Immigration a Mess

Editorial / Periscope - Niall O'Dowd

Immigration a Mess

October 22, 2007

By NiallO’Dowd

THE Washing-ton Post had an interesting article on Monday outlining the different responses to the immigration crisis around the country. No fewer than 1,404 immigration-related bills have now been passed, with 182 bills becoming law in 43 states. The bills vary widely from pro-immigrant legislation in states such as Illinois and New York, to “hang ‘em high” bills down south.

New York and Oklahoma, however, are where the two different approaches to illegal immigration are on full display.

In New York of course, Gov-ernor Eliot Spitzer has decided that the over one million undocumented in the state can regain or apply for driver’s licenses, a controversial move that has made him a hero in many immigrant communities.

Spitzer told the Post that because the Congress has utterly failed to pass legislation, “we’re left dealing with the reality of up to one million illegal immigrants in New York. I would prefer to have them carrying a legitimate form of identification to bring them out of the shadows.”

The Irish undocumented are certainly thankful, but Spitzer is being reviled by the Lou Dobbs followers who see every undocumented person as a terrorist, despite the fact that all the 9/11 hijackers were from the Middle East and entered America legally.

Oklahoma is heading in the opposite direction. The Post reports that they have made it a felony to “transport or harbor” an illegal immigrant, leading many to fear that school bus drivers and church leaders may be arrested if they unknowingly bring undocumented school children or parishioners to church.

That “comports with my philosophy that illegal aliens will not come to Oklahoma or any other state if there are no jobs waiting for them,” said Randy Terrill, a Republican state legislator and the author of the bill.

“They will not stay here if they know they will get no taxpayer subsidy, and they will not stay here if they know if they ever come into contact with one of our fine law enforcement officers, they will stay in custody until they are physically deported.”

The response has been entirely predictable. Hispanic business groups say that 25,000 undocumented have already left the state, with many more preparing to leave and that a huge labor shortage looms as a result.

The Oklahoma State Builders Association is crying foul. Mike Means, executive vice president of the association told the Post, “Now we’re looking at a labor shortage, I’ve got builders who have been forced to slow down jobs because they don’t have the crews.

“It’s not like these people are going back to Mexico. They’re going to Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Arkansas, anywhere where the laws are not against them.”

It’s a bit like squeezing a tube of toothpaste. The undocumented will go where they can work and not be jailed if caught. Meanwhile, those states will suffer major labor shortages as the reality hits home that the undocumented are needed to keep the economy afloat.

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg recently stated that New York would fall apart if the undocumented were all shipped back. He’s honest about it. Other cities and states are about to find out the same reality.

The Bush administration is setting about enforcement only policy with a vengeance, and the outcome is entirely predictable too. A massive labor shortage threatens the agricultural industry out west and the growers are pleading for relief, which may or may not come.

The reality is that until Congress faces up to its responsibility the immigration crisis will only get worse. Courageous politicians such as Spitzer are facing lower polls because they have taken the only sensible steps.

The naysayers will get their answers I suspect from Hispanic voters next year. Common sense on this issue is all too uncommon, unfortunately.

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