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Thursday, 26 October 2006 |
I favor legal borders, legal
immigration, and legal workers. But, we will not be able to achieve
these goals until we face up to the economic sources of immigration.
Neither status-quo party will address underlying causes because they
both support these policies.
For example, NAFTA and other
trade agreements have undermined workers south of the border. Indeed,
one million Mexican farmers have been forced off their farms and
wages have been reduced for workers. Therefore, despite tripling the
border patrol, the United States is unable to control immigration.
The lesson is that economics trumps enforcement.
Illegal
immigration is, at its root cause, about the exploitation of labor
both in the United States and south of the border. NAFTA and other
trade agreements have made it too easy for multi-national
corporations to take advantage of workers; already underpaid, workers
find it difficult to survive in their home country. Combine that with
the desire for cheap labor in the United States, as well as the
non-enforcement of laws against hiring undocumented workers, and we
have created an uncontrollable border situation. The economy will
trump border enforcement every time.
Further, the legal
immigration process has been politicized and results in unfairness.
Transparency is needed in the immigration process so an applicant can
understand any delays or problems they encounter. Legal immigration
must be consistent with the needs of the U.S. economy. If economic
needs are not met, illegal immigration will fill the void. These
underlying economic issues must be confronted to get control of our
borders.
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