What To Do With Illegal Immigrants?

By most estimates, there are at least 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. That’s roughly 3% of the country’s total population.  What should we do?

Republican Presidential candidate Rick Perry got himself into considerable hot water by his support for educational aid for “illegals.”  [One of the more humorous “PC” euphemisms is to describe them as “undocumented aliens”.  What happened?  Did they misplace their paperwork?]

Yet, he has a very good point.  Wishing that illegal immigrants go home is not a policy.  Many have lived here for decades and have children who are certainly American by experience.

Efforts to legalize this reality make sense, so why is there so  much hostility to proposals such as “The Dream Act” which, for instance, offers lawful status to those willing to serve in the military or successfully pursue higher education?  Certainly, those objectives would serve our national interest by promoting our defense and increasing the educational level of our populace.

The problem is this:  benefits available to illegals are a magnet to others  entering the country.  Of course, there can be many incentives for people from Mexico and Central America (the source of the vast bulk of illegal immigration) to cross our border: job opportunities, welfare benefits, reuniting families, among others.  And those factors can rise or fall depending upon circumstances here and below the Rio Grande.  (For example, the dip in the U.S. economy has, apparently, made America a somewhat less attractive destination for now.)

In 1986, when the illegal population was 5 million or so (2% of total U.S. population), the Federal Government granted amnesty which approximately sixty percent received.  The law was touted as a long range solution.  It was not.

Understandably, the American people are skeptical of efforts such as The Dream Act which appear to be amnesty by another name.  And what did that accomplish twenty-five years ago?

It is rather obvious that efforts to deal with our internal “illegal” situation will go nowhere until the external problem of “undocumented aliens” continuing to enter the country is largely resolved.

To put it succinctly – we must first secure our borders.

Afterwards, we can try to fashion a real, long term solution in dealing reasonably with the illegals among us.  Then, the suggestions of Gov. Perry and proposals like The Dream Act may be appropriate and timely.