IMMIGRATION – STATE’S ROLE

Immigration is a topic that can generate quite a bit of debate, but it is largely used by various groups to create issues where there are none. The use of immigration to divide is nothing new. Xenophobia comes from the ancient Greeks and surely existed well before that era.

There is a societal need to get exposure to other cultures. There is a greater good served by migrating populations. There are many advantages from outside contact. Similarly, there are dangers. Disease can be brought from one outside population to another. Culture clashes abound. But, in the long run, this is part of the story of human movement.

The key to any of this is to strike the proper balance. A society that is too fluid gets quickly diluted. A society that is too rigid may reason itself out of existence. Thus, there is a need to create a policy that regulates the influx of people into a society or country.

That said, and hopefully understood, the next step is to create a policy. Immigration is usually an issue of nationality. This, at least in the United States, puts the policy in the purview of the federal government. While the federal government is largely in control of the borders, it has been left to the states how to access and cope with the aftermath of federal policy.

The federal government has not secured the borders. It is that simple. Even in light of government proclamations of fearing terrorism, the borders remain porous. The fact that thousand upon thousands of people illegally enter (and return) each day demonstrates this point.

The federal government may be to blame, but the government is merely an extension of political policy. The Democrats want a pool of voters that they can manipulate. The Republicans want a cheap source of labor. Both parties, for widely different reasons, have no interest in securing the borders.

This then puts inordinate pressure on the state governments. Illegal immigrants are then left to flounder in the country. They are pandered to by political special interests in the form of access to state benefits. Meanwhile, they are abused in the workforce by unscrupulous employers looking to capitalize on cheap labor.

It is important to consider my personal point of view in this before going further. I am very much pro-immigrant, or should I say I am very much pro-legal-immigrant. The federal failure to secure the borders has placed many in the position of what to do with people who, with good intent, came here for a better life, albeit illegally.

Thus, the first and foremost issue is to have the federal government secure the borders. Without that, any immigration policy on a state level is sheer folly. Once the borders have truly been secured, then there can be a discussion of policy. Personally, I favor relaxed immigration laws whereby people can legally enter the country.

While each state has taken a piecemeal approach to illegal immigration, the approach is short-sighted. The liberal benefit package offered by some states and not by others only serves to create a magnet for illegal immigrants. It then snowballs into the public paying higher taxes to service this segment of the population, which, is not really here with “clean hands”. It further creates a strong anamosity toward immigrating populations.

State policy should not gear itself to supporting illegal immigration. These people, while worthy human beings, are not citizens. To create a welfare society that encourages illegal immigration makes no real sense for a state government. While it has its positives, in general, the negatives, especially in terms of state budgets and tax rates make such a policy unrealistic and, as we see, unable to fully sustain itself. Generosity is nice when it comes from private giving, but a state mandated generosity via taxation is quite different in that it eliminates the personal desire to give to a worthy cause.

In the future I will write about the need for a fair, but stern policy in approaching state immigration issues. Suffice it to say, however, that no matter how a state manages this issue, it is shoveling shit against a tide unless the borders are first secured by the federal government and a more liberal entry policy is adopted.