Hoover Institution Report: Illegal Immigration and the American Workforce

The Hoover Institution has released an interesting report on “Illegal Immigration and the American Workforce” As one blog reader noted, the Hoover fellows disagree on the appropriate immigration policy:

Timothy Charles Brown: “We need a holistic approach that looks at illegal immigration not as a political problem but as a business opportunity,” Brown explains. “By transforming illegal immigration from a large-scale, off-the-books, black-market operation into a revenue-producing program that manages the movement of workers in and out of the U.S. economy, we could maximize its benefits to all four major stakeholders—the workers, their employers, the countries the workers come from, and the American taxpayers.”

Victor Davis Hanson (author of Mexifornia): “…by closing the borders, the U.S. would stop subsidizing Mexican failure.” Hanson states Mexico must rid itself of the corruption, elitism, and cronyism that has continued to stagnate its economy and forces its citizens to cross the border in search of opportunity. The solution to ending illegal immigration, Hanson believes, lies in the hope that someday, “Tijuana might become as prosperous as San Diego.” The goal of the United States, Hanson explains, should be to help Mexico by providing the “tough love” it needs.

Stephen Haber: if the United States were to pull the plug on illegal immigrants, Mexico could face widespread political and social instability, resulting, over time, in serious consequences for its closest neighbor, the United States. And, Haber warns, “there is no scenario in which a politically and socially unstable Mexico is in the interest of the U.S.”

KJ