The Real Immigration Problem
When Nancy Reagan told kids to “Just say no” to drugs, she did so with the understanding that the real drug problem was the demand. She did not focus on the need to cut the supply, though she most certainly did not oppose it. She knew that although progress could be made in cutting the supply by intercepting shipments, punishing drug dealers, and dealing harshly with governments that supported the drug trade, there would always be a problem so long as there were Americans who wanted drugs. Unfortunately, this same logic has escaped many involved in the immigration debate.
There is nothing, ZERO, that the United States government can do domestically to solve the immigration problem. This does not mean that there is nothing that it can do to curtail the situation. A wall is certainly a first step. Even so, Latin Americans will continue to come to America by the tens of thousands seeking to escape desperate conditions. It is not uncommon for two families to live in a room that is smaller than most American living rooms. Large families live on roughly $6 a week, and while living in Latin America is cheaper than living in the United States, that frequently means malnourished children. To make only slightly more money, many parents pull their children out of school to send them to work at 11 or 12 years old. That work is frequently manual labor, perhaps agricultural, perhaps construction. Either way, it depends upon the weather, meaning that the $6 is frequently less. At the same time, elected officials earn the salaries of many 10 times over.
I make no claim to having the solution to this problem, but it is troublesome that no one seems to be talking about it. Those who think that a wall is the solution are only partly right. It can help the Border Patrol. Those pushing “one-time” amnesty, such as those who voted in favor of the immigration bill today, are equally naive. More illegal immigrants will come, and we will have exactly the same problem that we have now ten years down the road, and many of them will again support “one-time” amnesty.
The current debate over immigration is an important one. Unfortunately, though, the issues being discussed are simply the tip of the ice berg. America must engage in a national debate about how to change the situation in Latin America. Some may call this socialist, others imperialist, but the fact remains that until the situation in Latin America changes, those seeking to escape their current conditions will continue to find ways to come to the United States illegally. The sooner politicians and the American people realize that the current legislation treats the symptoms rather than the disease, the sooner we can solve the real problem of immigration, i.e. the demand.
It is time for both Republicans and Democrats to heed Nancy Reagan’s example by addressing the real, much more difficult, problem before us.
May 25th, 2006 at 10:50 pm
Leaving aside the other points, if we simply enforced our current laws - especially workplace enforcement - many few illegal aliens would try to come here.