A Do Nothing Immigration Policy
My new column for The Week argues that the best thing to do about the existing population of illegals in the U.S. is nothing. Let enforcement and recession shrink the population spontaneously - and then leave the rest to time.
By making illegal employment more difficult -- and deportation more certain for criminal aliens -- we can encourage current illegals to depart and discourage others from ever arriving.
Of course, enforcement will not reduce the illegal population to zero. Perhaps over half a decade we might drive the number down by a quarter, a third, conceivably even half -- but unlikely more. What then?
That’s where the "nothing" part of the plan kicks in.
Those illegals who remain in the U.S. because they have formed deep attachments here -- a stable job, home ownership, children -- will remain exactly as they are now. They may legalize themselves through marriage or sponsorship by a citizen relative. Or the passage of time will remove them, as it removes us all, and their U.S.-born children will grow up as lawful citizens.
Yes, their lives will be uncertain -- that’s the point. They signed up for that uncertainty, and the costs to society of alleviating that uncertainty are very great -- including the creation of new incentives for further illegal migration.
If the Obama administration succeeds in enacting an amnesty, the illegal problem will revive and expand as soon as the economy recovers. If we do nothing -- save enforcement -- the illegal problem will dwindle over coming decades.