Formulating Immigration Policy in a Time of Reform: A Plan For The Compensated Repatriation of Illegal Aliens
- John Thompson
- April 25, 2017
- Forum Papers
- Forum Paper
- 0 Comments
Your gift helps publish and distribute materials like this.
Click here for a downloadable, printable PDF version
FORMULATING IMMIGRATION POLICY IN A TIMEĀ OF REFORM: A PLAN FOR THE COMPENSATED REPATRIATION OF ILLEGAL ALIENS
An NPG Forum Paper
by John Thompson
A HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY TOĀ REFORM IMMIGRATION POLICY
Until 2016, a seemingly insurmountable coalition ofĀ interests groups had blocked any serious consideration of the prevailing system of high legal immigration and de factoĀ toleration of illegal immigration. Democratic politicians were increasingly captivated by the vision of an immigration-propelledĀ emerging majority, in which an influx of some 100Ā million people (80% of them low-skilled immigrants) wouldĀ drive the population to over 400 million by the middle of
the century. Once the illegal aliens1 ā who are concentratedĀ near the bottom of the economic pyramid and isolated fromĀ the cultural mainstream ā were on a path to citizenship, they would be collecting government benefits, binding them permanently to the Democrats.
Republican voters and legislators should have been expected to recoil at the prospect of a displacement of the native population and a surge in clients for the welfare state, stemmingĀ in large part from a collapse in law enforcement. Indeed, during the past 15 years the Congress, led by Republicans, beat back three heavily-lobbied attempts at legalizing the open border through amnesty. Resistance was kept within limits, however, by corporate donors ā who were convinced that theirĀ best interests lay in rising population and low wages.
The self-imposed silence on immigration in political discourse ended abruptly last year, when the two candidatesĀ favoring a tough stance ā Trump and Cruz ā swept the Republican primaries by wide margins. After winning the presidency, Donald Trump has issued executive orders that strengthen enforcement of present immigration laws while legislation to reduce and rationalize legal immigration has been introduced in the Congress. Contrary to all expectations, therefore, the country is embarking on a major reconsideration of its immigration system.
Continue reading the full Forum paper byĀ clicking here.
John Thompson is a Boston-based consultant on economics, finance and public policy. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics, has several decades of experience in policy-oriented economics, and has published scholarly and professional journals. He is a member of the Massachusetts Coalition for Immigration Reform (MCIR). The views in this article are not necessarily those of MCIR.