Opinion: We forget what Milton Friedman said about illegal immigration

Opinion by John Dewar Gleissner, opinion contributor
Jan 24 • 2 min read • Updated 1h ago



Opinion: We forget what Milton Friedman said about illegal immigration

Years ago, the great conservative economist Milton Friedman said Mexican illegal immigration across the border was a good thing. These workers, he said help the American economy.
Friedman said illegal immigration was a good thing so long as it is illegal. Illegal immigrants do not qualify for welfare benefits, Social Security, or other myriad benefits American citizens can receive. Illegal immigrants work hard, are good workers, gravitate to jobs, are better off here, and benefit the U.S. and American citizens. Illegal immigrants take jobs most Americans do not want.
But if you make illegal immigration legal, then “it’s no good,” Friedman added.
Friedman may not have calculated the costs of educating the children of illegal immigrants, who if born here become American citizens. Sometimes illegal immigrants are injured in accidents and receive free medical treatment at hospitals.
According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, “Undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022. Most of that amount, $59.4 billion, was paid to the federal government while the remaining $37.3 billion was paid to state and local governments.”
Why shouldn’t the standard for deportation versus a green card boil down to whether the illegal immigrant helps or hurts the American economy? Under this standard, illegal workers can stay and pay taxes, while those who do not work or commit crimes are deported. One DUI, drug-related or violent crime conviction? Immediate deportation. Criminal record? Deportation. Being the guilty driver in a motor vehicle accident without insurance? Deportation, unless the victim obtains restitution or wants the worker to stay and pay damages.
Deporting illegal immigrants with jobs harms the American economy. Employers of illegal immigrants might be given a say in whether their workers are deported. The U.S. workforce includes 8.5 million undocumented workers, or some 4.8 percent to 5 percent of the total U.S. labor force, according to the Center for Migration Studies, concentrated in construction, accommodation and food services, manufacturing, agriculture, waste management, retail trade, and several other areas. The government historically does not enforce laws against employers vigorously, although enforcement is on the upswing.
Increasing enforcement activities against employers and resulting economic losses may be just what are needed to effect meaningful reforms. In 1925, Calvin Coolidge in a speech said, “The chief business of the American people is business.” Harming business and the American economy will make reform happen faster than any other method.
John Dewar Gleissner practiced law in Alabama for more than 45 years, and is author of “Prison and Slavery — a Surprising Comparison,” and “Truth About the Old South — A Case for African American Exceptionalism,” other ebooks, law review articles and recently “Explaining the Mammoth Economy, Smokehouses, and the Mezhyrich Map.”
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Opinion: We forget what Milton Friedman said about illegal immigration