What do we do about: Illegal Immigration
By David M. Woods
Published October 5, 2006, 2:54 pm in News.
Illegal immigration is probably the hottest topic in politics these days. We are told that these illegals are overwhelming our social services, taking away our jobs, driving down wages, diluting our culture, committing violent crimes, and might even be terrorists planning another assault on the homeland. Therefore, the U.S. government must do whatever it takes to stop the flow of illegals into our homeland.
The real truth is that most of the above charges are bogus. Unlimited immigration may have some downsides, but we Americans need to resist the urge to solve this latest "crisis" by simply making the government bigger, more powerful, and more expensive.
This article will bust some of these myths, and explain why some of the proposals to stop or slow illegal immigration simply won't work. Finally, some practical, workable alternatives to slow immigration will be discussed.
The Statue of Liberty
No discussion of the immigration issue should omit a mention of the lady in New York harbor, the one shining a beacon welcoming all to the Land of the Free. Her inscription reads:
"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
It seems a big hypocritical to keep the statue standing if the policy of the U.S. government shall be to "seal the borders" and do "whatever it takes" to control immigration. Either we take the statue down, or abide by its principles. You can't have it both ways.
And if that concept is not painful enough, let's talk about the native American Indians. They were here first. The European settlers never asked their permission to "immigrate" here, and when the Indians tried to protest against the white men who invaded their territory, the white men simply overpowered, slaughtered them, herded them onto reservations, made and broke "treaties" with them, and committed a laundry list of acts of cruelty and oppression. Unless you're an American Indian, you are an immigrant, or the descendant of one; otherwise, it's blatantly hypocritical to say it's Ok for you to be here, but no one else.
Economics of Immigration
Contrary to popular notion, immigrants, legal or otherwise, do not destroy or harm the economy. Immigrants are producers as well as consumers. They work at jobs that supply the goods and services that we all demand, and they also spend money buying the goods and services that the economy produces. If immigration should be banned because immigrants only take and don't give, then if that argument were carried to its logical conclusion: it should be illegal to have babies! At least immigrants work and have jobs, which is more than you can say for babies.
And yes, it is true that immigrants depress wages, since they generally work for less than their native counterparts. But they also depress prices! Many of the products we buy are affordable because of immigrant labor.
Immigrants, legal and otherwise, assimilate into our economy in ways we often don't even realize. Some communities, and some industries, would simply cease to exist if all illegal immigrants were suddenly deported.
Furthermore, employers should be free to hire whomever they choose. Do we want a society where the Employment Police are constantly looking over someone's shoulder whenever they choose to spend their own money to hire some help? The U.S.A. is supposed to be a free country, and the last thing we need is another reason for federal bureaucrats telling private business people how run their own business.
So what about social services? What about the strain that illegal immigrants pose on schools, highways, community medical facilities, welfare, unemployment compensation, social security, fire protection, and all the other taxpayer-funded benefits that Americans are supposedly "entitled" to, and that illegals pay far less in taxes into than do legal citizens? This is just one more example of why socialism is always doomed to fail. When a society empowers government to "take care of us" and provide for our wants and needs, all sorts of nasty questions and issues arise, such as: Just who is, and is not, eligible for all these goodies, and how do you keep those not eligible from partaking? See the section below on "Real Alternatives" on what we can do about it.
Besides, most immigrants come to the U.S. to work, not to take advantage of government freebies. In fact, immigrants, by and large, tend to be more industrious and hard-working than many natives.
Crime & Terrorism
Recently, a Houston police officer was killed by an illegal immigrant. As sad and tragic as this incident is, one must be hesitant to draw invalid conclusions.
Are illegal immigrants more prone to commit crimes than are legal immigrants, or American citizens? There are no credible statistics out there to prove that statement. The fact is: Americans who were born here commit more than their share of crimes. As mentioned above, the vast majority of immigrants come to the U.S. to work and earn an honest living.
With regards to terrorists, the argument remains the same. There are no credible statistics to back up the claim that an illegal immigrant is more likely to be a terrorist than is a legal immigrant. The 9-11 terrorists all entered the U.S. legally! Terrorism, indeed, is a serious problem, but if reducing the threat of terrorism is the goal, then a change in U.S. foreign policy would go much further toward achieving that goal than heavy immigration enforcement.
"Seal the Borders!"
We all hear that cry daily from the pundits, politicians, editorialists, and radio talk shows. But how exactly does one "seal the borders?"
A real "concrete" proposal is being put forth that would build an 700-mile American version of the Great Wall of China along the Mexican border. Many nations, throughout history, have tried to build walls to either keep their enemies out or keep their own people in. They never work.
The biggest problem with this proposal is the cost, estimated at $9 Billion. And that doesn't count the cost of people to man it. There is no absolute guarantee that this monstrosity would even work; there will always be ways to go under, over, around, or through it. (It has to have gates somewhere.) And never mind the negative impact it would have on trade with Mexico.
"Sealing the borders" sounds good, but it may not be possible or practical.
Real Alternatives
All this being said, there is indeed a limit to how much immigration a nation and a society will accept, and the general opinion is that immigration from the southern U.S. border has exceeded this limit. Further aggravating this animosity toward these immigrants is their occasional reluctance to assimilate into our society. Failure to learn English, for example, is considered as a sign of ingratitude and rebellion. The worst thing, however, is the act of flying the flag from their homeland. This is the U.S., and only the U.S. flag is welcome here. If immigrants wish to be accepted, they better learn that simple concept.
But the solution to the immigration mess does NOT lie with rigorous laws, stringent law enforcement, and heavy-handed government actions. We need to search for alternatives.
Number one on the to-do list is: abolish all socialized government services. The reason why the U.S. became a wealthy nation and the Soviet Union collapsed was because the U.S. has a free market and the Soviet Union did not. But our system of free enterprise is being eroded away by creeping socialism as advocated by leftist liberals. Not only does socialism punish success and reward failure, but it also has the negative effect of encouraging everyone else in the world to come to the U.S. and live free at taxpayer expense.
The next step is to abolish all governmental requirements at the federal, state, and local level to provide translation services and official documents in languages other than English. When someone immigrates to the U.S., he/she should learn English, and when some governmental agency requires spoken or written communications in some foreign language be provided at taxpayer expense, it simply encourages more immigration and discourages cultural assimilation. The network of laws and codes and regulations that mandates foreign translation is staggering. At the federal level, it includes the Voting Rights Act (amended in 1975) which requires multi-lingual ballots. Then you have the IRS, the Department of Transportation, HUD, the INS, and more; at the state and local level, it include bilingual education at the public schools, local departments of transportation, courtroom interpreters, and much more. For some facts and figures on how much all this translation into non-English costs us all, visit U.S. English, Inc.
The final alternative is to initiate some serious discussion on why all this pressure to immigrate from down south to the U.S. exists in the first place. Mexicans and Central Americans literally risk their lives nowadays to make the perilous journey across remote deserts, fences the Rio Grande to come here. Something down there is causing this desperation; what is it?
The biggest factor is economics. The U.S. government, of course, has limited capabilities to directly stimulate the Mexican economy, and of course, it should not attempt to do so. But one thing the government can do what it can to eliminate any and all barriers to trade with nations to the south. Tariffs, import restrictions, employment restrictions, and other impediments must be abolished, so that commerce in the lower Americas can flourish. (This is another good reason why a 700-mile concrete barrier between the U.S. and Mexico is a terrible idea.)
Furthermore, our government needs to point the finger of blame where it belongs: to the corrupt, inept, tyrannical officials who run the governments of Mexico and the other nations to the south, and convince their citizens to throw out these socialists, communists, fascists, and despots, and institute a system of true liberty and free enterprise. Our government can even provide ambassadors and diplomats to assist these nations in making the transition. And of course, it also never hurts for the U.S. government to try to be a good example.
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