Right is wrong

On immigration, most talking heads on the right got it wrong.

"They steal our jobs": How exactly does one steal a job? By being ready to work harder and at a price point that works for the employer. It is called competition, no different than when everyone else competes for a well paying job. Employers look for the most talented resource at the most competitive price they can afford. Most of the stolen jobs are in farms, meat packing and janitors, all requiring low skill levels, but a lot of hard work. And they are willing to take those up. "They bring down the wages": Relative wages are revised constantly during economic swings. Private employers always have to find cost savings. Or else, the very employment is threatened. Only way some one will steal your job is when you are unwilling to work harder. If you are not learning a new skill or work harder, no employer will pay you more than the market rate.

When you prevent able, willing labor to take up these jobs, the employers are forced to take difficult positions. In certain fields, outsourcing is the most common phenomenon. Whereas insourcing creates additional economic activity, outsourcing is a net loss to the country. In other areas, costs go up for the consumers. And fewer such consumers can enjoy the benefits.

"They come here for freebies": Only a small number of them do. The 'American Dream' is well known around the world. But equally when known is the difficulty of making it here. And for a lot of folks coming from south of the border, even getting here is treacherous. To think that they go through it for freebies is outright demeaning. If emergency room care is all the freebies you are worried about, we can really move on to a different topic.

"What legal means exist?": Americans know about one federal agency, the IRS, the most efficient. Do you know which is the worst? ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) (and INS before that), it is inefficient, arbitrary and the laws it is supposed to enforce vague. This is the same agency that sent a green card (permanent residency) to Mohd. Atta a week after he crashed his plane into the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. Legal means to emigrate to the US from host countries takes many, many years. And even those here legally, either come here to work or study, aren't guaranteed citizenship and at the current rate takes about a decade or more, during which time they are not allowed to switch jobs or relocate within US. And their (highly qualified) spouses aren't allowed to work.

"Let's deport them": The very best estimates of how many 'illegal aliens' there are is just that, an estimate; no one knows for sure. So, how exactly are we going to find out who they are? Certain racial profiling would be involved. And then you are going to ask population at large to show their documents, without any probable cause. I can guarantee that a great number of our citizens won't have the necessary papers in their position, not because they are illegal, but because they aren't required to possess them. You will have to turn each neighbor against the other to turn them in. It has been done in Nazi Germany. Is that what you really want?

"Demographics": With the aging baby boomers  and falling birth rates, how can you guarantee a replacement rate that is required to assure our quality of living? With the replacement rate in US at 2.06, our economy is destined to be moribund like Europe (1.57) or Japan (1.3). Legal immigration from countries with a replacement rate higher than our own is our only hope. We need at least 3 kids per family.You can't simply deny the facts.

"They are illegal": Yes, they did not follow the most arduous process of entering this country legally. And as a result of that illegal activity, they need to continue  certain activities - such as working and paying taxes - illegally. But beyond that, the vast majority of them don't do anything else illegal. By bringing these folks into the legal fold, you can bring in significant revenue from the shadowy places. By giving them licenses, we can better track them.. Do you obey every law of the land? Do you know a basic, in your face law the majority of the Americans ignore? It is the speed limit, it is posted everywhere. Have you always driven at or below that posted speed? Aren't you illegal too?