Woods Workbench

While enjoying a tasty pizza, I took some notes regarding the recent failed attempt at immigration reform in Congress.

Illegal immigration is a symptom of two problems.

The first problem is that legal immigration is hundreds of thousand individuals too low. Twelve million illegal immigrants over twenty years would be 600 K; however, I expect the deficit is probably higher compared to an open system.

The second problem is a disequilibrium of Justice between America and other countries. Despite any complaints I have about the current state of America, it is without a doubt the most just country on the face of the Earth. As Justice is a requirement of human life, individuals will seek it when it is denied them.

The recent congressional effort focused on two issues (1) security of the border with no more future illegals, and (2) legalization for the current illegal aliens.

While conservatives focus on the illegality, the real issue is the undue burden of the law. Its compliance cost is not so much measured in dollars as it is in lives, as measured in years of delays.

A solution to truly fixing the problems with American immigration policy has two elements: (1) increase the amount of legal immigration, and (2) a new bilateral basis for foreign policy that increases the protection of individual rights in other countries. Not HUMAN rights, but INDIVIDUAL rights with a particular emphasis on property rights.

Other issues associated with illegal immigration: (1) migration from second and third to first world, (2) stumbling of globalization, (3) legal compliance costs, and (4) does loss of their productive shift the demographics so that we are losing the source countries to collectivism (see South America)?

These notes cover three broad issues (1) the correct identification of the problem, (2) a valid solution, and (3) the consequences of not solving the problem.