Immigration-Temporary worker program is a good first step

With respect to the subject of immigration our long term goal should be to live in a world where no borders separate people. The poor of one nation would be able to go where the economic opportunities were greater and the wealthy of another nation would be able to extend opportunity to those willing to work. But that world is not attainable today. On the Mexican side of the border we find a people impoverished by generations of socialistically motivated anti-free market government regulations. Economic opportunities have been restrained within Mexico, leaving people poorer than they otherwise would be.

On the American side we have the richest nation in the world. The abundant opportunities in the United States serve as a beacon of hope to those less well-off. The more ambitious of these less well-off people undertake arduous and dangerous journeys toward this beacon.

If this were the only reason for persons to illegally cross the border into America there would be little problem. But there are other reasons that give us cause for concern. America is not only a land of abundant economic opportunity. It is also a place where excessively generous welfare payments are available. This saps the ambition of many Americans and it also serves as a magnet to attract the poor of Mexico. The ideal remedy would be to abolish welfare and open the borders. This would return America to the policy that enabled the country to prosper as no other nation before it. All, immigrants and natives alike, would be stimulated to work hard to succeed. However, too many Americans have become habituated to government handouts.

Consequently, for now, we will have to settle for a second best option. That option is to issue temporary work permits to foreigners looking for work. A well-designed work permit program would allow Mexican nationals to temporarily enter the U.S., work for a time, and then return to their families. A normalized process of entry-and-exit would reduce the incentive for illegal immigration and there would be less pressure for smuggling whole families across the border.

But, what if those with temporary work permits don’t go back to Mexico when the permit expires? This risk can be minimized by ensuring that the permits are easy to obtain and renewable. If a permit is available for the asking and can be renewed by a simple showing of current employment, there would be little reason for the holder of a work permit to break the law. As long as he is working, what objection could anyone have to his staying?

An immediate temporary work permit program would offer a compromise between the unattractive extremes of an unrestrained flood of illegals and the impenetrable barrier that many frustrated American citizens would like to erect.