LATE LAST MONTH, Congress made its annual contribution to solving the problem of illegal immigration. It passed a $1.2 billion bill that will start construction of 700 miles of new fence between the United States and Mexico. Congress also approved $380 million to hire 1,500 more U.S. Border Patrol agents and added money to build more detention centers to hold 6,700 more illegal immigrants awaiting deportation.
It is not surprising that Congress spent its time on punitive and protective measures as it addressed the problems of immigration. There is an election next month, and politicians and others have been busy generating a lot of hot air, trying to terrify voters with images of hordes of Spanish-speaking criminals slinking unimpeded across the border. The message has been — and will continue to be until the election has passed — that illegal immigration is a criminal problem.
It is true that any illegal immigration is, by definition, criminal activity.
But the problem is not entirely criminal.
Certainly, there is a legitimate concern about hard-core criminal activity along the border — drug smuggling, people smuggling and the opportunity for terrorists to sneak into the country. Perhaps the fence and the additional border agents will be effective in blocking that criminal activity.
But the larger problem of immigration in the United States is economic, not criminal, and it is found all over the country. It is a shadow economy based on a work force of undocumented immigrants. The shadow economy does in some ways drain the official economy by increasing the demand for schools, health care and social services without contributing its fair share to supporting those services. By providing an exploitable work force to compete with citizens and documented immigrants, it also works to depress wages.
In some ways, this shadow economy bolsters the official economy. Low-wage workers add to the general national productivity and keep production costs down in agriculture and service businesses, which can keep prices down for consumers.
But the overall result for the United States has been the creation of an important segment of the economy that could jolt to a stop if the nation is successful in closing the border with Mexico.
There is good reason to try to control the nation’s borders. But if that is to be done without damaging the national economy, it is also necessary to control the shadow economy. The way to do that is through sensible immigration and guest-worker programs that provide the workers the United States needs and ensures that those workers have the legal protections they need.
The border would be much easier to police if smugglers and other dangerous criminals were the only ones trying to get over, under or through that fancy fence.
Maybe things will calm down enough after the election for Congress to get to work on that.
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor