[WFTR]

Some conservatives also make an economic argument against immigration enforcement. They see the steady flow of illegals as a free-market response to an unskilled-labor shortage in this country and contend that any policy that interrupts this flow will drive employers out of business. The real problem with our immigration system, Tamar Jacoby wrote in the Weekly Standard, is “a long-standing and all but deliberate mismatch between the size of our yearly quotas and the actual needs of our labor market.”

If businesses want these workers, they should also have to pay for the increased costs to our welfare, healthcare, and education systems. It's no surprise that these workers are great for the businesses that break the law by hiring them. American workers would have to earn enough to pay taxes for schools, to pay for healthcare, to pay other taxes, and to save for retirement. When businesses hire illegals, they can get away with making the taxpayers cover most of those costs for the illegal workers. The illegal status of the workers also makes them a little like slaves, and evil businessmen like the thought of having employees who are little more than slaves.

If we're going to create a program, it should start with the businesses who hire or who have hired these workers paying into a fund not only to cover the healthcare and education expenses for the workers that they are currently employing but also to begin reimbursing the taxpayer for past costs. The fund would also compensate any American who suffered a loss from crime committed or accidents caused by these workers. I suspect that once the businesses started having to pay these perfectly fair costs, they would discover that American workers weren't too expensive after all.

Any bill should also start with reductions in illegal immigration before creating a program to allow some of them to become legal. All of the bills being proposed seem to focus on giving them legal status now and claiming to fix the illegal immigration problem later. Until the government takes big steps to reduce immigration, no one should receive a free pass on past illegal entry.

Bill

[WFTR]

ping

[B4Ranch]

Powerful forces in both parties are arrayed against immigration control. But activists across the country are exerting pressure on politicians to do the dirty job they were elected to do.

Shocking news for any politician!

[backhoe]

Crosslinked:

For "Thunder on the Border," click this picture:

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Get used to it Blue States. The Democrat politicians will find a way to convert illegals into voters so your best hope is to learn to speak Spanish.

[HiJinx]

In short, what Kennedy and McCain have offered is almost exactly the opposite of what a majority of Americans wants. Polls have consistently shown that the public favors less immigration, not more, and desires enforcement, not leniency. This is the message that resounds at the grassroots level. “We want just three things,” says Streitz. “Protect the borders, enforce the laws, and no amnesties.”

Had to check the source of the article after this paragraph...yup, The American Conservative. Just wish our Congress-Critters would figure this out, though.

[Nemesis12]

This is now a problem of megalithic proportions. For years the flow of illegal immigrants has been increasing. Border protection??? What Border??? The Law makers are not doing anything due to the large amount of money involved and the political backlash it will create. The last several administrations have missed the boat here. There are solutions but they are not pretty and unfortunately thats part of the job they were elected to do. I for one am glad that groups are finally putting the spot light on these lawmakers. A side note...It almost strikes me as if we are being invaded here.