Illegal immigration hurts Mexico and the United States

There are a couple of interesting articles in the news about illegal immigration today. Let's take a look at this one.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/03/08/a1a_homedepot_0309.html?imw=Y

Apparently mobs of 'day laborers' (euphemism for illegal alien) are descending on Home Depot customers as they attempt to go shopping. Naturally enough, the shoppers find this intimidating, if not frightening. With the typical corporate courage so common among businesses today, Home Depot's reply is basically 'this isn't our problem'.

The plight of the illegal alien is universal; people want to provide for their families. The bad economy is bad for illegals, there isn't as much work. This problem will still exist long after the economy has rebounded. The long term solution is simple; close the border between the United States and Mexico.

The current problem with the illegal alien in America is caused by an unholy marriage of big business and the civil rights movement. These two normally opposed forces both benefit from having millions of illegal aliens in our country. Big business thrives on the cheap labor; they get away with paying sub-minimum wages without benefits for agricultural and manufacturing jobs. Profits go up, costs go down.

Civil rights groups benefit from having a built-in clientele. They have millions of potential customers they can teach to be aggrieved and repressed. Thanks to that ten percent of Mexico's population living in the United States, civil rights groups have a reason to exist. (And being a grievance monger is less work than a real job.)

Back to the solution. Mexico will never reform while it can send the reformers out of country. Mexico is a corrupt and violent country (the steady demand for illegal drugs from the US surely contributes to this problem.) A closed border, with a vastly reduced flow of people and drugs, would benefit both countries.

The people coming to the US would have to stay in Mexico. They could force changes and reforms there, by their mere presence and the pressure they would bring on the corrupt government. The US is like a pressure relief valve for Mexico; send the people who need services and jobs up north, let the gringos take care of them. Close that valve, force Mexico to take care of its own. Deport illegals as they are caught.

The US would benefit from a closed border as well. Farms and factories that used to employ citizens for livable wages would have to do so once again. There would be less drain on our social services with millions of illegal aliens living in their own countries. Crime rates and urban blight would decrease.

For those businesses that just can't pay a livable wage, congress should implement a work program for foreign nationals. A pre-determined amount of foreign nationals may enter the country, under the sponsorship of a specific company. They will work a job for at least minimum wage and benefits. When a specific time period (something around six months) has expired, the foreign nationals have to return to their own country for a month before they are eligible for the work program again.

Good fences make good neighbors. Both Mexico and the United States will improve with a good fence. Look at it this way: illegal aliens can go home and make their country better. Or they can do nothing, and their children and their children's children will be illegal aliens.

 Other articles by John Heeder