Immigration Reform

Keys to Understanding Immigration Reform

One of the hottest topics these days is that of immigration reform. Immigration into the United States is not at an all time high, but with the growing number of those immigrating to the United States on a daily basis, it has become a very large issue. In the United States President Bush would like the Federal Government to provide a temporary worker status to both men and women who are not documented and employed in the United States and to those in foreign countries who have been offered employment here. Those workers who are working under a temporary status are required to finance a one-time fee to be a part of this program, adhere by the rules, and return to their native homeland after their period of work expires. This will be more than an orderly system to coincide with our economic need. It would also take away the national security issues that arise through having millions of unauthorized residents.

Utilizing this system of immigration reform will lead some people to view this as adding to our problem with immigration, which is perfectly understandable. However, what people will do in the long run will be utilize this system of illegal immigration, one that does coincide to our strong economic need in this country. The economy is growing at a very rapid rate during a time where the population of our country would be seemingly decreasing if it were not for immigration. The lack of mechanisms allowing workers to enter our country legally have caused illegal immigration. Through the implementation of a guest worker program those necessary mechanisms are provided and thusly will eliminate the incentive for illegal immigration.

It is very understandable to question why we would need a guest worker program in the first place. The main goal of consideration of immigration reform should always be to secure our borders and protect this country from external and internal harm. Because screening the 10 million illegal people here will eventually aid to reach those goals in the shortest amount of time, you should advocate for both strong enforcement and a way to register and identify them. This guest worker program, much different from the amnesty program of the past, will also maintain the integrity of future illegal immigration by allowing legal immigration at levels that match our economic self-interest. It is a win-win situation for both levels.

On a historical basis immigration has increased during periods of high economic growth and down during periods of depression, war or fast internal population growth. Since the early 1970s the fertility rate of the U.S. has been at or below replacement level, meaning that we are not adding members to society at the rate at which are losing them. Unfortunately, this has taken place during years os unprecendented economic growth. Even with the significant levels of immigration the unemployment rate has dropped to 4.7% which is lower than the average unemployment rate of the 70's, 80's and 90's. While it is accurate that immigration has increased in the past decades it does not go against history nor has it negatively affected our labor market.