Article Title
Illegal Immigration: Economic, Social and Ethical Implications
Abstract
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimates that there were approximately 11.6 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States by January 2006. The existence of these uninvited guests poses vital and difficult political, social, economic and ethical issues for policymakers that need to be addressed and will only worsen in the future through a continued policy of benign neglect. Rather than patterning new policy after the failed policies of the past, Congress and the President need to reexamine and address the issue undistracted by the advocates on both sides of the issue that have the best interest of their constituencies rather than basic fairness, justice or the good of the country in mind. This may be a difficult task to take on in an election year in which control of both houses of Congress and the White House are in play. Rather than stitching together a politically palatable piece of legislation from the frayed cloth of failed past legislation, our political leaders might do well to evaluate the cause and effect of illegal immigration with fresh eyes and as a part of our overall immigration policy in order to find a solution to the problem of illegal immigration that is consistent, fair, and sustainable. The first step in searching for a solution to the problem will require a reexamination of current immigration policy from a variety of perspectives and a willingness to endure the criticism of advocates who have a personal stake in shaping our immigration policy to serve their clients’ needs or the interests of the groups they represent and who might be discomfited by the examination of data or new proposals they view as hostile to their ends.