Battle4Liberty

I’d like to revisit the issue of illegal immigration, but let me make two points at the outset:

First, I am addressing illegal immigration. Like most Americans, I believe immigration is a good thing when managed properly. We can debate issues around legal immigration, but that’s a different topic.

Second, opposing illegal immigration has nothing to do with racism. The idea that anyone who supports immigration law enforcement doesn’t like people of a certain racial or ethnic background is nonsense. It’s a charge designed to gin up fervor on the left and avoid the real discussion. the You could just as easily argue that those who favor open borders are racist because they want to create an ethnic underclass in American society. I’m sure there are a few racists on both sides of this and any issue, but it doesn’t mean that one’s position on the issue is based in racial, ethnic, or religious ideology.If you are not willing to accept these points, then we can’t have a conversation. If you are, let’s talk.

My views are fairly libertarian, so I generally favor individuals moving freely across borders. But several realities must be checked. First, the ongoing terrorist threat is real, and I expect my country to take action to restrict immigration that could create a threat. Doing so requires difficult judgment calls that might not always be the perfect ones, but we must be diligent and take this responsibility seriously.

Second, illegal immigration results in massive cost shifting. Businesses claim that illegal immigrants do the jobs that Americans won’t do, but they don’t finish the sentence—at the wages they are offered. Americans would be willing to do any job at the right wage. Illegals are willing to work for less because they lack job skills and their prospects for employment are not attractive in their native countries. For this reason, they will always be willing to undercut Americans for any jobs they can perform.

But here’s the problem. Businesses might save on wages when they hire illegals, but the additional medical, law enforcement, education, and other costs are passed on taxpayers. Robert Rector’s analysis concludes that the net cost to Americans is $54.5 billion per year (http://www.heritage.org/immigration/report/the-fiscal-cost-unlawful-immigrants-and-amnesty-the-us-taxpayer). Economist Milton Friedman encapsulated this problem in his famous retort, “You cannot simultaneously have free immigration and a welfare state.” If you support open immigration, you are supporting a constant fiscal drain to pay for it. The benefits of cheap labor and cheap prices are overshadowed by lower wages for American workers and higher taxes and deficits.

These two realities require that we address illegal immigration responsibility by enforcing the rule of law. President Trump’s proposals—a temporary ban from seven countries and building a wall on the southern border—are rarely evaluated seriously by the left. They constantly conflate immigration and illegal immigration, and simply tag anyone who thinks we should enforce federal law as racist or anti-Muslim. This is disconcerting to someone like me who cherishes people from all over the world. I don’t blame others for wanting to come to the U.S., I just love my country and want a common sense approach to illegal immigration enforcement.