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Thursday, July 31, 2008
Surprise! Enforce law and illegals go.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Supporters of amnesty for illegals presented the option as either rounding up for deportation 12 million people in this country illegally or giving them a path to citizenship that amounted to amnesty.
Opponents never quite penetrated with their counter-argument: No, nobody’s suggesting rounding up 12 million people by force. The alternative is to enforce the law. Deport those who commit crimes. Verify immigration status when possible. And over time, those here illegally will self-deport.
Guess what? Opponents were right. Illegals are going home. A Washington think tank, the Center for Immigration Studies, released a study Wednesday reporting that stepped-up enforcement efforts are working. The population of illegals has declined 11 percent in the past year, from 12.5 million to 11.2 million.
The economy certainly has something to do with it. New home construction is down; those who are employed in housing may have returned to their home countries to await a revival. if so, efforts to secure the borders will be essential to manage the future flow of illegals.
The immigration debate has long been based on false choices — either round them all up or let them stay.”Opponents of immigration enforcement claim that there are only two ways to address illegal immigration: amnesty or mass deportation,” noted U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican. “But there is another and better option and that is to simply enforce current laws.”
In public life, we get the behaviors we buy. Signal that laws matter by enforcing them and people pay attention. Wink and waive and they don’t. Simple.
