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Written by Simon
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Wednesday, 29 July 2009 |
The healthcare debate is dominating the summer political agenda. Except of course when it is interrupted by the frenzy about Michael Jackson’s death or the Gates-Cambridge Police imbroglio. Immigration has been pushed off the front burner. The Obama administration is making symbolic moves that make people feel better about the plight of immigrants but the real trend continues to be extremely negative and it seems that the political forces are aligning to “solve” the current immigration crisis without addressing the underlying causes.
The good news is that Judge Sonia Sotomayor will soon become the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court and that the horrifying workplace raids have almost stopped. The bad news is that the work on the wall of death on the US/Mexican border continues and that the number of “employer audits” is increasing dramatically. Audits have the same negative effect as raids without the public spectacle of gun waving, black uniformed ICE officers. Audits decrease employment opportunities for recent immigrants and force low wage jobs overseas.
But it gets worse. While attention is on the struggle over fixing healthcare the Department of Homeland Security has ruled that all federal contractors must use E-Verify for all new hires. This means that nursing homes, food processors and hotels who bill Medicare, the FDA or any other Federal agency will have to change their hiring practices. Cost will rise and opportunities for new arrivals will shrink. Inevitably companies will self audit and people with formerly secure jobs will find themselves unemployed.
And the most dangerous thing that is happening is in the political arena. The labor unions have decided that to get immigration reform passed with an amnesty for current undocumented workers they are willing to give up future immigration. It is a classic example attempting to slam the door as soon as you get inside the castle. Setting lower than realistic future immigration goals was the compromise that was made to pass IRCA in 1985. It didn’t work. It is what caused the current bubble of undocumented immigrants. Countries cannot very successfully legislate the flow of migrants. People will exercise their right to move for the good of their families. Immigration Reform legislation that does not recognize this will fail.
More importantly by allowing more immigration the United States has an historic opportunity to increase freedom and prosperity in the world and in the USA. How is this possible?
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