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Republicans want workers to increase the labor supply.
Democrats want more voters they can try to get to vote Democratic.
U.S. citizens don't want to have to compete in the labor force against illegal immigrants who have the unfair advantage of not paying taxes or for health care.
U.S. citiizens want to control the borders.
U.S. citizens are want immigrants who follow our laws, are disease free, don't traffic in drugs, pay taxes, and who don't treat our hospital emergency rooms like an HMO (causing the closings of dozens of overburdened hospitals).
There seems to be an impression that there's no way to resolve all this to everyone's satisfaction. In fact, there's nothing mutually exclusive about any of these goals.
Nobody actually needs the immigrants to be illegal in order to accomplish their goals. Democrats, in fact, need the immigrants to be legal, so that they can vote. Republicans will find it far easier building the work force with immigrants who are legal and pay for taxes and health care.
So all that's left is a feasible way to control the border and get the immigrants to be legal. There is a very straightforward way to do this, and it doesn't require waiting for years and spending billions of dollars on a porous wall. It's got three parts:
Part One: Controlling the Border
Per Chris Burgard, maker of the documentary film Border, station 40,000 U.S. National Guardsmen or troops on the border. That's it - that's the end of illegal immigration. No fence needed.
It could be done in two weeks: in two weeks, the troops could be in place, and our border would be secure -- as opposed to the many years it would take to build a porous fence. The incremental costs are zero, since we already maintain the troops. Looked at in absolute dollars, the costs would be far less than the $12 billion Burgard estimates would be required to build the fence.
Part Two: Getting the Cooperation of the Legal Migrant Workers
Again per the film Border, the way to do this is to require each legal migrant worker to make a deposit in a bank account upon entry into this country - in an amount that would be a lot less than what they pay to the "coyotes" who currently lead them over the border at risk to their lives. A percentage of each legal paycheck would also go into the same account. Legal migrant workers would be required to pay for their health care. At the end of their authorized time, each legal migrant worker must leave the country to collect those moneys. With, for example, $10,000 at stake, the migrants will leave. They can see their families. And they can return here, safely and conveniently, to work again. The savings in human terms to these migrant workers, who endure terrible danger and hardship to come here under the current system, would be enormous.
Part Three: A Path to Citizenship
Like all those who wish to immigrate and become citizens of the U.S., there would be a path to full citizenship for these migrant workers who follow the rules and obey the law. This would let the Democrats achieve their goals of having more voters they can try to get to vote Democratic.
And there you have it. Everybody wins. Everybody gets what they want. Republicans get more workers to help build the economy. Democrats get more voters they can try to get to vote Democratic. U.S. citizens get safer nation to live in, and a fair labor market.
It's a win-win-win.
