Fred on illegal immigration

Some of you may have read Fred's iconoclastic regular columns. They're often screamingly funny and usually thought-provoking.

His most recent article deals with illegal immigration. I'm staunchly opposed to the current laxity in enforcement of immigration law, and favor much stronger border controls and the removal of all illegal immigrants - whilst implementing a worker visa program, properly controlled, to allow US industries to obtain the labor they need. However, I have to admit that Fred seems to hit the nail right on the head in this article. The problem is that the US administration simply doesn't care about border security, for all their much-hyped braggadocio about how they're enforcing it.

To grasp American immigration policy, to the extent that it can be grasped, one need only remember that the United States forbids smoking while subsidizing tobacco growers.

We say to impoverished Mexicans, “See this river? Don’t cross it. If you do, we’ll give you good jobs, a drivers license, citizenship for your kids born here and eventually for you, school for said kids, public assistance, governmental documents in Spanish for your convenience, and a much better future. There is no penalty for getting caught. Now, don’t cross this river, hear?”

How smart is that? We’re baiting them. It’s like putting out a salt lick and then complaining when deer come. As parents, the immigrants would be irresponsible not to cross.

The problem of immigration, note, is entirely self-inflicted. The US chose to let them in. It didn’t have to. They came to work. If Americans hadn’t hired them, they would have gone back.

We have immigration because we want immigration. Liberals favor immigration because it makes them feel warm and fuzzy and international and all, and from a genuine streak of decency. Conservative Republican businessman favor immigration, frequently sotto voce, because they want cheap labor that actually shows up and works.

. . .

It looks to me as though America thoughtlessly adopted an unwise policy, continued it until reversal became approximately impossible, and now doesn’t like the results. It must be Mexico’s fault.

Makes sense to me (unfortunately). Read the whole article and decide for yourself.

Peter