Obama's Immigration Plan - Tighter Borders

President Obama recently outlined a four part plan to overhaul immigration in the United States. I previously discussed the pathway to citizenship in another post. The White House claims that an important part of the plan requires that the borders become more secure.  

Strengthen Border Security

In an effort to address concerns of conservatives and to increase the effectiveness of other parts of the plan, President Obama's plan would include provisions intended to 'shore up' border security. The plan calls for additional border patrol agents and increases in the use of technology to made borders more secure.

Personally, I do not believe that a lot of money should be invested in shoring up the borders. True we need to secure the borders to reduce the threat of terrorism. However when it comes to unwanted immigration we can practically eliminate the problem with mandatory E-verify.

E-verify is the system that is currently in place to ensure that employers only hire people who are in the United States legally. If the system was used by every single employer there would be almost no illegal immigration. The reason people are coming to United States is because they can work here and build a better life for themselves.

Many Businesses Rely On Aliens

The reality is that many businesses in the United States rely on cheap labor made possible by illegal immigration. In California the fields are worked by Mexican nationals that crossed the border illegally. In Colorado there are illegal aliens working in meat packing plants. In hotels across the country there are rooms that are cleaned by illegal aliens. 

If every employer had to use E-verify to ensure that each employer was in the country legally there would be almost no jobs. After a short period of time, illegal immigration would screech to a halt. Although it is true that a person could come into the country illegally and live with family or friends for a while, without a job they could not contribute to the family and would have to go back. 

The additional taxes that would be collected when every employer used E-verify could be used to reduce the national budget and support public assistance programs. There are several benefits of immigration reform, for the most part it would shift the benefit of having illegal aliens in the country from the farmers and business owners that take advantage of the cheap labor to the general public because taxes would go to everyone instead of the few businesses that reap the windfall of cheap labor.