There’s an Alternative to Mass Deportation

A columnist Misleads on Options:

So many aliens have been removed on Obama’s watch that critics . . . have dubbed him the “deporter-in-chief.” But if Donald Trump or Ted Cruz get their way, you ain’t seen nothing yet. . . . The eviction of more than 11 million immigrants [sic], the overwhelming majority of whom are peaceful and productive, is a mad idea. . . . The American Action Forum . . . calculated last year that to expel all undocumented immigrants living in the United States would take 20 years and cost the federal government at least $400 billion in extra spending. . . . Mass deportations would leave America poorer, its government more swollen, and its social fabric in tatters. – Mass Deportations Would Leave America Poorer, Jeff Jacoby, townhall.com, 3/25/16

Fact Check: Jacoby tries to give the impression that we have effective immigration law enforcement under the Obama administration, and he even cites the worn-out falsehood that Obama has conducted record deportations and has earned the title of “deporter-in-chief.” That claim is so ludicrous that even the president admitted it wasn’t true. The reality is that he has sabotaged immigration law enforcement from the time he came into office.

Now there are two presidential candidates who talk about enforcing immigration law, and indicate they will do something about the 11 million plus illegal aliens in the U.S. Trump indicated that he would complete deportations within two years. Cruz promised strong measures, but offered no timetable. Jacoby depicted these as proposals mass roundups and pronounced them as impractical, citing as one example the cost stated by the American Action Forum.

Jacoby gives the impression that with mass rounds being so impractical, the only alternative is letting illegal aliens remain, presumably with some kind of legal status. But regardless of what the two candidates and Jacoby may believe, there is another option for sending illegal aliens home. It is called attrition through enforcement.

It proposes to begin enforcing immigration law, and then beginning to tighten them bit by bit. One example would be making the now voluntary E-Verify system mandatory for employers. E-Verify enables employers to do an easy check of federal databases to determine if their new hires are legal residents. Effective use of E-Verify would make it difficult for illegal aliens to get jobs, and without employment they would have a lot less incentive to remain in the U.S. Another example is encouraging state and local law enforcement to assist federal enforcement—a cooperation that the administration has done everything in its power to prevent.

With enforcement tightening, a lot of illegal aliens would decide to go home. In effect, they would deport themselves, instead of having to be deported. The gradual action of enforcement through attrition would prevent social disruption as illegal aliens leave in a small but continuing stream, rather than immediate mass departure.

It may be that Jacoby really doesn’t care to know about any alternative to mass deportations because the presence of 11 million illegal aliens doesn’t really bother him. After all, as he describes them, “the overwhelming majority are peaceful and productive.”

Yes, they are “peaceful and productive” as they take jobs from poor Americans and depress their wage levels; as they take public services meant for citizens and evade taxes; as they make a mockery of our country’s rule of law. Letting them stay only invites more to come.     

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