Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Immigration, Legal and Illegal
Many proposed solutions to the problem of illegal immigration are floating around these days. None of them appeal to me. Here are a few:
I believe that I am a rational and compassionate person. None of these alternatives is both rational and compassionate. Although some loud-mouthed nativists complain that the ten million or so illegal immigrants are criminals and should be treated as such, in fact the immigrants are committing only misdemeanors. Their crime is only as serious as the one I commit when I drive my car at a speed somewhat over the speed limit on some of the streets of Los Angeles.
I am struck by the fact that the nativists urge a fence to separate the United States from Mexico. No one has gained any notoriety for advocating a fence along our northern border with Canada. No one is offended by illegal Canadian immigrants. They have fair complexions and speak English. The offense seems to be that of having a dark complexion and speaking New World Spanish. I dismiss these nativists as being prejudiced against dark skin and the Spanish language.
A stronger argument is that these undocumented immigrants, having no papers and knowing that they are in the country illegally, are push-overs for contractors and other business operators who hire them and pay substandard wages, provide no employee benefits, and make them work in unsafe conditions. To continue the argument, these low-wage workers have destroyed the American middle class. American workers formerly protected by strong unions and union contracts now see their jobs done by non-union immigrant workers at a fraction of the wages formerly paid for the work.
What is to be done? In our present open society, it is not possible to round up all ten million workers without papers (they used to be called WOP's) and expel them. We do not have a system of identity cards or personal passports. I do not carry on my person a single document that proves that I am a legal resident of the United States. Building a fence and beefing up the border patrol would probably diminish the rate of illegal immigration but would not stop it completely. Border guards can be bribed. Authentic-looking visas can be counterfeited. Humans can be transported in cargo containers. There are other ways of defeating the fence.
Actually, the problem is one of globalization. Just as work tends to be moved to places where labor is cheap, so workers tend to move to places where jobs exist and pay is better than in the place from which they come. It's all part of the process in which living standards and working conditions tend toward equality all over the world. Canadian immigrants are not a problem because Canada and the United States have comparable living standards and wage scales. The realistic solution to the problem of cheap labor from Mexico is to assist Mexico to bring its standard of living and wage scale to the same levels as in the United States.
However, this is not a solution that is under consideration right now in the Senate or the House or the White House. It is not a proposal that politicians like because it is not a quick fix to a problem and it is not a cheap fix, either.
- It is now a misdemeanor to remain in the United States without a valid visa, work permit, or proof of citizenship. One proposal would make it a felony. The proposed law would also make it a felony to assist an illegal immigrant in any way.
- Round up all the illegal immigrants and deport them to their countries of origin.
- Build a fence along the border between Mexico and the United States. Create a corps of border guards to police the fence and prevent any Mexican from getting in.
- Establish a "guest worker" program under which undocumented residents could obtain special work permits. After a number of years, they would become eligible to apply for citizenship.
- The "guest workers" would be required to return to their home countries after a period of - say - five years. They could then apply for new "guest worker" permits or for visas.
- Do nothing. Leave the present rules in place. Enforce them no more rigorously than they are being enforced at present.
I believe that I am a rational and compassionate person. None of these alternatives is both rational and compassionate. Although some loud-mouthed nativists complain that the ten million or so illegal immigrants are criminals and should be treated as such, in fact the immigrants are committing only misdemeanors. Their crime is only as serious as the one I commit when I drive my car at a speed somewhat over the speed limit on some of the streets of Los Angeles.
I am struck by the fact that the nativists urge a fence to separate the United States from Mexico. No one has gained any notoriety for advocating a fence along our northern border with Canada. No one is offended by illegal Canadian immigrants. They have fair complexions and speak English. The offense seems to be that of having a dark complexion and speaking New World Spanish. I dismiss these nativists as being prejudiced against dark skin and the Spanish language.
A stronger argument is that these undocumented immigrants, having no papers and knowing that they are in the country illegally, are push-overs for contractors and other business operators who hire them and pay substandard wages, provide no employee benefits, and make them work in unsafe conditions. To continue the argument, these low-wage workers have destroyed the American middle class. American workers formerly protected by strong unions and union contracts now see their jobs done by non-union immigrant workers at a fraction of the wages formerly paid for the work.
What is to be done? In our present open society, it is not possible to round up all ten million workers without papers (they used to be called WOP's) and expel them. We do not have a system of identity cards or personal passports. I do not carry on my person a single document that proves that I am a legal resident of the United States. Building a fence and beefing up the border patrol would probably diminish the rate of illegal immigration but would not stop it completely. Border guards can be bribed. Authentic-looking visas can be counterfeited. Humans can be transported in cargo containers. There are other ways of defeating the fence.
Actually, the problem is one of globalization. Just as work tends to be moved to places where labor is cheap, so workers tend to move to places where jobs exist and pay is better than in the place from which they come. It's all part of the process in which living standards and working conditions tend toward equality all over the world. Canadian immigrants are not a problem because Canada and the United States have comparable living standards and wage scales. The realistic solution to the problem of cheap labor from Mexico is to assist Mexico to bring its standard of living and wage scale to the same levels as in the United States.
However, this is not a solution that is under consideration right now in the Senate or the House or the White House. It is not a proposal that politicians like because it is not a quick fix to a problem and it is not a cheap fix, either.
