I have never been a fan of illegal immigration nor of amnesty on a large scale. That can only work if we can seal off our borders from those others in the countries of origin. To declare amnesty would only create a hugh surge to come and get in on the goodies. Even those who might be planning to go back someday would love to be relieved of the worry of having to pay to be smuggled back in. Besides that, we are supposed to be a nation of law. If we have bad immigration or cross-border work laws, then the laws should be changed. Not the enforcement or lack thereof.
Some other thoughts, first from the link Bill provided:
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And the feeling of welcome changed, too. Beginning with Arizona, states began passing laws to crack down on illegal immigration. Tales of Mexicans sent home after getting stopped for speeding spread, and it even touched home: One family member was sent home to Tamaula, after being caught driving without a license, while his wife and children continue to live in Georgia. Desperate to avoid the same fate, Pedro stopped driving on national holidays to avoid police checks.
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But another factor that has helped reduce poverty is remittances. Migrants abroad sent $21.27 billion back home in 2010, according to Mexico's central bank. And while Mexico has long developed programs to take advantage of such resources, with its 3-for-1 program, for example, which matches funds sent back to communities for local development, it is not prepared for a sustained change in migration patterns, says Rodolfo Zamora Garcia, an economist in Zacatecas State who studies migration and remittances.
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It would appear the worry over state laws did indeed have an effect. I know in the county of Prince William, in Northern Virginia, the announcement of strict enforcement of illegal alien laws caused a mass exodus several years ago, leaving a lot of houses empty. They are only starting to come back the last year or so. Legal or illegal I don't know.
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And from a Latina at
http://www.beinglatino.us/uncategorized/mexico’s-3-for-1-program-for-migrants comes this:
Why should people be upset that American money is going to Mexico? That money was earned through hard, often back-breaking, work. Legal or not, people come here from all over the world to send money back to their countries. In this case, I admire people who are part of these HTAs because they arenÂ’t working just for their families, but for their hometown communities too. They are looking at the bigger picture. If there was ever a good example of the collective mindset, this has got to be it.
So, please, letÂ’s be good neighbors. There is no harm being done to our economy by people sending out these remittances. It is, in fact, the opposite. These people work hard for the money, just like the rest of us. At the end of the day, their countries are still worse off than we are, and they want the same thing we all do: financial stability for themselves and their loved ones.
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Obviously she has a bias, as do most of us, certainly including me. But I see no advantage to the USA. And I wonder how much of the 3 for 1 is funded by taxes from the 21+ billion per year that goes into the Mexican economy? I can accept that many illegal Mexican immigrants are hard working. That isn't the point. That 21+ billion is being spent in Mexico, not the USA. With trillions in debt, we tend to forget how large a number a billion is. Try counting from 1 to a billion some day. Then repeat 21 times. Well, don't burden yourself, try counting from 1 to a million.
That money could be working for and in our own economy. But it isn't. Our stores (except the money sending stores) don't see a penny of that money. It goes south to Mexico. In the case of day laborers, we dont even get taxes on the money earned and sent south. Mexico is thrilled to see that money coming south, and complains loudly when we talk to them about sealing our borders and sending all the illegals back. Worse, we listen.
I am not Mexico bashing. Other countries provide illegal aliens who do the same. Honduras is a good example. Some african countries have many illegal aliens in our country, and so do many asian countries, including South Korea. All sending money back to their home countries, not spending it here. All the while, enjoying our free education for their children and our free health services.
BTW, if you don't think we already have free health care, go to the emergency room of a large hospital at night. Look around for the signs that say by law, no one can be turned away even if they can't pay. Notice who seems to be in the majority seeking treatment. Consider, who is paying for that? The hospitals aren't going out of business.
