Immigration, Illegal Or Otherwise Happens For Just One Reason: Economics

Shut Off The Illegal Money Valve And The Desire Will Evaporate

by Johnny Gunn

Mexico, Central American countries, and those in South America do not have the economic stability or resources of their northern neighbor, haven't had for generations, and a desire to better one's self is a natural human endeavor. Put the two thoughts together and you have a reason for immigration. This isn't anything new, and it has been a driving force for hundreds of years for those who have come to this country. The idea of coming here "with papers" as opposed to not having them isn't new either.

For Italians, the derogatory term wop didn't start out as blasphemy; it started from a simple acronym of government talk. Those coming through Ellis Island with visas and proper paperwork were allowed through, those without were given tags to wear proclaiming them as WOP. It simply meant "without papers." Many were then processed through and have since become fine citizens.

They wanted to be here because they knew they would find work. Good work. Making more money than they could make at home. Those we often call Hispanic, that is coming from a country south of our own borders are no different. The difference is in how the United States has changed. Businesses, often far from the southern borders, welcome illegal immigrants.

Put in simplest form, Hispanics come to this country any way they can, legally or illegally because they know they can get work. Good work for much more money than they could ever hope to make back home. If Canadian businesses were paying four and five times more than the going rate in the U.S. wouldn't you give some consideration to making your way north?

Look at that question again, because many thousands of people are doing everything they can to break the law in order to get Canadian prescriptions at much less than they would pay in this country. Economics, my friend. Economics drive those looking for cheaper prescriptions and those attempting to better their lives.

As long as businesses in this country pretend to complain about illegal immigration while at the same time hiring illegal immigrants, there will be a continuing problem. The federal Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is overwhelmed, border patrol personnel cannot begin to slow the flood of illegal immigrants, and major businesses in Nevada continue to hire illegal immigrants by the thousands.

There are federal laws against hiring illegal immigrants, but when was the last time you heard of an American business owner going to jail for such behavior? Fines? A business that comes out millions or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in the black after taxes and expenses doesn't worry about a $2,000 fine. If the business owner and the human resources manager faced serious jail time, things would change in a hurry.

The country is focusing its forces on those trying to get into the country instead of where the real problem lies. A man or woman from Guatemala looks at our minimum wage as a gift from heaven and will do what it takes to get here. If that man or woman didn't know a job was waiting would they still try? Doubtful. The coyotes, those that take money to get illegal aliens across the border, even know which way to direct their clients to good job opportunities.

When the greatest number of immigrants had to be processed through Ellis Island or some other port, the job of sorting out those with from those without papers wasn't that difficult. With a several thousand-mile border to maintain, INS officers are out of their league. The laws must be changed to give INS an opportunity to keep the borders open to legal immigration and closed to illegal. That change would be serious penalties for those that insist on hiring illegal immigrants.

As Dawn Gibbons pointed out following a visit to the Arizona/Mexico border just a few weeks ago, another threat from illegal border crossings is drug shipments coming in. Methamphetimine in particular comes to Nevada by way of Mexican laboratories. If INS and DEA agents weren't so overwhelmed by sheer numbers of illegal immigrants, the challenge of stopping illegal drug shipments would not be as fierce.

Challenge Nevada employers that insist on hiring illegal aliens and you join the fight against drug terrorism.

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