Who Are the Real Saboteurs of Immigration Reform?

Townhall.com ^ | April 17, 2014 | Victor Davis Hanson

[Kaslin]

Solving the illegal immigration problem should not be hard. No one knows how many foreign nationals are residing illegally in the United States -- estimates range from 11 million to 20 million. But everyone understands that it is an untenable situation that must be addressed.

The two extreme positions of the Left and Right probably have little public support -- on the one hand, blanket amnesties and open borders, and on the other, deportation of all foreign nationals who reside here without legal authorization.

Polls show that most Americans want something in between.

Close the border. Allow entry only to those who have legal permission. Ensure that employers hire only those foreign nationals who have valid green cards. Permit those who have resided here for a while, who are without criminal records and are employed, to apply inside the U.S. for either a pathway to citizenship or legal residence.

Require that those residing here unlawfully pay a fine for breaking the law and wait in line until immigrants who followed the law are first processed. Reform legal immigration to make it ethnically blind and predicated on skill sets and education rather than on proximity to our borders or on family connections to those residing here unlawfully.

[kabar]

In times of low employment, I wouldn’t have any immigration at all.

Agreed, but we continue to have an immigration policy that is not related to our job needs. We just had the largest decade of legal immigration in US history at a time when we had a net loss of jobs during that same period.

[xzins]

I agree. Insanity.

[Brad from Tennessee]

In 2007 then Senator Obama helped kill the Bush “immigration reform” push on orders from the AFL-CIO. The unions may publicly support amnesty today but in reality most of them oppose it because it threatens jobs and wages. Obama is now caught between the real interests of organized labor and a desire by the Democrat establishment to flood the country with 10 to 20 million new political partisans.

[sitetest]

Yes, we cross-posted.

[9YearLurker]

We desperately need more doctors—have you seen the waiting times for an appointment under Romneycare?

And the more high-skilled techies we have, the bigger share of the global IT market we can command. It’s not a zero-sum pie.

[xzins]

My son’s a techie. He’s just fine with keeping the foreigners out and keeping the competition for jobs high.

Besides, he says they aren’t really qualified.

[9YearLurker]

That’s really up to employers to decide—and suffer from if they decide incorrectly.

I think he’s being short-sighted. (I’m in the industry as well, and good techies with current skills are in demand everywhere.)