What if part of an immigration fix included a ten year work and learn program, after which the immigrant is required to return to their native land with their savings and business knowledge and the goal of launching a business?
There is no question that illegal immigrants are driven to the U.S. to escape the unbreakable poverty of their homes. The cures to poverty include stability, free markets, and entrepreneurs who create jobs. The entrepreneurs are aided by political stability and free markets, or, their presence can enable stability and force open the markets.
My proposal is to bring immigrants here to learn about business, save some money, then return home to establish the businesses that can help bring about stability and promote free markets. And stem illegal immigration. The immigrants come here with a commitment to return under a government plan to insure they can’t stay, and sponsorship from family or an organization in the U.S.
Frankly, if I lived an impoverished life in Mexico or Central America I hope that I would have the courage to get my family to the U.S., no matter what. Thus, I can not blame the people that come here; all while I favor strong measures to stop illegal immigration. To me this means that the challenge to stopping illegal immigration is to do more than seal our borders. Border security is a first step that alone won’t solve the problem. Promoting free markets could help in ways that nothing else can. Foreign aide has proven to provide little value and an open immigration policy will drain the most ambitious and independent people from the nations that need these people, making the economic issues south of the border even worse.
It’s a plan that could work and comes with little downside.
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Not a bad idea but the problem is that some would stay because they fall in love with a person or the country in general or they start a career they don’t want to abandon, have property, mortgages, a car note (like most undocumented immigrants today, most having already been here 8 years or more). If there is no alternative for legal status (after your 10 year program or as under today’s system) we get a growing population of immigrants here illegally. If we know some people will come and leave and some will come and stay, why not have a legal immigration system that allows for either one? Right now, we have restricted legal immigration so much to keep Latino immigrants (in particular) out that the only way for almost all of those who came illegally was to come illegally (we don’t allow legal immigration for most low-skill workers and for those that can come legally, we are talking 8-15 year delays for a visa). We fuel the black market and complain about the illegality and then make it harder still for that very population to come legally. Immigration reform or the type that John McCain used to support was designed to solve this problem. But as Jonathan Alter said on today’s Meet The Press, John McCain has rounded up and deported his principles to run for office. Sad.