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In our view: Jobs key to eliminating immigration

— If Uncle Sam can’t get something done about illegal immigration, states and cities appear ready to put a stopper in the bottle of uninvited people flowing across our southern borders.
Nearly half the states have designated English as their official or common language by law, constitutional provision or court decision. And roadblocks are being erected to prevent those in this country illegally from renting apartments or applying for state assistance programs. One plan being suggested that may prove popular with cash-strapped states is a tax on money being shipped home by illegal immigrants working in this country. We’ve heard estimates of how much money is flowing over the border at between $10 billion and $15 billion annually.
But the truth is that English-only and other measures — and even a tax designed to slow the rush of money southward — are mostly irritants. Those efforts aren’t likely to turn back the tide of illegal immigration or, for that matter, reduce the volume of people daily crossing the border looking for jobs.
Building a fence from Texas to California won’t stop them, either. Nor is amnesty a solution. The former would require stretching an army along the border, and the latter would make the idea of legal immigration a sick joke.
There are 12 million illegal immigrants living and working in the United States. The numbers, despite steps being taken to strengthen border surveillance and interdiction, will continue to rise. Our powerhouse economy and our individual liberties are magnets for those who have lived in squalor, poverty and fear all of their lives. These people not only believe in the American dream, but also in the welcome mat laid out at the feet of the Statue of Liberty. They are willing to risk arrest, incarceration and, yes, even death to attain it.
But immigration must be controlled. Our borders are porous.
The most effective way to discourage illegal immigration is to eliminate the jobs. Employers who wink at laws against hiring illegal workers should be hit with penalties so crushing that a second offense could put a company out of business and its executives behind bars. Employers then would think twice about taking a chance.
An intriguing alternative to giving those now illegally in the country guest-worker status might be to offer service in the military and an honorable discharge, say, after six years, as a shortcut to citizenship. That would cut through bureaucratic red tape and provide for the nation’s defense. It’s a thought.

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