Saturday, June 7, 2008

Focus on demand for illegal immigrants

I generally agree that focusing on the demand side of the illegal immigration problem via employer enforcement would be more effective than trying to reduce the supply of immigrants via walls, moats, Nat'l Guard troops, vigilante Minute Men, etc.

Sure, we can give "attrition" a try. Just understand that it will require something conservatives generally abhor: greatly increased gov't spending & bureaucracy to regularly inspect thousands of places of business, and then vigorously prosecute and punish employers who violate the law.

To be sure, the macroeconomic impact of suddenly losing millions of low-paid laborers from our workforce, including the loss of billions of dollars that illegals pump into our economy, remains to be seen. Would that loss be more than compensated for, as some believe, by fewer illegals "milking" our emergency rooms and public schools, crowding our prisons, and driving up our auto insurance premiums? Who knows. But I guess, like Iraq, illegal immigration is one of those issues where conservatives say, "Damn the cost, it must be done!"

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