Mon 2 Jul 2007
Memo to all Republicans who think that building a wall will solve illegal immigration:
We’ve spent billions of dollars on drug interdiction and drug use has not gone down. As long as there is a supply on one side of the border and demand on the other, goods will flow.
Sure you can build a wall, and the smugglers will dig a tunnel. Fill the tunnels and they’ll come by boat. To paraphrase chaos theory: “commerce will find a way”.
The solution is twofold. First get rid of the quota system and allow anyone to enter the country under a temporary worker visa. Key there is temporary. Give them a biometric id card and put their fingerprints in a national DB.
The second point is that they eventually need to go home. By coming to the US they will learn the advantages of a non-corrupt judicial system. They will learn the virtues of free enterprise. They will earn and save money so when they go home they will make their country better.
As we’ve learned from alcohol prohibition, the drug war, the waves of European immigration in the 19th and early 20th century, government can do very little to stop goods and services from crossing the border. The only way to solve the issue is to make where they are coming from a better place or making where they want to go a worse place. I’m for making the rest of the world better.
July 10th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
So if we allow illegals to stay with worker permits this would allow for even more to come in, correct? How would you propose we handle the burden of the hundreds and hundreds of children that also come in and must be educated. The burden our schools are carrying by educating non-citizens is overwhelming us at a time that accountability and school improve is paramount. How should that problem be solved?
July 27th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
I have to respectfully disagree. I believe the physical border is “part” of the solution. I realize that “tunnels” and such will happen but I also believe we have a bigger issue of security other than the immigrants.
As far as the open border policy, we have limitations on what our economy can produce. Opening the flood gates would be a boom for some and a bust for others. Contractors could make tremendous profits on houses if only people that were buying the houses are still employed. I believe in growth but it does need a restricter in place. Sound too conservative? Maybe, but from my experience I believe it is the only way to do it.
I do agree that it is better to help them in their own nation. The modernization of Mexico would raise their standard of living and then they would have to deal with the issue of illegal immigrants coming into their country. I’m not trying to be facetious, only that it will become their problem in the future.
As far as our situation, employers take advantage of the illegals and force other employers to do the same to compete. Until you fix that problem their will always be an underground market for cheap “off the books” labor. I believe that is the real solution to the illegal problem.
If we legalize the ones that are here then they will have the ability to demand a higher wage, after all they have to pay taxes now. What will happen when contractor “A” lays off these new “legal” employees to hire more illegal employees? The cycle will only begin again.
Respectfully,
Raymond McKinney
August 10th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
You’re joking about this part…right?
“By coming to the US they will learn the advantages of a non-corrupt judicial system. They will learn the virtues of free enterprise.”
Non-corrupt judicial system? Where?
Virtues of free enterprise? Oh, you mean for the big businesses who can hire activists who have enough bark and bite to scare the activist judges (oh wait, you said we have a non-corrupt judicial system) and can align themselves with politicians and shut out the small businesses.
Yeah, welcome to America. When you finally leave, please take all the anti-American Americans with you. Maby then we’ll have a non-corrupt judicial system.