The Migration Debate

I just wanted to post my support for good Samaritan approaches to the legislation under discussion. The worst part of the House passed Bill is that it makes it illegal to offer help to people in trouble. It should be defeated for that reason alone.

How about a little compassion for these folk, many of whom have been here for years. Many have family members (by birth here, by marriage, or by legal immigration) who are U.S. citizens, and some of the provisions under discussion would break up the families. (The proponents of these provisions are those who stress "family values" most in their campaigns!) Many of these undocumented people came not of their own volition, and many came escaping conditions so bad that we can not imagine them.

Of course, good public policy would suggest that we don't try to immediately turn 12 million people in this country into felons (even more if the House had its way and made it a felony to help any illegal immigrant). In a country with an aging population, and a huge debt and deficit, and Social Security likely to be in trouble in future decades, good public policy would seek ways to attract foreign workers, not to discourage them.

The United States is a big country, with lots of room for more people. We can afford to offer people better lives, as we have done in the past.

Why do some people think that immigration is costing the jobs of U.S. citizens? Our unemployment is low. These immigrants have to live, and they spend money here creating more jobs. Indeed, having the workforce a larger portion of the population improves the economy for all.

Of course, if the Congress passes a new law, it should be enforced. Of course, our borders should be safeguarded against terrorist infiltration. However, the new law should recognize that in the future as in the past, the United States can progress economically while offering people in other countries a chance to come here for a better life.

We should not penalize unfairly those who came here at a time when the laws were so poorly enforced that they became meaningless. Indeed, it will be much better public policy to give the 12 million illegal immigrants an acceptable path toward permanent residence, and a legal status that offers them equitable protection while on that path, than to create an instantaneous huge population of felons seeking to escape the law.