‘We can’t deport 12 million illegals!’ Oh really…
by Bobby Eberle
When discussing the problems massive illegal immigration has caused for the American taxpayer, many are at a loss when it comes to what to do with the millions of illegals who are already here. The majority of Americans want tougher border controls (are you listening up there in Washington?). People want immigration laws enforced, they want employers to be responsible for hiring legal workers, and they don’t want to reward law-breaking with amnesty. What Congress and many Americans don’t realize is that by doing the basics to stop the hiring of illegal aliens, deportation will take care of itself. It’s the basics of supply and demand.
As Rachel Alexander noted in a recent posting in The Loft, “Since Arizona’s local law enforcement began enforcing illegal immigration laws and an employer sanctions law went into effect, illegal immigrants have been fleeing the state in large numbers.
“Fewer illegal immigrants are using hospital emergency rooms, so waiting times have decreased. Although the rest of the country is in an economic slump, unemployment is going down in Arizona, from 4.5% in January to 4.1% in March. Day laborers loitering outside of Home Depot and other stores have mostly disappeared, ending months of confrontation between illegal immigrant sympathizers and protesters. Desert lands near the border are returning to their pristine condition and the wildlife is coming back. Identity theft and car thefts are decreasing.”That’s right…. by simply enforcing immigration laws and penalizing employers for hiring illegal aliens, the numbers of illegal aliens went DOWN. Does this mean they all left the country and returned home? No, of course not. Some probably did, while others went to another area of America where laws are not respected or enforced.
The point, however, is that this crackdown on illegal immigration did not involve “rounding them up,” or mass deportation. This phrase is often used by immigration reform critics as a way to demonstrate the “mean spiritedness” of those who want illegal immigration to stop. As readers can see from the Arizona example, deportation takes care of itself by simply enforcing the laws regarding the hiring of illegals. Stop the demand, and the supply goes away.
Now, it appears the White House is ramping up its efforts to go after employers who hire illegal aliens. As noted in the Associated Press story Bush orders contractors to check legal status of employees, “President Bush has signed an executive order requiring contractors and others who do business with the federal government to make sure their employees can legally work in the U.S.”
http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/?p=729