While on the surface I find it appealing I do have one problem with the New York Times’s views on immigration reform:
There is a better way. It is to build a system for immigrant workers and family members that more closely matches demand and supply — a system that people will go through, not around. It is to deal sanely with the hidden, hard-working undocumented by requiring them to legalize and assimilate, and using enforcement power to catch and deport the criminals.
and it’s this: one of the attractions of off the books workers is that they’re off the books. That’s a built-in subsidy to wages.
I’m not as concerned about being overrun by illegal immigrants as some Americans seem to be. Most of our illegal migration problems are from Mexico and Mexican demographics and economics tell me that there won’t be an undending flood. I believe that the quota on work visas issued to Mexicans should be increased by at least an order of magnitude. Maybe two. That, economics, and demographics will deal with much of the problem we have with unrestricted immigration from our southern neighbor. But there’ll still be a role for the law enforcement model of immigration enforcement.
