Why Are So Few Immigrants Legal?
May 15th 2010 14:55
Great column by Jeff Jacoby in the Boston Globe. Excerpt (my emphasis added):
So, why is it illegal for any person to come to the United States? I would guess that the most popular/legitimate answers are
1. Immigrants will come to America to take advantage of the welfare system without getting a job.
2. Immigrants create crime.
Fact of the matter is that both of these arguments do not suffice.
1. Yes, if it was legal for immigrants to come to America and receive unemployment insurance, health care, cheap housing, etc. without having to get a job, then immigrant could potentially make the welfare state (even more) unsustainable. However, the humane solution would be to deny immigrants the privileges of a welfare state and allow completely free immigration. I guarantee there would still be millions of people around the world who would jump at the chance to live in America, welfare benefits or not.
2. As I have discussed before, if anything, immigrants bring down the crime rate of the societies in which they live.
I don't like to call anyone racist/xenophobic, but even the best arguments of the anti-immigration side are easily defeated. So why don't they want more legal immigrants?
Follow me on Twitter: @AGoldenDoor
No state seeks to drive out hard-working newcomers from New Mexico or Indiana; why should hard-working newcomers from Old Mexico or India be treated any differently? To say that they cross the border illegally only begs the question. Why should it be illegal for any person to come to the United States, assuming his intentions are peaceful and he is not likely to become a public charge or health risk?
For most of US history, there was no ceiling on the number of immigrants allowed to enter the country.
For most of US history, there was no ceiling on the number of immigrants allowed to enter the country.
So, why is it illegal for any person to come to the United States? I would guess that the most popular/legitimate answers are
1. Immigrants will come to America to take advantage of the welfare system without getting a job.
2. Immigrants create crime.
Fact of the matter is that both of these arguments do not suffice.
1. Yes, if it was legal for immigrants to come to America and receive unemployment insurance, health care, cheap housing, etc. without having to get a job, then immigrant could potentially make the welfare state (even more) unsustainable. However, the humane solution would be to deny immigrants the privileges of a welfare state and allow completely free immigration. I guarantee there would still be millions of people around the world who would jump at the chance to live in America, welfare benefits or not.
2. As I have discussed before, if anything, immigrants bring down the crime rate of the societies in which they live.
I don't like to call anyone racist/xenophobic, but even the best arguments of the anti-immigration side are easily defeated. So why don't they want more legal immigrants?
Follow me on Twitter: @AGoldenDoor
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