Talk radio is full of concern these days about illegal immigrants taking away our jobs, burdening our welfare system, and possibly endangering our lives. Employers of illegals are vilified and threatened with prison. People talk of placing troops at the Mexican border to stop illegal traffic. What is going on here?
Immigration is not the problem it is portrayed to be. Immigrants contribute to a strong economy, they create more jobs than they occupy, and they use less welfare than the average citizen. Troops at the borders would be a disaster because troops are only good for shooting people. Is Fortress America the kind of country we want to create?
Although immigration is a good thing, illegal immigration is a bad thing. It is hard on employers, who risk legal penalties for hiring the wrong people. It is hard on the illegals themselves, who sometimes risk dangerous border crossings, and must adapt to a lifestyle outside the law. And it is hard on citizens, who must coexist with unsafe drives and possible criminal elements from other countries.
So how do we reduce illegal immigration? I suggest: (1) increase legal immigration; (2) deny all social services to illegals; (3) don’t even talk about amnesty.
Our current legal immigration system is based on ethnic quotas set in the 1920’s. There is no way a quota system could anticipate border labor flow needs of our market economy then, now, or ever. Instead, we need a market for foreign labor. Employers could apply for workers, foreign workers could apply for jobs, and employment agencies could match the two. Foreign work permits have been successful in the past and can work again.
We have a right to control our borders. Let’s do that in a humane way that continues to allow the economic benefits of immigration, yet avoids the human hardship that our present system causes.