Immigration Reform

There has been a lot of chatter recently about Bush's plans for immigration reform, which has gotten me thinking about the whole issue of illegal immigration. I think that history has proven that it's pretty much impossible to keep people out of a country. In the end, the lure of better economic opportunity proves stronger than the national will to prevent illegal immigration.

I have an idea. It might not be all that revolutionary, but I think it's workable, livable and sane: End illegal immigration.

Make it known that any person that wishes to come to the U.S. to work is welcome to come (with caveats for convicted felons and the like), with only one requirement: You MUST register. That's it. Only that one hurdle. That way, we know who you are, and you know who we are.

Part of what makes illegal immigrants so desirable to U.S. businesses is that they are vulnerable to exploitation and tax fraud. An immigrant that is here illegally is unlikely to complain to OSHA is working conditions aren't safe, or sue for back-pay if they are shorted for overtime work. However, a registered, legal, immigrant worker is free to do these things if they feel that they are being exploited. Additionally, the employers will have to pay FICA and other taxes on the workers, since they will "Officially" exist inside the U.S. employment and taxation system.

I think that potential immigrant workers would be willing to stand in line for a while to get in legally and avoid the expense and danger of crossing the border illegally. Additionally, the workers would be free to go home to visit family without having to worry about sneaking back in to the country.

Given that pretty much every potential illegal immigrant seems to eventually become an actual illegal immigrant, I don't see how it would really increase the number of immigrants that end up here. We could even take the resources spent on border patrols and related tasks and spend them to create processing centers to move these volumes of people through in a speedy and humane manner, making the process even more likely work.