The Political Inquirer

There will be one positive aspect of a November contest between McCain/Obama or a McCain/Clinton campaign. The great immigration debate issue being espoused by many unenlightened Republicans, conservatives and neocons, will be greatly diluted. The belief held by these groups is that we should “deport them all.”

Dowell Myers, author of “Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America,” argues that policymakers will have to think of immigrants as part of a solution rather than a threat to America, as posited by many in recent years. A demographer at the University of Southern California who directs the Population Dynamics Research Group, Myers believes immigrants and their children will have to help the U.S. meet the huge costs of boomer retirement.

The obvious flaw of the “deport them all” argument is that it is an impossible task. Practical politicians know instinctively, it doesn’t work. Certainly, this policy works with deporting 12 people. This policy works even with deporting 12,000 people. But how do we in any practical and sensible way even begin to deport 12 million people. That is equivalent to the population of the entire state of Illinois. That is a huge amount of people. I rarely hear how they propose to “deport them all.” The risk of even attempting such a move, by force, will have dire consequences. Just the threat of such a move is risky for the safety of our nation. What an irony. Because of perceived national security threats we will forcibly eject our own population and make our nation unsafe.

So what can we do.

Author Dowell Meyers argues in his book that these immigrants can be turned to a positive in helping to solve the coming “boomer retirement crisis.” He argues:

In other words, there will be fewer and fewer workers to cover the government’s growing obligations concerning the elderly. To finance programs such as Social Security and Medicare, “you are going to need every worker you can get,” said Myers. He estimates that immigrants can meet up to one-fourth of the challenge.

There is also the Lou Dobbs approach to immigration.

“This nation is English-only. Illegal immigrants should be in jail. I know it’s tough, but you know what? There’s a legal way to do business.”

On an appearance on 60 Minutes with Lesley Stahl, Dobbs addresses the issues of “deport them all” and the best he can come up with is “You wanna bet.” Here is the exchange.

He all but campaigns against the president’s guest worker proposal, and seems to suggest that all illegals should be rounded up.

“I wonder if you think that we can possibly deport all of those people. Is that something…,” Stahl asks.

“I’ve never called for their deportation,” Dobbs says. “But at the same time, when this president and open-borders, illegal-alien-amnesty advocates say, ‘You can’t deport them,’ my answer is, ‘You wanna bet?’ Because this is the United States.”

“We can’t even find them,” Stahl points out. “How’re you going to round them up? I’m serious. If you think it’s possible. How’s it possible?”

“I think this country can do anything it sets its mind to,” says Dobbs

Al Franken, candidate for United States Senator from Minnesota, has a more sensible approach to the immigrations problem. Here from his website, www.alfranken.com.

Here’s where I stand:

I believe we need comprehensive immigration reform.

The best way to deal with illegal immigration is to enforce – actually enforce – the law at the worksite. No wall is high enough to keep people from coming over it – or under it – if there are jobs waiting on the other side.

• Employers who disregard the law should be actually punished – with fines and, if necessary, incarceration.
• Worker identification should be truly tamper-proof. Fortunately, we have better technology than we did in 1986, so that goal is in reach with the help of biometrics. Of course, we must safeguard our civil liberties and privacy.

I don’t believe it’s practical to deport the 10-12 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States. And I don’t believe in breaking up families. Instead, we should look to bring them out of the shadows and put them on a path to citizenship, providing that they:

• have been working
• have paid taxes
• have not committed any crimes since coming to this country
• speak, or are learning to speak, English
• pay a nominal fine

We should also ensure that those immigrants currently in the process of becoming citizens are not disadvantaged by these reforms.

I support guest worker programs for seasonal jobs. Last year, we saw crops go un-harvested in the Northwest because of the stalemate on immigration reform. But I am leery of guest worker programs that would create a permanent underclass of exploited workers or drive down the wages of American workers.

Finally, we should re-examine the economic and trade policies that have contributed to illegal immigration. Working to improve economic conditions in Mexico, which we’ve tried and failed to do with NAFTA, could help reduce the incentive many have to attempt to enter the United States illegally.

I don’t pretend to have the solution to this complex problem. What I do know is that author Dowell Meyers has a good start toward changing our attitude toward immigration. Another must read book about immigration with an opposite viewpoint is They Take Our Jobs!: And 20 Other Myths about Immigration by Aviva Chomsky. We need to open ourselves to other viewpoints and not read what re-enforces our own views. Our attitude toward “illegals” needs to change. I prefer the Al Franken sensible approach to the Lou Dobbs reactionary approach. Anyone can make inflammatory statements to gain viewership or for political gain. Reading on Walden Bookstore.