illegal immigration: a numbers dilemma

Illegal immigration a topic of hot political debate that has faded in coverage lately.  But with the release of new numbers estimating there are 40 million illegal immigrants in the United States, Barack Obama championing his ‘creation’ (or ’saving’, a conveniently hard statistic to measure) of 3 million jobs just sort of pales in comparison.  Why is there such a big illegal immigration ‘problem’ in this country?  For the most part the issue (besides illegal immigration being illegal) is that these immigrants usually do not pay any taxes and sap the scarce resources of our healthcare system.  ‘They’re taking our jobs” is another common, and usually unfounded, complaint.  But considering that this country was founded upon the principle of free immigration, perhaps it is time to reexamine illegal immigration and rethink our immigration policy.  The early settlers and generations of immigrants came to these shores hoping for a fresh start, a better life, and more freedom. The inscription upon the plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty reflects that sentiment.

Statue of Liberty

“The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek frame,
with conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gate shall stand a mighty woman with a torch
whose flame is imprisoned lighting,
and her name is Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand glows
world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command the air-bridged harbor
that twin cities frame.
“Keep ancient lands your storied pomp!”
cries she with silent lips.
“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!”
-Emma Lazarus (1849-1887)

When the statue of liberty was  constructed we weren’t the established nation with borders to protect that we are today, and when it was erected it was placed near the site of most legal immigration.  The problem is bad immigration policy and poor management. Reagan allowed amnesty to illegals during his term on condition that the border be secured. It never was and now we continue to face border security and amnesty issues over and over. Reagan understood that it was impractical as well as repugnant to return millions of humans who had come to the U.S. seeking a better life, but he also wanted to see the U.S. do a better job of upholding the law in the future, and at that we have failed.  But to state that the current state of illegal immigration is the result of border mismanagement would overlook the facts.

The U.S. has a history of poor immigration policies: some designed out of racism, others designed to appease nations whose economies or social policies had failed. These policies led to the development of quotas, a system that allows very few selective individuals to immigrate to the U.S. each year based on quotas set for their country of origin with most going to Europeans and family members of American citizens withhigh education and skill levels.  Given that legal immigration has become so difficult for those leaving poverty desperately seeking a better life, is it any wonder that they have chosen instead to sneak across a poorly guarded border? To fix immigration we don’t just need physical border security, we also need massive immigration policy overhaul. We need to evaluate the incentives we offer illegal immigrants and take them away: free welfare, free health-care, birthright citizenship.  And we need to get rid of the policy regulations that prevent and discourage legal immigration.  Revamp the immigration system and take away these incentives to immigrate illegally and we will be able to stop discussing various versions of amnesty solutions every 15 years and start developing an effective long term solution.

Immigration facts:

As of February 7th, 2008, ImmigrationCounters.com has estimated that a total of 21.4 million illegal immigrants are in this country, although a more recent (2009) estimate by the White House sets the number around 40 million. These illegal immigrants are estimated to have cost our Social Services $400 Billion since 1996, our educational system $14 Billion since 1996, and our detention facilities $1.4 Billion since 2001.

The Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 abolished the existing system of national-origin quotas replacing it instead with a limitation on Western Hemisphere immigration (120,000 per year) and Eastern Hemisphere (170,000). Because of the family preferences put into immigration law, immigration is now mostly “chain immigration” where recent immigrants who are already here sponsor their relatives. Family related immigration is often outside the quota system.

The 1990 Immigration Act (IMMACT) modified and expanded the 1965 act; it significantly increased the total immigration limit to 700,000 and increased visas by 40 percent. Family reunification was retained as the main immigration criteria, with significant increases in employment-related immigration. Currently, legal immigration requires the passing of a literacy test and denies individuals with a lack of general education.

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