www.azcentral.com

Action needed to stem illegal-immigration tide

By Brian Gratton
Aug. 28, 2005 12:00 AM

States of emergency declared in Arizona and New Mexico signal that politicians finally perceive the tsunami of public opinion against illegal immigration. The failure of politicians to recognize legitimate complaints by citizens has fostered the careers of cranks and racists among those who favor restriction. Unfortunately, Govs. Janet Napolitano and Bill Richardson are likely to make the problem worse.

They support amnesty and guest-worker programs, joining almost all Arizona's congressional delegation, President Bush, both major parties and papers ranging from The Arizona Republic to the New York Times.

Supporters of such policies always proclaim it will solve the problem of undocumented immigration. This is the first deception. Guest-worker and amnesty programs increase illegal immigration and have always done so. They camouflage reality, magically converting illegal immigrants into legal ones. They provide the stability of residence that allows the newly authorized to sponsor the immigration of relatives and friends; and they tell potential emigrants that amnesty is likely to be granted in the future. advertisement

The second deception is the claim that undocumented immigrants provide indispensable services for the country. Because such immigrants are generally unskilled, poorly educated and unable to speak English, the opposite is true. We condemn high school dropout rates, pointing to the severe costs they impose upon the individual and society.

Why should we encourage the entry of people with little education and no ability to speak English? Economists concur that unskilled immigrants constitute a net cost to American citizens, using more in public services (education, health and public safety) than they pay in taxes. Only two groups profit: the immigrants themselves and their employers, who pay a wage so low that other costs (education, health and public safety) are passed on to taxpayers.

Still greater penalties are paid by the many unskilled Americans who compete in these labor markets. Some scholars conclude that heavy costs will extend into the second generation. High dropout rates among the children of unskilled immigrants and their slow rate of upward occupational mobility may lead to a long-term drain on public services.

There are three ways to stop illegal immigration:


• First, tougher borders raise the costs of crossing and reduce the pool that can pay the price. But effective border control is both expensive and menacing, a military response to decent people seeking a better life.


• The second solution is that Latin American countries achieve the economic development and social stability sufficient to offer a better life at home. Positive signs exist, such as a falling birth rate in Mexico, but migration is now global. For generations to come, vast regions of the underdeveloped world, many much poorer than Mexico, will look to the United States.


• The third and best solution is to sanction rigorously those who hire illegal immigrants. Employers who use illegal immigrants fought against sanctions successfully until 1986. The immigration act of that year, which gave amnesty to 2.7 million people, was the first to promise penalties for those who "knowingly" hired unauthorized workers.

Beware all such promises: The 1986 sanctions are not enforced, as immigration authorities openly admit. Sanctions must be stiff, unambiguous and enforced.

Citizens who seek to end undocumented immigration have good reason: These immigrants are costly. They also have good reason to oppose amnesty and guest-worker programs: These will exacerbate the problem they are supposed to solve.

Citizens have less reason to look to the border than to employers for a solution. Just as employers were taught that child labor was illegal, they can be taught that hiring unauthorized workers is illegal. When they learn this lesson, the lure that induces deadly crossings and dramatic states of emergency will be gone.