Illegal Immigration Issue: Where to Start

Illegal immigrants come here primarily for money and benefits. Employers provide the money, states provide the benefits. I am not holding illegal immigrants solely responsible, and I certainly understand their desire to want better lives through jobs and benefits.

Here's the problem:

Many employers choose illegal immigrant workers over citizen workers because they can pay them less, under worse conditions, without benefits, and without reporting taxes.

States are in the difficult position of being morally responsible for illegal immigrants who inhabit their borders. So, while businesses continue to lower wages without benefits, and often without taxation, states are spending more citizen tax dollars to provide the benefits. Ultimately, the need for taxdollars will outweigh the actual tax pool, and benefits will deteriorate.

So, we have reduced taxation, lowering wages, increased tax spending on growing benefit needs, and a population of people unlikely to achieve a better wage or way of life.

Now, let's hypothetically 'legalize' these illegal immigrants.

Their employers would have to raise wages, provide benefits, and lawfully tax to continue to employ those newly-legalized immigrants.

Instead they'll simply hire the hundreds of thousands of new illegal immigrants who enter each year while the strain on the tax dollar grows. Just like they do now.

The priority for legislation should be twofold:

- Significantly reduce illegal immigration through strong border control.

- Make it financially and legally unfavorable for employers to hire illegal immigrants. Enforce it.

Guest-worker programs do not work because its in businesses' best interest to employ illegal immigrants and it only increases motivation to enter illegally.

Halt the problem at the borders; remove the monetary benefit of hiring illegal immigrants, and then we can more soundly determine whether we should give special status to illegal immigrants already here.