Immigration Reform Multi-faceted
Many individuals think about or even openly debate this issue, but it never seems to manifest into a practical policy. The dilemma is immigration reform. More specifically, when people talk about immigration reform, they are usually talking about the unsecured borders in the southwest corridor of this country. The proverbial floodgates ostensibly open as millions of ‘undocumented workers’ make their way stateside to find work that would pay better wages than Mexico’s available employment. To think of a policy to implement to deal with the border fiasco, one has to take a gigantic step back and survey all the explicit and implicit nuances which are relevant towards immigration and border security.
Border security is obviously an issue that is at the forefront of the debate whenever the subject is brought up — and rightfully so. In the contemporary United States, we face threats from numerous entities around the globe that want to disrupt our livelihood and well-being. Many of these organizations view Mexico as a prime location to gain entry to the United States because of their relatively lax immigration policy and our relatively inefficient border security. The government’s primary concern should always be the protection of its citizenry. Essentially, government is rendered ineffective if it acquiesces to ignorance and refuses to take proper precautions to document all residents in the country — whether they are naturalized citizens or foreigners temporarily in the United States. In order to prevent costly assaults on our livelihood, the proper authorities need to know who has legal residence in this country at any particular time.
Furthermore, Mexicans or other foreign nationals would not risk life and limb trying to infiltrate the border if economic conditions in their homeland were at least somewhat adequate. Unfortunately, the Mexican economy is subject to extreme volatility on the macro level. They have very few stable industries, a poor tax base and an extremely insufficient capital infrastructure. This generates turmoil as it is virtually impossible to earn any type of meaningful income for the purchase of goods and services. The best way to help poorer nations is through free trade.
Despite some critics, free trade aids all parties involved in maximizing utility and building capital infrastructure which facilitates growth and development. The gains from free trade are mightily impressive, as any nation which has been exposed to it can testify to. Throughout the 20th century, nations like Japan, South Korea, and Singapore have benefited mightily from meaningful access to developed markets such as the United States and Europe. Denial of competition thwarts any gains from comparative advantage and renders all economies inefficient in the long haul. Policies which look to minimize the effects of free trade are invariably shortsighted and do nothing for developing nations in their quest for higher standards of living. Effective immigration reform must be multifaceted. The complex nature of contemporary matters demands it.
Border security is obviously an issue that is at the forefront of the debate whenever the subject is brought up — and rightfully so. In the contemporary United States, we face threats from numerous entities around the globe that want to disrupt our livelihood and well-being. Many of these organizations view Mexico as a prime location to gain entry to the United States because of their relatively lax immigration policy and our relatively inefficient border security. The government’s primary concern should always be the protection of its citizenry. Essentially, government is rendered ineffective if it acquiesces to ignorance and refuses to take proper precautions to document all residents in the country — whether they are naturalized citizens or foreigners temporarily in the United States. In order to prevent costly assaults on our livelihood, the proper authorities need to know who has legal residence in this country at any particular time.
Furthermore, Mexicans or other foreign nationals would not risk life and limb trying to infiltrate the border if economic conditions in their homeland were at least somewhat adequate. Unfortunately, the Mexican economy is subject to extreme volatility on the macro level. They have very few stable industries, a poor tax base and an extremely insufficient capital infrastructure. This generates turmoil as it is virtually impossible to earn any type of meaningful income for the purchase of goods and services. The best way to help poorer nations is through free trade.
Despite some critics, free trade aids all parties involved in maximizing utility and building capital infrastructure which facilitates growth and development. The gains from free trade are mightily impressive, as any nation which has been exposed to it can testify to. Throughout the 20th century, nations like Japan, South Korea, and Singapore have benefited mightily from meaningful access to developed markets such as the United States and Europe. Denial of competition thwarts any gains from comparative advantage and renders all economies inefficient in the long haul. Policies which look to minimize the effects of free trade are invariably shortsighted and do nothing for developing nations in their quest for higher standards of living. Effective immigration reform must be multifaceted. The complex nature of contemporary matters demands it.
posted by Tom Car at
6:55 PM
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