By Andrew L. Jaffee

What we do now or perhaps more importantly, what we don’t do now about illegal immigration, will have a dramatic impact on the face of America for 10, 30, and 50 years to come. If the U.S. population explodes to 1/2 billion people by 2050, what will happen to the values we hold so dear, like prosperity and freedom?

This is an average day for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS):

• Process 140,000 national security background checks;
• Receive 100,000 web hits;
• Take 50,000 calls at our Customer Service Centers;
• Adjudicate 30,000 applications for an immigration benefit;
• See 25,000 visitors at 92 field offices;
• Issue 20,000 green cards; and
• Capture 8,000 sets of fingerprints and digital photos at 130 Application Support Centers.

President Bush claims to be getting a handle on illegal immigration:

Bush on Monday said that during his administration, increased border patrol and security efforts have led to more than 6 million illegal immigrants being deported, including about 4,000 with other criminal records. He said “expedited removal” of illegals from countries other than Mexico (also known as OTMs) is now down to a processing time of 21 days. He also noted that enforcement funding has increased 42 percent under his watch.

6 million deported but 12 million illegals still present. Sounds like bailing to keep the boat afloat.

There’s the argument that illegals “do the work Americans won’t do.” This sophistry frames our immigration problem mostly in terms of economic supply and demand — supply being a pool of cheap Latin labor, and demand being America’s insatiable appetite for services. While not scientific, I can travel to my hometown’s inner city neighborhoods and easily point out scads of Americans out of work — or unwilling to work. This city’s unemployment rate was 6.7 and 6.1 for the first 2 months of 2006, respectively. That’s about 2 percent above the national average. Why can’t these unemployed become employed? My city’s demography is not by any means predominantly Latino.

Inner city and rural unemployment is a societal problem not to be solved by importing Mexico’s unemployed, but by tackling faults in our education system, and requiring citizens to assume personal responsibility for their actions — and to convince governments in places like Mexico that they need to get their own ducks in a row.

In reality, our current efforts are akin to the story of Hans Brinker, the Dutch boy who stuck his finger in a dyke to prevent a flood. Bush’s “guest worker” (amnesty) and other proposals for dealing with illegal immigrants will lead to an even more uncontrollable tidal wave of squatters pouring into America.

According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR):

Depending on what Congress decides to do about immigration the United States faces a population crisis. Current proposals to increase immigration, give legal status to those currently here illegally, and create a new guest worker program would push U.S. population in 2050 in excess of half a billion people.

What happens say, 10 years from now, when the economy tanks, and we end up with 20 million out-of-work and unskilled illegal immigrants? Economies are like all other natural systems, with cycles, peaks, and troughs. A trough will come. Illegals are already “driving municipal budgets deep into the red;” needless to mention the strain they place on state and federal budgets. Imagine the strain being placed on the police, EMS, hospitals, schools, garbage collection, etc., in towns like LA or Miami. Taxpayers are covering the costs while illegals are not paying taxes. Here’s an example of how out of control things have gotten:

In Los Angeles, 95 percent of all outstanding warrants for homicide (which total 1,200 to 1,500) target illegal aliens. Up to two-thirds of all fugitive felony warrants (17,000) are for illegal aliens.

We can’t sit around wringing our hands forever. There’s not room enough in the U.S. for 6 billion people. What we need is the U.S. House bill, H.R. 4313. Whether we’ll get it remains very uncertain.

Of course the U.S. should permit immigration. We are a nation of immigrants. I am the son of immigrants, but my progenitors and those of all my peers, friends, neighbors, extended family, etc., came here legally.

Flinging open the U.S. borders is not the solution to the Third World’s corruption and unemployment problems.

Take action now. Support LEGAL immigration.

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Related: Immigration, Latin America, Society, United States

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