Immigracion Si Indocumentado No

In a perfect world I'm all for open borders. If we were to shred the welfare state, I'd tell everyone without a criminal record especially those who are from our closest neighbors to come on in and welcome. We need new blood to expand our markets and workforce, especially since Americans have given up having babies.

But unfortunately this is not a perfect world, the welfare state is bigger and more burdensome than ever, and we are at war. This makes our de-facto immigration policy untenable.

Unfunded mandates on our emergency rooms, and social welfare programs which sap the vital juices of American society under normal conditions, become unbearably burdensome when deformed to accommodate hordes of those for which they were not designed or intended.

To guard us from foreign threats which can take many forms, one of the chief duties of Government is to maintain the integrity of our borders, especially during time of war. Threats from foreigners can be intended and unintended. They can take the forms of diseases such as TB. They can be conventional criminals, and they can be terrorists or foreign fighters seeking to infiltrate. The danger of a fifth column exists, therefore we must be discriminating in our judgment as to whom we allow to enter into the country. We can prevent none of that, nor can we certify desirable immigrants without effective border control. Part of that means manpower and technology, and part of that means fences, even minefields, the danger is that great.

Furthermore, anyone who harbors or employs illegals must be prosecuted as felons, police given powers to detain illegals, and a zero-tolerance policy be enforced

All that is to prevent future threats.

For those illegals who are already here, I say this:

Live and let live.

That doesn't means I approve of forgiveness of the illegal status they willfully bought upon themselves, but it does mean we should not actively seek deportation for those who are otherwise living lawfully within our borders. If one of these individuals runs afoul of our legal system they should instantly be deported after having made amends for their crime. My rationale in not allowing a means to legal residency for those individuals (for whom by the way I am highly sympathetic) is simply this, I do not wish to raise the hopes of persons contemplating entering illegally and thus exacerbate the problem.

What I hope will happen is this, I advocate that once secure borders are in place, immigration standards be loosened and streamlined to allow swift legal entry for able-bodied non-criminal individuals, with the proviso that they not be allowed access to our safety net, but rather their needs be met by employers for a certain number of years, after which they can seek normal citizenship. I am hopeful that once that path is open, resident illegals will recognize it as the only option they have for access to the mainstream, return home, and re-enter legally.

Update 5/10/07, relevant commentary:
Fort Dix Six? Look At Illegal Immigration