Walls to No Avail

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House Republicans insist that border enforcement must be proved successful before Congress deals with the millions of immigrants now in America illegally, as well as with future immigrants. Otherwise, House Republicans claim, there will be a further influx of illegal immigrants.

In contrast, Senate Republicans passed a bill combining border enforcement with immigration reform, expanding the number of visas available and creating a temporary worker program that will fill employment gaps in America’s economy.

House Republicans have it exactly backwards. Regardless of whether we erect fortified fences along our border, the number of illegal immigrants — now estimated at 11 or 12 million — will only grow if Congress fails to overhaul immigration law and create a temporary worker program with a path to citizenship. Most immigrants come legally by plane or car, not across an unfenced border.

Enforcement of America’s borders, North and South, would take years, if such long swaths of land and river can be made absolutely secure. It would cost at least $10 billion and require hiring tens of thousands additional border patrol personnel, at an additional annual $9 billion cost. Even this would not be enough. We would also need to monitor legal visitors so that they do not overstay tourist or student visas.

In contrast, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services budget is almost $2 billion. Doubling it in order to process immigrants would cost an extra $2 billion, and tripling it would cost an extra $4 billion.These amounts are small compared with building and patrolling a wall.

The House Republican approach is profoundly misguided. It assumes that people who want to come here to work are a liability. A few may turn out to be, but most immigrants take and hold jobs. Unemployment rates for foreign-born workers are lower than for native-born workers, because immigrants who don’t find jobs tend to return home rather than go on welfare.

We give out far too few visas, both for high-skill and low-skill workers.The annual quota of 65,000 H1B visas — which allow the entry of foreign high-skill workers — is used up the first day of the year.

Our immigration laws have not kept up with our fast-paced, growing economy. It’s as though we had a speed limit of 25 MPH on modern highways, reflecting the capabilities of Model-T Fords rather than Cadillacs. Keeping laws up-to-date with our changing economy is vital to preserving respect for our statutes.

Modernizing our broken immigration laws helps guard against terrorism within the United States. If temporary workers had Social Security numbers, unemployment insurance numbers, and bank accounts, it would be far easier for the government to identify those who wished us harm.

Legal documentation also would facilitate Federal and state income tax collection, with funds that could be put towards schools and other public services. In addition, Congress could require that immigrants purchase a basic government-approved health insurance plan so as not to burden emergency rooms, and work permits could be revoked for dropping this insurance.

House Republicans don’t want the broken laws modernized. They reject the Senate language to open a path to citizenship for future temporary workers and for illegal immigrants here now. Rather, House Republicans, such as Rep.Tom Tancredo, want illegal immigrants to be sent home. That would be impractical — and undesirable in the way that it would change America.

How could we find illegal immigrants without becoming a police state, with spies in every block or motel? We can’t raid every construction site and farm. Many illegal immigrants are married to U.S. citizens, have American children, and look indistinguishable from Americans. Is Washington going to deport the family earner, forcing the rest of the family onto government support programs?

Moreover, for every deported immigrant, another could take his place — perhaps legally as a tourist, perhaps illegally through the Quebec-Vermont woods — to take that job. Our country is attractive not because of an unguarded border but due to boundless work opportunities, as reflected by our 4.6% unemployment rate.

Finding and deporting all illegal immigrants is not only impractical, it’s undesirable. Entire sectors, such as agriculture, construction, and hospitality would be damaged, with negative effects all around.

House Republicans are advocating a massive public works project of building walls and enforcing borders — all to no avail. Meanwhile, unlike their Senate colleagues, they are neglecting an immigration policy that’s clearly broken. Let’s hope President Bush keeps to his plan of a temporary worker program with a path to citizenship, expanded immigration, and additional enforcement of a law made workable.

Ms. Furchtgott-Roth is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and director of Hudson’s Center for Employment Policy. From 2003 to 2005 she was Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor.


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