Turning a Bad Situation Profitable: Illegal Immigration
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
-Engraving within the Statue of Liberty, The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus
It is infuriating that some people so quickly forget what has made the United States the greatest country in the world. The Statue of Liberty has stood as a symbol of American freedoms for over 100 years, and millions of immigrants have entered the country while sailing through her shadow. It may have been the first taste of freedom these people ever experienced. It was the beacon of light that invited millions of people from around the world and greeted them with open arms.
One hundred years ago, immigrating to the US meant simply showing up at Ellis Island and giving your name. For nearly fifty of those years, the American concept of the “melting pot” differed greatly from the “steel curtain” between East and West Germany, where a mere attempt at emigration could result in death. Nearly every citizen of the West prayed that the US would outlast the Soviets in the Cold War, because America was free, righteous, and decent. The Statue of Liberty is a great symbol of that.
Since the 1940’s and until recently immigrating didn’t require much more than a passport.
But now, the acceptance of immigrants into the US has been in a dramatic free-fall, particularly since 9/11, when sharper enforcement of immigration laws may have kept three of the nineteen hijackers out of the country. A powerful element of fear was established and people quickly realized that drastic changes had to be made. It would be unspeakably naïve to disagree.
The rants and raves of the Americans screaming, “Deport! Deport! Deport!” are born from the misunderstanding that the country is not to be shared, even with anyone so desperate they would come here illegally. Some believe that what is unlawful is always morally reprehensible and since the illegal immigrant has committed a crime, he is void of benevolence or contribution.
These opinions are shaped by extreme nationalism, xenophobia, and outright bigotry. People are now saying, “This is my country and we don’t want you here.” Some native born Americans just don’t realize that other people and cultures were the blood that made us the envy of the world.
Guided by a stern sense of law, order, and arrogance, the opinion is that the proper punishment for illegal immigration is deportation. Recently, some of the same people have even demanded that the US make English the official language, though never before was an official language needed. It wasn’t even considered. Besides, nearly every American had some ancestor who did not speak English upon arriving here.
Both of these stances greatly challenge the country’s likeness to a “melting pot”. One cannot help but wonder if that description has now joined the ranks of the “New World”. Perhaps the next term to become outdated is the “land of opportunity” - opportunity for whom? -Certainly not foreigners.
Disinformation about the problems associated with illegal immigrants is widespread. People claim that illegal immigrants are massive contributors to crime, to healthcare costs, to unemployment, and to working class wages.
Here are a few examples of that disinformation:
· Illegal immigrants cost more to the country through welfare and healthcare than they pay in taxes. Francine Lipman in 2006 wrote in Tax Lawyer of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation that "undocumented immigrants actually contribute more to public coffers in taxes than they cost in social services" and make “unrequited contributions to Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance programs." Illegal immigrants paid over $1.5 billion per year to Medicare.
· Illegal immigrants collect more welfare than native born Americans. The US Department of Labor reports that the unemployment rate for all immigrants is 14% lower than the Native born unemployment rate.
· Undocumented workers do not pay Social Security or taxes. In 2005, undocumented workers paid more than $7 billion to Social Security, even though they will never receive an ounce of a return on Social Security. In 2002 illegal immigrants paid over $56 billion in taxes, accounting for over 1.5% of all wages (New York Times).
· Undocumented immigrants kill twelve Americans per day. This is perhaps the most despicable of the lies. These numbers were “extrapolated” by Rep. Steve King (R- Iowa) using the number of immigrant inmates in Federal Prisons, not distinguishing legal or illegal immigrants. Furthermore, only 8% of prisoners are in federal prison. The other 92% are in state prisons. All things considered, King’s numbers were off by a factor of seven. The actual number is closer to 2, which is less than half the number of deaths per year caused by aspirin.
· Illegal immigrants kill thirteen Americans every day in Drug/Alcohol accidents. This is totally and completely ridiculous. This would mean that 26% of all DUI deaths (MADD statistics) were caused by 4% of the population. The SAMHSA Office of Applied Statistics claims that immigrants are 25% less likely than natives to drink alcohol, use illicit drugs, or even use tobacco. Clearly this doesn’t add up.
· Too many of them are Criminals. Criminologist Andrew Karmen claims that “disproportionately youthful, male and poor immigrants" during the last 20 years "were surprisingly law abiding." The chairman of Harvard’s Sociology Department asserts that the Mexican American violent crime rates are lower than that of Black and White Americans.
· Immigrants work for less and cause wages to drop. Francine Lipman also claims that Illegals "contribute to the U.S. economy through their investments and consumption of goods and services; filling of millions of essential worker positions resulting in subsidiary job creation, increased productivity and lower costs of goods and services”. Real Clear Politics has claimed “recent studies have actually found a positive effect on native wages.” The Public Policy Institute of California claims that Immigrants raised the wages of native-born speakers by 4%.
· They steal the jobs of working Americans. Pew Hispanic Research Center denies this, saying there is "no apparent relationship between the growth of foreign workers with less education and the employment outcome of native workers with the same level of education." Most economists around the country say the same thing.
After cutting through the disinformation that surrounds illegal immigrants, it is absolutely necessary to admit that there are numerous benefits that these men, women and families offer.
These are the facts about illegal immigrants in the United States:
· Undocumented workers make up 5% of the entire US Labor force (Pew Hispanic Research Center). Losing 5% of the labor force would amount to the economy losing literally trillions of dollars.
· The men are members of the labor force at a rate of 94%, compared to 83% of native born men (Pew Hispanic Research Center).
· At least 25% of all meat and poultry workers, ground maintenance workers, and construction workers are undocumented (Pew Hispanic Research Center).
· Sixty percent of illegal immigrants have been here for more than five years (Real Clear Politics).
· Rising levels of immigration lead to higher wages for native born workers (Investor’s Business Daily).
· Hiring immigrants creates more wealth with which to hire more workers (Investor’s Business Daily).
· “In 1940 there were 42 workers for every retiree; today there are 3.1. By 2030, when all 77 million baby boomers have left the work force, there will be only 2.2. [Workers per retiree]” The US absolutely needs more workers to support the baby boomers (Real Clear Politics).
· The companies in the Standard and Poor 500 have over 140,000 skilled labor positions that remain unfilled (National Foundation for American Policy).
· The US Department of Labor published a study recently that said the welfare rates are 11% for immigrants (legal and illegal), and 13% for natural born US citizens. Welfare is the problem, not immigrants.
· Unemployment rates are lower in cities with large immigrant populations than the national average (Department of Labor).
· Many of the undocumented workers here have children born and raised here as American Citizens (Real Clear Politics).
We are a country that is comprised and built almost entirely by immigrants. The freedoms are the reasons that everyone came to the “Promised Land”. They came here to achieve the “American Dream”. They left places like Europe, China, and South America because they could achieve more here than anywhere else in the world. They came here for a real chance at making something with their lives.
What can be done about the twelve million immigrants who broke the law to enter the USA?
Sun Tzu reminds us in The Art of War that “The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.”
A wise Government is always positioning itself to create the greatest possible benefit, even from a situation that may appear desperate. Simply demanding deportation is not a calculation, it is a thoughtless, impossible tantrum.
If deportation is the choice of action, the costs of both the crime and the punishment are to be absorbed by the United States. There are more than twelve million illegal immigrants within the borders at this very moment. The cost of waging the campaign to eradicate the country of illegal immigrants is totally and completely unfeasible.
The Center for American Progress has released information that says the cost of deporting only eight million illegals would be around $206 billion over five years. That is more than double the cost of five years of war in Afghanistan. That is almost 2% of the entire budget. Not to mention, there would still be half a million immigrants illegally crossing the border every year. The Washington Post claimed all in all, that would amount to a string of 200,000 packed buses extending over 1,700 miles.
Although most people see the twelve million illegals in the country as a grave problem, one might be able to step back and realize that this might be a great opportunity.
First of all, it is absolutely certain that the security of the border must be enforced. Until the US does that, any attempt to rid the country of illegal immigrants is analogous to the Dutch boy holding his finger over a leak in the dam. Therefore, this must be the first priority of the US-Mexico before anything else can happen.
There is a solution that is much more cost efficient and beneficial to the US than rounding immigrants up like cattle and deporting every last one of them.
Sources claim that the entire budget for the US Customs and Border Patrol is only $6.5 billion per year and the cost of building a fence would amount to over $9 billion. The US government first needs to put more money into establishing an impenetrable border, even if it means doubling or tripling the budget of Customs and Border Patrol. The use of more fencing, new technologies like computer operated motion sensors, security cameras, robotic drones, and an increase in the manpower could accomplish this goal. The amount of the cost for this would be made up in ways that will be explained later.
Those who support deportation are highly critical of those who support virtually any other punishment, and label it as amnesty. Amnesty would do very little for the country or for the tens of thousands of foreigners who are waiting patiently to enter the country through legal routes. Amnesty is clearly an unfair choice of action.
If someone were to say that there are twelve million people in the United States that owe the country something, would that be a bad thing?
The best thing that the country could do would be to get these immigrants to come forward, and that is not going to happen as long as they will be deported. But by getting them to come forward, the country can begin to know who is here and lessen the threat of Terrorists intent on doing real harm. The only way to do this is to offer them a real opportunity to stay. But the opportunity to stay cannot come without a price. Amnesty, to reiterate, is not an option.
Every illegal immigrant could be allowed to stay in return for 1000 hours of community service, to be completed in four years. They could work one ten-hour day every 2 weeks to accomplish this, and then they would be legal. During this time, they will be given “guest worker” status. They would be taxed as regular citizens.
The United States would have twelve million new free laborers who would contribute an incredible twelve billion hours of free work. The monetary benefit this could give would amount to at least $78 billion. The profit to the United States would be more than the yearly profit of its highest earning company, Exxon Mobil.
A similar opportunity would be given to anyone who has been patiently waiting to come to the US through the proper, legal channels. That way they would not be put in line behind the people who broke the law to get here. The amount of community service would be less than 1000 hours, 500 for these people, because they have not broken the law.
The undocumented immigrants would have exactly one year to report to the Government, and then go through the regular criminal background checks and medical screenings to ensure that they are safe to have in the country. They would have to pay for this themselves, and also enroll in English classes so they can understand the true meaning of all of our nation’s most revered documents, verses and songs.
If they did not report themselves by then, then two things could happen. First, if they are caught, the people who rant, “Deport! Deport! Deport!” will finally get their wish. Second, the Government could grant a small credit, in the form of community service hours, to any registered immigrant who reports any undocumented immigrant.
After one year, any company who employ’s illegal immigrants can be issued a harsh fine.
But, undoubtedly, the first thing that needs to happen is for the border to be secured. If the border is not secured, then any plan will be a waste of time, because illegals will just keep flowing in.
People come to the US for countless reasons. It is the only Western country where anything exists even resembling the “American Dream”. The reasons that people come here are to live in the greatest nation in the world, to earn a decent living by working hard, and to raise a family.
One European who lived in the US, Daniel Bigler, reminds us:
“The United States has the best system of integration on Earth. When I lived there as a teenager, I had to learn the Pledge of Allegiance. Saying the Pledge of Allegiance every single day, you are constantly reminded that you are always an American first. When something happens, you unite like no other country on Earth. You put flags everywhere; you all know the national anthem. You all may be different, but when it comes down to it, you bind together because you all understand that you are Americans first.”
Americans do have the best system of integration on Earth, and after one generation, every one of the illegal immigrants would love America just as those who emigrated here before, just as every American’s ancestors. It is high time that we start the process of assimilating people who are here, and people who have been here for years. The melting pot is always ready for more fuel, and the time has come to feed the fire.