Solutions For Illegal Immigration

The illegal variety. If you haven't seen it, the Center for Immigration Studies has an interesting assessment posted:

WASHINGTON (April 2006) -- Proponents of mass legalization of the illegal alien population often justify this radical step by suggesting that the only alternative – a broad campaign to remove illegal aliens by force – is unworkable. One study fancifully suggested that the cost of such a deportation strategy would be $206 billion over the next five years.

But mass forced removal is not the only alternative to mass legalization. A third way is to seek attrition of the illegal population through law enforcement, encouraging illegal aliens to give up and leave of their own accord.

I'm familiar with the concept of attrition through enforcement. It makes a great deal of sense.

Comments

[tester]

If they leave, who is gointa pick my corn and sit my kids?

And how am I gointa afford a legal housekeeper?

[Bert]

When they start shutting down the companies that operate outside the existing labor laws, the changes will start to go all the way through, and people in mexico will start working a little harder to fix their OWN country, which is long, long overdue.

America, land of opportunity, sure, for LEGAL immigration. Not a free-for-all where you have NO clue who's walking down the street...

[rwilymz]

I find it interesting that Fox seems to be actively pushing for his countrymen/women/children to exit stage north.

I find it interesting that this generation's immigrants -- trying to use laws from a century before, i.e., "if you can get here, we'll take you" -- are prouder of the country they came *from* than the one they claim to want to live *in*.

But all in all, the immigration laws we have are cumbersome and invite illegal traffic, the deportation mechanisms we have are bureaucratic and invite underground existence, and those who say "who cares, let 'em stay" are only inviting more of it. These all need to be fixed.

This ain't the 1840s; Mexico is our friend and neighbor and we need to be polite to Mexico and Mexicans. But those who are her illegally need to go back and try it again legally.