March 27, 2006
Why Not Just Take Their Tired, Their Poor, Their Huddled Masses, Yearning to Breathe Free?
from - smijer
It's the immigration legislation that is in the news now. Normally, I would ignore it simply because I've never developed much of an opinion on it. Part of the reason for that is that it's a tough issue to get into. So, let me just ask a stupid question. Why not negotiate with our neighbors a "free market" for immigration? Put another way, why not allow and document immigration for anyone who wants it? Here is a brief list of the "pluses" for such a scheme, as envisioned in my imagination:
- Opens an option to would-be immigrants to avoid such unpleasantries as dying in the desert or on the back of a truck.
Avoids the perpetuation of an American underclass who lack wage and labor protections, opportunities for education, etc. Also, reduces crime rate which results from said underclass.
Border patrols and immigration services could police for a relative few "hard-core" cases - workers who have some motivation to come in undocumented and give up minimum wage and other labor protections. They could then screen more extensively among undocumented entrants for potential terrorists.
Once job market is saturated, motivation to immigrate to U.S. should decline, and emigration to other markets - particularly those with healthy economies - should increase. Problems associated with illegal immigration should decline in turn. At the same time, a "free market" for international labor would help keep American labor pool strong.
Fewer moral issues with deporting undocumented workers. Those not deemed security threats could, in fact, be offered a chance to document under a probationary scheme.
$$ in tax revenue, currently lost, would be recovered.
What am I missing? What down-sides to such a scheme make it, apparently, unthinkable under U.S. policy? ::
Posted by smijer at March 27, 2006 07:57 AM
I outlined some drawbacks in my blog entry here:
I don't buy your theory that legalizing current illegal aliens will "saturate the job market". Illegal aliens are cheap labor because they're not afforded the same protections as legal workers. Once they get legalized, they will start to compete for the same jobs as legal residents, which will depress the labor market. There will always be market for cheap, illegal labor.
As to increasing tax revenue: Burden on the social security system will far outweigh tax collections. Under the current immigration laws, legal immigrants are able to (eventually) migrate in their family members (children, parents and grandparents) who won't contribute to the tax base, quite the contrary.
Most importantly, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Bureau is on the verge of a collapse, and is not prepared to handle the load of 12+ million new applicants. Allowing illegals to apply for residency will flood the system. As a result, hundreds of thousands of currently legal immigrant applicants will have their cases delayed. I've got first hand experience how demeaning and frustrating the legal immigration process is. Why should those who have been willing to "play by the book" suffer on account of those who have broken the law?
|
Posted by Stormare Mackee on March 27, 2006 09:37 AM Link to comment |
I don't know very much about immigration, but as to your question about why a loosening of immigration rules might not be popular, I think it might be due to fear of economic and cultural impact. The latter is obvious to imagine: "Those people aren't like us" might be one way to express it. The economic issue is just speculation on my part. If people think that new immigrants will take their jobs, they'll want to close down the borders. "Sorry, we're full now."
|
|
Posted by RSA on March 27, 2006 04:15 PM Link to comment |
