Thursday, February 09, 2006
Illegal immigration
I just read several letters to a daily newspaper in Colorado decrying illegal immigration, because such immigrants are breaking the law. I find this argument very simplistic. But hey, what if we crack down hard on illegal immigration? (because it's illegal, silly!)
When we Americans are prepared to enforce employment laws for all employers equally, in order not to unfairly penalize the small business owner (building contractor, roofer, painter, grocer) trying to make a living, let's crack down hard on illegal immigration.
When we Americans are prepared to pay significantly higher prices on food, construction, domestic service and hotels (among other things), let's crack down hard on illegal immigration.
When we Americans are willing to invest a large sum of the federal budget on policing our very long southern border, let's crack down on illegal immigration.
When we Americans are willing to admit that hiring these people simply manifests Adam Smith's "invisible hand" of capitalism, and that the free market is what brings immigrants here, and that these folks are merely selling their labor at a higher price than what they can earn at home (a founding tenet of capitalism), and that expecting a long porous border to defend against this free market activity is unrealistic at this time, let's crack down hard on illegal immigration.
And when we Americans are prepared to privilege the Laws of the hated and derided Government over natural and hard-to-police free market activity (because it's ILLEGAL for them to come here), then, by all means, let's crack down hard on illegal immigration.
When we Americans are prepared to enforce employment laws for all employers equally, in order not to unfairly penalize the small business owner (building contractor, roofer, painter, grocer) trying to make a living, let's crack down hard on illegal immigration.
When we Americans are prepared to pay significantly higher prices on food, construction, domestic service and hotels (among other things), let's crack down hard on illegal immigration.
When we Americans are willing to invest a large sum of the federal budget on policing our very long southern border, let's crack down on illegal immigration.
When we Americans are willing to admit that hiring these people simply manifests Adam Smith's "invisible hand" of capitalism, and that the free market is what brings immigrants here, and that these folks are merely selling their labor at a higher price than what they can earn at home (a founding tenet of capitalism), and that expecting a long porous border to defend against this free market activity is unrealistic at this time, let's crack down hard on illegal immigration.
And when we Americans are prepared to privilege the Laws of the hated and derided Government over natural and hard-to-police free market activity (because it's ILLEGAL for them to come here), then, by all means, let's crack down hard on illegal immigration.
