History
The xenophobes write off immigration based off of fear and bigotry, two qualities that really fail to take into consideration America's history. As of 2006, Native American population comprised 0.8% of the total US population (source). That means that 99.2% of the US population owes their current citizenship to either the immigration of their ancestors or even their own immigration. At the very least, I believe that this fact alone deserves a certain appreciation of the process of immigration. That appreciation however does not really offer solutions, it just lets us know that immigration has played a critical role in our growth as a nation.
Legal Immigration
One of the biggest proponents of increasing legal immigration that I regularly read about, is Vivek Wadwah. His primary approach to the issue begins with foreign students that come to the US to obtain their college education. Most of those students then take their education and head home. Once there, they then use their education and entrepreneurial spirit to build companies in their home markets. Primarily those home markets are two of our nearest economic competitors China - #2 and India - #3. I am in no way saying that we must stop either of those countries from growing, and I am certain that Wadwah is not doing so either. What is important here, is that there is talent which we should at the very least, be trying to attract here in the US.
Not every legal immigrant falls under the category of US educated, some simply want to come to our country because they have a dream of a better life (They may choose to go to school after immigrating, as part of that pursuit). While I was on my way to the Denver Airport to fly home this past Summer, my taxi driver and I got to talking. He told me how many hours he works each day driving a taxi and how he was still able to keep up with school (which he started a couple of years after moving here). As I was at the time, getting ready to finish my bachelors degree, I was a little embarrassed by the fact that I did not work at all while going to school (at least for my final 3 years). When I told him that his work ethic was?commendable, he simply responded by saying, "I would not have this opportunity back home. When I came to America, I wanted a better life. I simply do what I must, in order to reach that better life."
The taxi ride left me thinking that this is exactly the kind of immigrant that we need in this country. Too many of us (myself included), take the opportunities that we have for granted. We look at job growth and complain that others are not doing enough to fix our country. Completely ignoring the fact that we have the number one economy in the world. That we as a nation are second to none, yet we expect others to continue to give us more opportunity. Here is an immigrant who knew just how much we have available to us, and he is pursuing it with dogged determination.
Illegal Immigration
The biggest problem with illegal immigration is that it is unregulated. This means that, if successful in getting into our country, immigrant numbers can increase at a rate that exceeds the rate of new job openings. This will lead to increase in poverty here in the US. There is no denying that there is a positive effect on the cost of goods & services that utilize cheap (again albeit illegal) labor. Whether that effect is used to keep the cost to consumer low, or if it is instead used to increase profit margins, is of course a different discussion. Regardless, it is clear that there are people who are willing to come to the US and work those jobs and for those wages.
Better Way Of Tackling Illegal Immigration
What if we as a nation accepted the fact that industries and people will continue to perpetuate the process of hiring illegal immigrant and paying them less than you could pay a citizen. Not only do we accept it, but we streamline the process. As we know which industries are involved in the bulk of hiring illegal labor, what if they reported their hiring needs to U.S. Immigration & Customs (ICE). ICE would then use that data to allow immigrant workers entry into the country, perhaps giving them a special laborer visa. Immigrants who are willing to take the given job at the given salary, simply signup and state where they are willing to work. When the opening in their given location is made available, they are granted access. The companies using the cheap labor can cover the cost of their travel from their point of entry.
In doing so, we can better manage all immigration and help to prevent dangerous border crossings. The industries that are selected to benefit from this change, will do so at a cost. They of course will be required to ensure that cost for consumer is properly balanced with increasing profit margins. They should also be required to ensure that their workers have basic standards of life maintained (housing, food, primary education, health, etc).
Conclusion
There is no doubt that our country needs immigration reform. It must first start with all of us achieving a better understanding of our long history with immigration. Then we need to recognize the added value of obtaining top talent from around the globe. Finally, we need to accept and get control of the illegal labor workforce. This is after all the land of opportunity, what speaks better to that fact than sharing that opportunity with others?
Source: http://blog.coatesism.com/2012/09/immigration.html
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