The Terrible, Horrible, Urgent National Disaster That Immigration Isn't by Lawrence Downes, an Editorial Board member, writes about suburban issues and immigration... with Lela Moore
NY TimesPart 1: What's Wrong With 'Getting Tough on Immigration' "I. Immigration, Oversimplified
The arguments made by hard-line critics of immigration reform are depressingly simple, which makes them simply depressing.
They boil down to this: the immigration problems we have today, and a vast array of other problems, begin and end with immigrants themselves, the people who have committed the offense of being here illegally — or just being here, period, in undesirable numbers, with undesirable habits and undesirable effects on the health of the nation.
Their presence here is seen as overwhelmingly if not entirely bad, an unpardonable offense for which American citizens are made to suffer.
In this view, the problem is not going to be solved by repairing a complex system of immigration laws and regulations, by tinkering with the economic machinery to find a better fit between labor demand and supply, or by being more diligent about enforcing existing rules about workplaces and hiring. And it certainly won't be solved by being creative or more welcoming and humane toward immigrants in a way that rewards their hard work and desire to participate in the system more fully.
... SNIP"
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/06/20/opinion/21talking-points.html