A New Immigration Situation

 The Issue 

Immigration is an issue that has been on the forefront of national debate for some time now. There seems to be a clear line between those who oppose further immigration to the United States, and those who are demanding it. For those in favor of continued immigration to the United States, the central claim seems to be consistent: the U.S. economy has an overwhelming need for low-skilled, low-wage jobs that only immigrant workers can provide. For those opposed,

american flag

however, the social, economic, and political consequences far outweigh the costs. With a growing concern for the war in Iraq, boosting the economy, and protecting homeland security, enacting stricter illegal immigration laws would generally be a solution in the movement for protecting the country and the economy. But for some, now seems to be the time to support undocumented immigrants. Although the United Sates is the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, the decision to take on added burdens can have multiple outcomes affecting all aspects of politics and culture. The United States does have a responsibility to help and assist those in need internationally, but it also has the role to provide for its own citizens. Balancing these roles played by the United States is now the current issue with immigration.

For Those Opposed...

The DREAM Act

Among those opposed to increased leniency towards illegal immigration is Michael Ward. Ward weighs in with the increasing amount of legislation supporting illegal immigration, such as the DREAM act, in his article, “Illegal Immigrants in the U.S. Military Should Not Be Granted Citizenship.” The DREAM act is a bill calling for illegal immigrants to receive permanent legal residence upon the completion of two years of college or military service. The Washington Times states that the bill “would allow a six year grace period for illegal immigrants who grew up in the United States and graduated from a U.S. high school, during which they would be exempt from deportation. If they finished two years of college or served two years in the military during that time, they could earn permanent legal residence in the United States.”  According to Ward, the bill “would provide illegal immigrants with undeserved benefits. Illegal aliens would be a military liability because their national loyalty is not clear. In addition, having entered the country illegally, they would be fighting to defend the very laws that they had broken.” Ward adds, “Such a proposal cheapens the idea of U.S. citizenship by making it easily attainable.”

The DREAM act would also include the right for states to permit in-state tuition for illegal immigrants at public

United States Capitol

 colleges. Ward writes, “In other words, if one was from Mandeville, La., they would potentially have to pay almost twice as much as an illegal alien would to come to [Texas] A&M.” Ward sees this bill as a “waste of the taxpayers’ money” and questions politicians for spending time and money on legislation that has little to do with the interests of the American people. Ward notes, “In a building paid for by U.S. taxpayers, politicians salaried by U.S. citizens are writing legislation that has the interests of illegal aliens at heart. Public officials have no right to draft legislation, the tangibility of which—to the average U.S. citizen—is so obscure as to be irrelevant.”

As an American and a college student, Ward’s argument makes complete sense. It is unfair to offer citizenship contingent on what should be seen as a privilege. Providing in-state tuition to illegal immigrants and not to American citizens is ridiculous. If students are going to be charged for being out of state, shouldn’t others be charged for being out of country? In addition, why does our government feel comfortable allowing illegal immigrants to serve in the

 military when they treat American citizens like criminals with legislation like the patriot act? Ward puts it best when he writes, “…the bill requires little more from illegal aliens than what they have been doing—residing in the United States. It is the U.S. that has the responsibility to grant citizenship. It's called homesteading and while it worked to build many states in this nation, it's a disservice to the idea of citizenship.”

What the American People Say

According to a Time magazine poll taken nationally in the United States...

• 82% say that the United States is not doing enough to keep illegal immigrants from entering the country.
• 78% favor allowing illegal immigrants in the U.S. citizenship if they learn English, have a job and pay taxes.
• 72% favor allowing illegal immigrants to get temporary US work visas.
• 71% support major penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants.
• 69% believe illegal immigrants should have greater restrictions to government services, such as driver's license, health care/food stamps, and attending public schools.
• 68% say that illegal immigration is an extremely/very serious problem in the United States.
• 62% favor taking whatever steps are necessary at the borders, including the use of the military, to cut the flow of illegal immigrants into the country.
• 56% favor building a security fence along the U.S.-Mexican border.
• 55% think illegal immigrants are taking jobs that U.S. citizens do not want or cannot do.
• 51% think the US would be "better off" by deporting all *illegal immigrants, while 38% believe the U.S. would be "worse off".
• 25% support making illegal immigration a crime and not allowing anyone who has entered the country illegaly to work or stay in the U.S.

"Less Hospitable"

Also weighing in on illegal immigration, Steven A. Camarota, provides a unique solution to the on going problem of illegal immigration in the United States. In his article, “Use Enforcement to Ease Situation,” Camarota suggests that illegal immigration can be solved through “attrition by enforcement.” Camarota points out that a movement to round up

Migrant Workers in the field

 illegal immigrants and deport them is “politically incorrect,” and unlikely. On the other hand, a movement to give amnesty to illegal immigrants, followed by increasing legal immigration, would still present problems for Americans. Camarota writes, “The poorest and least educated American workers would still face job competition from millions of legalized illegal aliens.”

Camarota believes that increasing legal immigration would be a huge financial burden for American people. In fact, Camarota claims, “My research indicates that the net fiscal drain (taxes minus costs) would triple if we legalized illegals.” Camarota goes on to suggest that increased legal immigration would lead to an even bigger fiscal drain. “Unskilled illegal aliens are costly, but unskilled legal immigrants cost even more because they can more easily access social programs.”

Camarota’s idea for American immigration reform is to simply be “less hospitable” to illegals, and they will simply leave. While this might be a tad optimistic, a more active addition to this defense includes, “…barring illegals from holding jobs by using the national databases that already exist to ensure that each new hire is legally entitled to work here.”

“Less hospitable” is a nice way for Camarota to put it. Illegal immigrants have a pretty sweet deal here in the United

The Statue of Liberty

 States. On top of being rewarded with citizenship by bettering oneself with an American education, and paying no property taxes, illegal immigrants also have access to countless government programs financed by the American taxpayer. Finally, while actively rounding up illegal immigrants and deporting is unlikely, what’s not is deporting illegal immigrants when they are discovered and/or placed under arrest.

The Mexican View...

"Mexicans should have the right to enter the U.S. without U.S. permission,"

• 57% of Mexicans agreed
• 35% disagreed
• 7% were unsure

Workforce Complement or Complaint?

Among those who are for increasing immigration to the United States is Ernesto Zedillo, author of “Migranomics Instead of Walls.” In his article, Zedillo claims, “Relying on enforcement measures alone is bound to fail because it ignores the underlying economic reason for the illegal-immigration phenomenon: Immigration is essential to the dynamism of the American economy.” Zedillo also argues that the immigrants, illegal and legal, who are in the United States should not be seen as a burden, but rather as a compliment to the American workforce. Zedillo believes that there is a shortage of unskilled workers in the U.S., and without these immigrants the United States economy would greatly suffer.

With the amount of unemployed people in this country I find it hard to believe that illegal immigrants are a complement to our workforce. Ernesto Zedillo is the former president of Mexico, and I also find it hard to believe that his concern for “the dynamism of the American economy” is sincere. Is he not first and foremost concerned with the dynamism of the Mexican economy? Or is he just concerned with the loads of cash that illegal and legal immigrants send home to Mexico from the United States each year? The money being taken out of our economy and put into Mexico’s certainly isn’t helping us and ours. I think that if it is so important for the United States to help Mexico, then we should instead help them with developing a better government so they can provide jobs and security to their citizens.

"The Kind Only Immigrants Can Provide..."

Another advocate for increased immigration is an anonymous author of an editorial for The New Republic. Like Zedillo, this author claims that “the U.S. economy has an overwhelming need for the sort of labor that only immigrant workers provide.” The author goes on to discuss his or her favor for a bill that was introduced by Senators Edward Kennedy and John McCain which takes Bush’s bill a step further and would essentially “allow immigrants, both legal and illegal, to apply for temporary worker visas. Where they differ with Bush is in a plank that would allow immigrants to stay in the country and pursue permanent resident status after their visas expire.” Although the author admits that this bill will unlikely pass, he/she is hopeful.

First of all, what is the “sort of labor that only immigrant workers provide?” That doesn’t even make any sense. Again, the excuse that immigrants do the jobs that Americans don’t want to do is unwarranted. There are plenty of Americans who would gladly do the “undesirable” jobs, the problem is they wont do it for as cheap as an immigrant will. That does not make an immigrant worker indispensable. If business owners didn’t hire illegal immigrants for dirt cheap (which is really exploiting them) then they would be forced to pay a little extra, thus putting more American workers to work and stimulating the economy (not to mention not breaking the law). As for the proposed bill in the editorial, it wouldn’t be a guest worker program if the guest workers became citizens, would it? We simply cannot provide for everyone who wants to come here, there has to be boundaries drawn and quotas still in place. Without these quotas, America would inevitably suffer from overpopulation, and no longer be able to provide, first and foremost, for its own citizens.

What Now?

Certainly America is a country founded on immigration. America, being one of the world’s most powerful countries, also has a certain responsibility to provide for those less fortunate. There is however, a time to take care of our own country and our own people before we start to take care of everyone else. There is also a responsibility for our

Mexican Passport w/path

lawmakers to enforce the laws that they make, American legislation should be pertinent to American interests. Ward, for example, knows that there are many delicate issues surrounding the rejection of an education to anyone in this country but, what Ward points out is, there is something wrong with rewarding people for breaking the law. In addition, Camarota also makes a good point: It is illegal for aliens to have a job in this country and that is not evident by law enforcement. It is contradictory of our government to say it is illegal to work here, then to not only not enforce the law, but create government programs to encourage illegal immigration. Immigration reform needs to start with punishing those who hire illegal immigrants. If nobody hires them, they won’t come here. The ones that are already here will either leave, or eventually be picked up by the police. With the quota system that is in place, a steady flow of immigration will continue without a complete overload. In addition, I propose that our government create a database for immigrants to prevent them from using false social security numbers, and start protecting American jobs and interests. With all that is going on this country, less time needs to be focused on sweetening the deal for illegal immigrants, and more time on the soldiers who are dying everyday in Iraq. If we stand strong, perhaps then Mexico can begin to solve their own issues, and start to build a country where there is no need to look north for opportunity.