I haven’t said much about the Bush immigration plan, although LT Smash has a large list of those who have. In the end, I think it’s a political non-starter. The Democrats won’t give Bush another policy win this close to the election and the Republicans are ideologically against the idea of giving amnesty to illegal immigrants. In other words, the chances of this proposal being implemented is pretty slim.
Eventually we will have to deal with immigration. We can’t keep allowing hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to flood this country for reasons of economy and security. At the same time, we can’t militarize the border and shoot everyone who tries to cross.
My solution would be to enforce the laws we have. Illegal immigrants should not get social benefits – it hurts legal immigrants and US citizens. Those who cross the border illegally do so at their own risk. At the same time, the argument that there are Americans chomping at the bit to be housekeepers at hotels and meat packers seems forced. Closing the border to immigration has severely hampered the economy of Japan as their population ages and service staffing positions are harder and harder to fill.
The right solution to this problem will require a nuanced and likely unpopular solution, which is why the chances of seeing it in an election year is virtually nil.
