Posted on 07/15/2014 4:07:34 AM PDT by Kaslin
Over the past several weeks we have seen a significant increase in illegal immigration, as thousands of unaccompanied minors pour across what seems an invisible southern border into the United States. The mass immigration has, as to be expected, put an enormous strain on local resources, and it has heated up the immigration debate in the US.
Most liberals and conservatives miss the point, however, making the same old arguments we have all heard before. Liberals argue that we need to provide more welfare and assistance to these young immigrants, while conservatives would bus them to the other side of the border, drop them off, and deploy drones to keep them out.
Neither side seems interested in considering why is this happening in the first place. The truth is, this latest crisis is a consequence of mistaken government policies on both sides of the border.
In fact much of the problem can be directly traced to the US drug war, which creates unlivable conditions in countries that produce narcotics for export to the US. Many of those interviewed over the past several weeks have cited violent drug gangs back home as a main motivation for their departure. Because some Americans want to use drugs here in the US, governments to the south are bribed and bullied to crack down on local producers. The resulting violence has destroyed economies and lives from Mexico to Nicaragua and beyond. Addressing the failed war on drugs would go a long way to solving the immigration crisis.
I understand the argument of some libertarians that there should be no limits at all on who comes into the United States, but the reality is we do not live in a libertarian society. We live in a society where healthcare is provided -- often by over-burdened emergency rooms that cannot legally turn away the sick -- "free" education is provided, and other support via food stamp programs is also made available for "free" to illegal immigrants. Many even argue that they should be allowed to vote!
In a free society where the warfare-welfare state ceased to exist, immigration laws would be far less important. A free market would seek workers rather than immigrants to add to its welfare rolls. Voting itself would decline in significance. If 20 people lived on a privately-owned island, for example, one owner could decide to have a guest on his property without bothering the other 19. Were we to move in this direction in the US, the current immigration crisis would be a thing of the past.
Over many years while I was in Congress, I met with scores of employers in my district who faced terrible red tape just to be allowed to bring in temporary agricultural workers who would willingly return home once the work was finished. How ironic that Americans willing to provide jobs for immigrants seeking honest work were thwarted by the same government that has now opened the door to a flood of immigrants seeking welfare and other assistance.
One thing we can be sure about: as Republicans and Democrats tussle over "reform" bills, more money will be thrown at the symptoms produced by past bad policies instead of addressing the real causes of the current crisis. The president's $4 billion supplemental request to address the issue is a costly mix of welfare and enforcement that will do very little to solve the problem because it treats the symptoms instead of the cause. Real reform means changing a failed approach, and until that happens we can count on more expensive mistakes.
The bottom line has always been cheap labor.
You are finally someone who gets it. I have been saying that for years
“I’m not concerned with people who come here to do honest work.”
Provided there is work to be had; otherwise, they are just depressing wages.
The US is stunting the growth of Latin America by allowing these people to come here; necessary reforms in their own countries (especially Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela - oil-producing countries) are avoided by their wealthy rulers because they have the safety valve of immigration to the US to keep their poor from overthrowing their corrupt governments. What the nanny-state did to America’s blacks the US is doing to Latin America’s browns.
Why did you ignore the first part of Freeper BitWielder1’s post?
Almost this entire thread is missing the point.
SECURE THE BORDERS.
Legal immigration solves all of the problems save for the failed foreign policies and this stupid ‘war on drugs’ BS.
This problem predates Reagan. Until there’s an outcry from citizenry to FORCE Congress to act it will NEVER change. This includes forceful policies against the failing government of Mexico to not ‘encourage’ the practice. Here we are expending attention & assets worrying about changing the likes of Nigeria & Ukraine et al and we have a genuine crisis right here at home that affects our children. This planet has Country borders for a reason. Euro be damned: Illegal immigration is a direct assault on the Constitution and US sovereignty.
Frankly, if 9/11 didn’t change the southern border issue, there’s gonna be a helluva lot of suffering somewhere in this country to make it change. Slow & painful or fast & destructive, or both...it makes no difference.
Pathetic. If it comes to that, all living current & past Congressional members should be hanged. Perhaps that’s just my pre-coffee fatigue speaking, but that’s my thought of the moment...
I read that argument all the time on FR but that really is not the case. Paul’s point was really about the ongoing hypocrisy from the US in pushing to allow all the illegals to stay and the do jobs Americans won’t while torturing those of us who try to go through legal means...guess it doesn’t fit into their agenda. BUT, there is already a legal method for coming here to work. The red tape Paul speaks of makes it an expensive annual nightmare. Yet I do it every year to bring up labor from Jamaica to pick crops legally. Some have been working for us for over 20 years. Right now the pay is $11.20/hour and housing plus transportation. Not cheap -unless we raise the price of lettuce and tomatoes and everything else. Would you pay more?
Close the border, deport everyone who is illegal, streamline and simplify the guest worker process (yep, everyone is vetted, vaccinated, and returns to their country of origin at end of contract...).
Remove the excuses about why we need illegals! But we all know they need to make it seem like we have to have them here to fulfill their political motives.
/Rant off
Because it isn’t important; I live within sight of the World Trade Center, and I know those guys didn’t need to sneak across a border. I also live in a town filled with illegals that didn’t sneak across the border; they come here on work and student visas, and simply overstay them.
Is that an acceptable justification for my failure to comment on what I viewed as a moot point, sir?
the bracero program was ok bring it back..problem is now illegals move up from the fields to construction etc taking citizens jobs and leaving a vacuum in agriculture-why pick crops when you can construct and get paid more?
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