Posted by
Always To The Right on Thursday, July 31, 2008 12:56:31 PM
A report
from the Center for Immigration Studies concludes that illegal
immigrants have left the US in large numbers, thanks to enforcement
efforts at federal and state levels over the past nine months. The
change coincides with the rejection of the comprehensive immigration
bill considered by Congress and abandoned last July. The CIS contends
that this created a disincentive that pushed almost a million illegals
back across the border
“Chilling effect” of enforcement? It should be the normalizing
effect of enforcement. The government should have been taking these
steps all along. Had they done so, the issue would not have been
anywhere near as acute as it currently is, and we could be already
dealing with temporary worker systems or other options for labor in the
agricultural industry, at least.
More study needs to be done, but the data thus far shows that
enforcement works, especially at the strongest magnet for illegal
immigration: employment. The CIS researchers think that enforcement
alone, even without tougher border security, could cut the number of
illegal immigrants in half over the next five years. With a stronger
border and even better scrutiny, that pace could accelerate even
further.