Response to "The Blame Game"

Christopher Cormier at E.12th Political Musings for the Lone Star State recently published a post, "The Blame Game", weighing in on the immigration debate. I am in agreement when Christopher said "In a knee-jerk reaction to drug trafficking and the environment it creates, if we focus on illegal immigrants without addressing the ever-growing demand for illegal drugs from the American populace, we are taking limited police resources away from the very problem we fear." Like so many issues, this battle is on how to treat the symptoms without every addressing the problem.

The chance of the U.S. government of completely stopping people from illegally crossing the border is absolutely zero. It is simply impossible. We are just as likely to clean up the bodies of those who died in the attempt, than capture those in the act. Even the cost of what we are capable of doing is staggering. Yet so many people who are proponents of the Arizona Immigration Law (or those supporting two ongoing wars for that matter) are also conservatives and members of the TEA Party, who are protesting government spending. The cost to the government to hold, process, and deport the influx of illegal immigrants following the passing of this law is going to be astronomical. Not to mention the fact that law enforcement resources are going to be drained from pursuing perpetrators of crimes like murders, rapes, robberies, and assaults. Many argue that illegal immigrants take American jobs and benefits, without paying taxes. This of course ignores sales tax, as well as the fact that the extremely low wages they are being paid would likely prevent them from paying Federal Income taxes. Even if these workers were documented, that would likely remain unchanged. Are immigrants really "stealing" American jobs? Or are they simply supplanting the cheap labor of slaves and sharecroppers, performing the jobs that most Americans are unwilling to do? Have you ever lost out on a job to an illegal immigrant?

I think that few people would disagree the primary reason that people are crossing the border (at extreme risk) is economic opportunity. Therefore, it would seem the most logical and cost effective way to stem illegal immigration would be to simply pursue those who hire illegal immigrants. The rallying cry behind this law is that the government failing in its duty to stem this tide, yet little is mentioned in regard to those offering the incentive to come to the U.S. illegally in the first place. Clearly, if there were no jobs to be had, there would be no reason to cross the border. (Similarly, the drug violence on the border will never go away so long as there is a demand and profit to be made from illegal drugs.) Of course this ignores what Christopher described as business' "quasi-symbiotic relationship with the constant supply of immigrants." To that end, it would seem supporting an enforced documented guest worker program would be the best solution. This would allow businesses (and the U.S. economy) to benefit from the labor that is provided, while creating a valve on immigration. If the only way to get a job is through the program, it would dissuade workers from trying to work around the system. This would also offer protection for the workers while allowing the government to keep track of them and keep them within the system.

There seems to be a squaring off in America right now between those that blame our society's ills on the Government and those who blame Big Business. Immigration, health care reform, Wall Street regulation, nearly all the major headlines in the news today, are being used as evidence of how they are "hijacking" America. Texan's anger towards the U.S. government has lead to people refusing to participate in the census and may lead to the loss of a seat in the House. To simply declare the government or business the cause of all our problems is overly simplistic and it also denies individual responsibility to help create the society we want to live in. It is also naive to think that business is the source of all the good in America and government is the source of all the bad (or vice-versa.) As Christopher said, it's time to stop looking for scapegoats and start looking for actual solutions. And getting rid of everything you disagree with isn't one of them.