The Threat from Mexico

Part 1

The Arizona state government has passed a bill that takes a hard stance against illegal immigration. Arizona Senate Bill 1070 requires immigrants to carry their alien registration documents at all times and requires police to question people if there is reason to suspect that they're in the United States illegally. It also targets those who hire illegal immigrant day laborers or knowingly transport them. Sounds very extreme, and it is. An extreme answer to an extreme situation in the state of Arizona. And I completely understand why the people of Arizona feel that this bill is just.


I feel great empathy for the Arizona residents. Illegal immigration and Mexican drug cartels have been reeking havoc on the social services and residents of Arizona. Crime has steadily increased in the Phoenix metro area and along the border towns. Phoenix has moved into the number 2 spot in kidnappings per capita in the WORLD. Yes, the world. Illegal immigrants have been a strain on the social services of Arizona, from food stamps and WIC to nonpayment to hospitals for emergency room visits. So it is understandable that the people of Arizona are fully frustrated by the lack of action from the federal government. In fact, I commend the Arizona legislature for asserting their sovereignty by taking the issue head on, but they are going about the solutions by the same failed ways that the federal government has gone in the last 30 years.

12-40 million illegal immigrants reside in the United States today, depending on which reports you read. Many are what we in the United States would consider uneducated. And many of those most likely do not speak English. This is a recipe that breeds underground, black market labor forces due to the fact that very few uneducated, non English people will be granted visas in the US for work. The US, although it is the largest accepter of immigrants, does not put much stake into taking immigrants that come here for labor intensive jobs, such as agriculture, construction, and many hospitality services. A common misconception among Americans is the idea that most illegal immigrants want to stay in the US when they get here. Some do. Many illegal immigrants are young men looking for work. By the time they have the money to go back and live comfortably, they may have an American wife and multiple kids. So they stay. But most go looking for work to get ahead monetarily so they can return to Mexico and live comfortably. Another common misconception is illegal immigrants work for below minimum wage. I can attest personally through my employment in the construction industry that most made more than I did. This argument is a fallacious at best.

Now, there are many problems associated with illegal immigrants. One of the most prevalent issues is that of identity theft. Many cases have been reported where nearly 50 people were working from a single person's Social Security Number. This may cause mass amounts of problems with the IRS and federal government for this person. Tragic as this may be, it is completely avoidable if the federal government would allow a worker visa program that is friendly to the lower educated immigrants the US receives from Mexico and Latin America. This one, simple action would help bring the illegal immigrants out of there homogeneous neighborhoods and into the main populace, because much of the resentment stems from there lack of “accountability”, which usually means that they can be tracked down by agencies such as the IRS. The best and truly only way the government can actually solve the problem of immigrants coming across illegally is to create a worker visa program that has its emphasis on lower-level workers, such as those that work in agriculture, and allow it to have a quick succession to citizenship. This will also keep businesses from having to worry if their workers are legal or not and keep wages in a consistent level.

Another problem that has put hardships on county and state governments is the abuse of emergency room visits by illegal immigrants. But illegals are not the only ones abusing this situation. Many of the poor are doing it because of the mandates set upon hospitals by the federal government forcing them to take all patients whether they can pay or not. This is simply an anti-market, revenue distributing piece of legislation that forces prices up on those that do pay for the hospitals services. Before these mandates, many hospitals had charities set up to handle the cases from the poor. But since, it hasn't been a wise business decision to keep these open. A simple solution for this is for hospitals to disallow admissions, or to resort back to the days where charities and churches were very good at providing payment for services rendered to the poor. This in turn would allow prices on customers of the hospitals to drop, making it more affordable for all.

The third problem pertaining illegals is the use and abuse of such programs as WIC, Food Stamps, and HUD. Many illegals use these entitlements because they qualify in the income brackets. Many people are upset that the illegals have access to them. But is it the illegals fault the entitlements themselves are being used? In a short answer, no. These programs open themselves up to abuse because of the poor oversight brought about by the immense bureaucracy of the federal government. These programs are used very well to keep those that are poor with just enough money to not get uncomfortable. These programs themselves were once covered by the same charities and churches that helped with health care costs. They were private donations that could be used as seen fit. None of the monies were taken by force, like those that are used to fund the current programs. The solution to this problem is to privatized the programs. Allowing the charities to fund them gets the taxpayer off the hook while the poor can still receive help.

Illegal immigration is a moral issue just as much as it is a political one. The need for one to feed his family and provide for the future out ways any action taken by a government. While I understand the frustrations of the Arizona and its residents, their current law will only acerbate the problems. The only common sense choice, and only moral choice in the name of liberty, is for the state to circumvent federal laws and phase out entitlement programs, end certain hospital mandates, and start a worker visa program that encourages those that aren't as highly educated to still come to the state legally, therefore taking them out of the shadow society they live in and openly contribute to economy that sorely needs production.