Illegal Immigrants To Get Next Bailout
By IRA MEHLMAN
Investor's Business Daily Editorials
Posted Friday, November 14, 2008 4:20 PM PT
There are disturbing parallels between the financial crisis and America's illegal immigration crisis. In both cases, the irresponsible acts of the few have become the collective burdens of the majority who behaved responsibly and legally.
During the campaign, President-elect Obama promised to address immigration policy — with amnesty for millions of illegal aliens as its centerpiece — during his first year in office.
Couched euphemistically as "comprehensive immigration reform," the plan we can expect from the Obama administration will have the earmarks of another massively expensive taxpayer bailout scheme. The minority of people who acted illegally and irresponsibly would benefit, while the vast majority who played by the rules would get stuck with the bills.
America's worsening financial crisis was brought about by people who borrowed money they could not afford to repay, and the financial institutions who earned huge short-term profits by making irresponsible loans.
Poor Choices
America's illegal immigration crisis was brought about by people who were drawn to this country by jobs they knew they had no legal right to, and employers who profited handsomely from their low-wage labor.
While the vast majority of Americans who resisted the temptation of easy short-term credit, and borrowed within their means, feel bad for those who were enticed by such offers, they do not believe such irresponsible personal behavior should be rewarded.
The unfortunate consequence of these personal borrowing decisions is that many people — along with their innocent children — will lose their homes.
Similarly, while most Americans empathize with the aspirations of those who violated our immigration laws, they do not believe that illegal behavior should be rewarded. The vast majority of Americans support government steps to enforce immigration laws, especially in the workplace, and understand that it is the illegal aliens themselves who are responsible for any consequent hardships experienced by children and other family members.
While Americans have sympathy for individuals who got in over their heads, they feel nothing but seething anger toward the financial institutions that made irresponsible loans and the executives who enriched themselves in the process.
Similarly, the public has nothing but contempt for the businesses that padded their profits while systematically undercutting middle-class workers by hiring illegal aliens, forcing everyone else to subsidize their low-wage workers.
Morally and financially, an illegal-alien amnesty would be the equivalent of another massive bailout program. The individuals who violated our immigration laws would be eligible for a "restructuring" of their status in this country. With a few minor conditions and penalties they would get to remain in the U.S. and, over time, enjoy the full benefits and privileges of citizenship.
The companies that have been illicitly profiting from hiring illegal aliens would get to keep their workers and have easier access to still more foreign labor in the future. Given their success at lobbying to ensure that laws against hiring illegal aliens are never really enforced, no one would be surprised to find history repeating itself a decade or two down the road.
In the meantime, all Americans would be forced to bear the staggering costs of amnesty for many people who, owing to their skill and educational profiles, are certain to rely heavily on government assistance programs.
As amnesty beneficiaries "come out of the shadows," reunite with family members outside the country and give birth to U.S. citizen children, the costs of providing benefits and services to this population will again fall on the shoulders of the American taxpayer.
Going To Hurt
Much like the financial crisis, America's illegal immigration crisis must be resolved and there are no painless options. The only matter to be determined is who will pay the price for decades of rampant disregard for law and the common good.
The best option for the Obama administration would be to continue, or even accelerate, the Bush administration's recent enforcement efforts. Over time, consistent enforcement of laws against the employment of illegal aliens, elimination of nonessential benefits and services to illegal aliens, and cooperation with local law enforcement will reduce the illegal population of the United States to manageable levels.
For once, law-abiding, middle-class workers and taxpayers would actually benefit instead of being required to share the pain for illegal behavior and negligence that they did not contribute to.
Mehlman is national media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
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