, if the necessary supplies of native born workers do not exist, then how are the baby-boomers going to be replaced?

Some have suggested massive capital investments in automation over immigration as a solution for replacing retiring baby-boomers in the workplace. Granted, automation can (and has) replaced a certain number of jobs over the last several decades. However, if automation is a solution for replacing native born workers, why then, as a country, do we now have more people than ever in the workplace? As the automation theory goes, we should have fewer laborers, since machinery is now doing the work of men and women. In reality, we now have more current workers in the workplace than ever before--not fewer, despite extensive automation over the years! The idea of automation only sounds good. However, should responsible citizens commit the stability of our country's economic future to speculation built on a premise that supports the misguided notion that you can actually replace half the U.S. workforce with machinery? If you're in this camp--the automation believers--then how do you see automation benefiting Social Security? Really, the upside of the automation notion, when applied to our country's unique set of demographic circumstances, is that it will only be marginally successful at meeting human resource needs and the demands of labor. The downside is much more sobering and grim. Going forward, automation will systematically hasten the demise of Social Security because machinery pays no tax into the system-a system upon which the majority of our citizens will be relying in less than two decades. 
 
Alternatively, CQSA's reasoning on this issue not only favors man over machine, but it also finds us in good company. Specifically, current Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, during a recent question and answer session at the Economic Club of Washington, indicated that current immigration flows of approximately 1 million people per year, as a mechanism for offsetting the looming exodus of native born workers from our country's workplace, is woefully inadequate. The Fed Chairman went on to estimate that a more appropriate number of immigrants necessary to replace our country's aging workers (and soon to be retirees) should be closer to 3.5 million per year. In addition to substantially extending tax revenues for Social Security going forward, this approach (coupled with other modifications including a structural accounting change from the current "cash-basis" to an "accrual-basis") may serve as a significant component in actually solving the looming Social Security crisis. Such a crisis has implications far beyond the scope of this letter, chief among them being a destabilizing effect on the monetary policy of our Nation in the form of price instability.

The above-described demographic tide of retiring baby-boomers began washing ashore in 2008 as its first wave hit our workplace. In an effort to facilitate a solution to this issue, one must first understand that immigration, Social Security, sustained economic productivity, and national security interests are all interconnected.  CQSA believes that restructuring such fundamentals is essential to our Nation's future viability, as they are its bedrock. Furthermore, CQSA believes that legislatively reforming immigration is the keystone upon which our Nation depends because not only is the human resource a finite one, it is our Nation's heritage! Moreover, comprehensive immigration reform must contain the following components to be effective: (1) it must maintain a view toward the fiscal obligation we owe our baby-boom generation; (2) it must secure our southern border with respect to legitimate and rational national security interests; (3) it must address in a fair and equitable way the undocumented who are already living in, and contributing to, the vitality of the United States; and (4) it must serve our Nation's future economic and productive resources in a way that maintains our status as a competitive innovator and global leader by allowing access to the best, brightest, and bravest the world has to offer.

Finally, if you share these values, then CQSA may be able to offer your firm brand identity. Based on recent immigration reform legislation, a potential $20 billion market for legal fees exists in immigration services alone within ten years of reform enactment.  More significantly, as an immediate source of additional revenue, CQSA has developed a model for current profitability in the practice of traditional immigration law.  Our current model provides cost efficient marketing strategies for brand awareness by utilizing the Torchlight Radio Network ™, immediate revenue opportunities, training support, and most importantly, the ability to begin ramping up organizational development of the potential, future immigration market in your area.         

Please feel free to contact me anytime.

Thank you for your interest in CitizenshipQuest.

 /s/ Jeffery D. Parker
Citizenship Quest Systems of America Copyright©