Helping the Mexican economy grow would be part of the overall solution I think - I'm hoping the next Mexican President finally gets tough on his country's economy, corruption, etc. On our side of the border, we need to work on the demand side of the equation better. Higher levels of legal immigration and especially to make the process easier for qualified immigrants (i.e., the kind of people who aren't categorically prohibited from entering the country) would reduce the amount of needed enforcement by reducing the incentives to illegal immigration. Perhaps we could allow legal immigration at a higher cost to those who are unwilling to wait (I'd rather have them paying the U.S. Treasury than coyotes), so that more enforcement resources can be more effectively allocated where needed. I never said we should do away with all immigration laws or enforcement - I just think a wall without the manpower to guard it is a waste - better those monies be spent at catching terrorists.
I would love to see Mexico change. I think what would spur that on is a sudden influx of Mexican nationals who have lived in the US and have seen what life can be like, but who no longer have the choice of coming here in massive numbers. One thing I know is that it is not possible for us to absorb every human being on this planet who wants to come. Some of them are going to have to stay home and improve their own countries.
susie
I'm hoping the next Mexican President finally gets tough on his country's economy, corruption, etc.
Dream on. How do you expect that to happen? By hoping?
On our side of the border, we need to work on the demand side of the equation better. Higher levels of legal immigration and especially to make the process easier for qualified immigrants (i.e., the kind of people who aren't categorically prohibited from entering the country) would reduce the amount of needed enforcement by reducing the incentives to illegal immigration.
First of all, people are coming here to work, not to be assimilated and become American citizens. If we increase legal immigration, we won't be bringing in more unskilled, uneducated workers. We are already allowing approximately 1 million legal immigrants a year, more than any country on earth.
The present level of immigration is significantly higher than the average historical level of immigration. This flow may be attributed, in part, to the extraordinary broadening of U.S. immigration policy in 1965. Since 1970, more than 30 million legal and illegal immigrants have settled in the U.S., representing more than one-third of all people ever to come to America's shores.
At the peak of the Great Wave of immigration in 1910, the number of immigrants living in the U.S. was less than half of what it is today, though the percentage of the population was slightly higher. The annual arrival of 1.5 million legal and illegal immigrants, coupled with 750,000 annual births to immigrant women, is the determinate factor— or three-fourths— of all U.S. population growth.
The incentives for illegal immigration are clear and don't look like they will change anytime soon. Mexico benefits by exporting their surplus, unemployable labor and by receiving approximately 17 billion annually from immigrants sending their money back home. This represents more than the value of the oil they sell to the US and is the biggest source of foreign currency. The immigrants get jobs, free and better social services than in Mexico, and pay no taxes. Others are engaged in crime and drugs. American businesses recieve cheap labor without having to pay SS and other taxes, which increases their profit. Our politicians lack the political will to change fearing the political reprecussions.
Perhaps we could allow legal immigration at a higher cost to those who are unwilling to wait (I'd rather have them paying the U.S. Treasury than coyotes), so that more enforcement resources can be more effectively allocated where needed.
Legal immigration from where? We cannot absorb the amount of people who want to come here. They are coming not only from Mexico but from around the world. Increasing legal immigration will just add to the number of immigrants coming in, legal and illegal. Most of the illegals could never qualify to enter the US legally.