Immigration

I've tried to stay out of the immigration debate, but reading this Robert Samuelson column got me thinking:

Being brutally candid means recognizing that the huge and largely uncontrolled inflow of unskilled Latino workers into the United States is increasingly sabotaging the assimilation process.

Americans rightly glorify our heritage of absorbing immigrants. Over time, they move into the economic, political and social mainstream; over time, they become American rather than whatever they were—even though immigrants themselves constantly refashion the American identity. But no society has a boundless capacity to accept newcomers, especially when many are poor and unskilled. There are now an estimated 34 million immigrants in the United States, about a third of them illegal. About 35 percent lack health insurance and 26 percent receive some sort of federal benefit, reports Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies. To make immigration succeed, we need (paradoxically) to control immigration.

Although this is common sense, it's common sense that fits uneasily inside our adversarial political culture. You're supposed to be either pro-immigrant or anti-immigrant—it's hard to be pro-immigrant and pro tougher immigration restrictions. But that's the sensible position, as any examination of immigration trends suggests.

I am not anti-immigrant. I don't believe that the borders need to be sealed and that we should keep everyone out. Such a position would be grossly hypocritical considering that the overwhelming majority of Americans are either immigrants themselves or the descendants of immigrants. But just as too much of anything is probably bad for you, I think that right now we have too many immigrants -- particularly of the illegal variety.

Quite simply I believe that that we are accepting immigrants faster than they can be assimilated. I think a few simple steps can go a long ways towards fixing the problem. First we need to cut down on illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Second we should encourage immigrants with skills and higher levels of education. Third we need to promote diversity in the immigrants that we accept. No one country should predominate. Fourth, for those foreigners who simply want to come here to perform a job that Americans don't want, such as back-breaking agricultural work, we should pursue President Bush's proposed temporary worker program.

Lastly, and perhaps most significant, we need to realize that illegal immigration is a symptom of the ills of other countries. The U.S. must exert pressure, particularly on Mexico, to get their act together. People generally don't enjoy risking their lives to gain employment. If Mexicans could find decent jobs at home they would. Without reform this will continue to be a problem that will plague us for some time to come.