"Should I hurry over to the US now so as to take advantage of President Bush's amnesty?"

"Lets Roll" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20060717/cm_csm/ycollins
> By May Akabogu-Collins Mon Jul 17, 4:00 AM ET
> VISTA, CALIF. - My cycling buddy, Julie, and I had just ridden up the
Torrey
> Pines hills in San Diego, and were resting under the shade of the pine
trees
> overlooking the beach when a small group of Mexicans strolled past.
>
>
> Julie shifted and cleared her throat, "Tell me, as an economist, what do
you
> think about legalizing illegals?"
>
> I chuckled, stretched my legs, and told her about a call I received at 3
> a.m. that day.
>
> It was my cousin, Ifeoma, calling from Nigeria. She determined a long time
> ago to deliver all her babies in the US so they can all have American
> citizenship - "in the land of milk and honey," as she calls it. She's now
> three months pregnant with her first child. Her plan had been to arrive on
a
> visitor's visa when her baby was almost due, drop the baby on US soil, and
> then go back. But now her plans have changed; having heard that the US
> Senate may grant amnesty to illegal aliens, she's in a hurry to arrive.
And
> that was really the purpose of her early morning call.
>
> "Should I hurry over to the US now so as to take advantage of President
> Bush's amnesty?"
>
> I sat up on the bed to explain the facts. I said that even if the Senate
> bill passes into law (which is a big "if"), it won't benefit her since
> "amnesty" would apply only to those who'd been in the US for five years.
>
> But Ifeoma was undaunted:
> "In the meanwhile I can apply for welfare for my American baby and use my
> talent to supplement my income and who knows ... in a few years, American
> Congress may grant another Amnesty Act."
>
> I informed her that it would be hard to get a job in America as an illegal
> alien. That didn't discourage her, either. "I can always braid hair."
> Julie, my cycling friend, nodded and listened with religious
attentiveness,
> and when I paused, she said, "Interesting. What makes her think there'd be
> another amnesty?" From there, the economics professor in me rose and took
> over.
>
> The theory of rational expectations states that rational people tend to
use
> all available information, as well as past experiences, in forming
> expectations about future government action. In this way, they learn to
> anticipate government policy changes and to act accordingly.
>
> Let's apply this hypothesis to the current immigration debate. If Congress
> legalizes illegal aliens - without first securing the borders - economists
> who believe in rational expectations would argue that the policy would be
> ineffective. This is because potential illegal aliens (such as Ifeoma),
> would see what Congress is doing and raise their expectation of future
> legalization. Ifeoma's brother had arrived on a visitor's visa but stayed
> beyond, and then he benefited from the 1986 amnesty; her sister arrived in
> America six years ago on a visitor's visa and would benefit if Congress
has
> its way. "That's why Ifeoma believes there'd be another amnesty," I ended.
> Unless, of course, the Senate acts differently this time around.
>
> "So you don't support legalization?" Julie asked.
> Oh yes, I do, I replied. It'd be impractical to round them all up and put
> them in the already congested jails or send them home (and then let in
guest
> workers). They'd go underground, and the IRS would still lose tax
revenues,
> while at the same time, the illegal aliens would continue to overtax our
> schools, hospitals, and welfare systems.
>
> "But isn't it unfair to those other aliens who are playing by the rules?"
> I reminded her about the landowner in Matthew 20:1-16, who had paid all
the
> day laborers the same amount regardless of their time of arrival for work.
> When the early arrivals, who had "borne the burden and heat of the day,"
> complained that the landowner gave the same amount of money to those who
> came late, the landowner replied (in the New International Version): "Are
> you envious because I'm generous?"
>
> "Okay; be that as it may," Julie said, "What's the solution to illegal
> immigration into the US?"
> An anti-illegal immigration campaign by Congress, I said, is more
effective
> if it is seen as "credible." Such a campaign would be credible if Congress
> convinces people that it will "stick to its guns" this time around by
> tightening borders first and sending a strong message to potential illegal
> aliens such as my cousin, Ifeoma.
> I'm not even sure that a fence is what it takes to successfully tighten
the
> borders. It'd be much like an escaped prisoner who's had it behind bars
and
> would chance climbing an electric fence rather than submit to one more day
> of inhuman conditions in jail. The poor Mexican would rather die trying to
> climb a border fence than sit by one more day watching his kids starve.
But
> chances are, given how porous the borders currently are, he'd survive.
He'd
> come over, get a job under the table, and send money back to Mexico to
feed
> his kids.
>
> Until we close all existing loopholes, illegal immigration will continue
to
> be a reality of American life with the potential for terrorists slipping
> into the country, to boot. Until that time, these scenarios will continue
to
> play out with rational- expectations predictability: Legalize illegal
aliens
> every once in a while. More illegals immigrate. And Congress debates.

Does anyone still support this government?

Hank

http://www.fairus.org/ Federated Americans for Immigration Reform
>
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