Illegal Immigration

There is an article in today’s Deseret News entitled Behind the movement: Groups step up efforts to tighten the borders. The article describes the movement of a group called the “Minutemen” to halt illegal immigration across Mexican borders in the U.S.

Three Utah groups want to halt illegal immigration — Utahns for Immigration Reform and Enforcement, the Utah Minuteman Project, and the Citizens Council on Illegal Immigration in St. George. Together, they claim about 300 to 500 active members.

They outline a series of measures to prevent illegal immigration. These groups also claim there is no racism underlying these efforts.

It is interesting to note this in the article:
Utahns’ attitudes on the Minutemen and their politics seem mixed, according to a recent Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll of 413 Utah households conducted by Dan Jones & Associates.
The poll, with a 5 percent margin of error, showed 74 percent of those polled supported the efforts of private independent groups such as the Utah Minuteman Project.
However, 57 percent of those polled said they favor a program that would allow undocumented immigrants now living in America to remain in the country and earn citizenship without penalty.

I have been wondering why people don’t understand if it weren’t for the WTO, IMF, and NAFTA, that workers wouldn’t have to be compelled to immigrate to working situations where they make more money. The issue needs to be addressed at the source. Addressing the symptoms will only cause more problems.

As Tom stated to me today, they “symptoms” arise from this: The big inequity in NAFTA capital can move freely but labor can’t. Investments can move across the borders freely but people who do the work can’t.

If Mexico, for instance, could charge a tariff on corn or a way to insure that capital that comes into their country would result in a percentage of profits staying there, then immigration might not be a “problem”.

As it stands, that’s not the way it works. As I stated above, we need to keep addressing the source of the problem. It seems that the U.S. is always confronting the results of inequities that it puts in place, inclusive of issues such as illegal immigration, overcrowded prisons and domestic violence.