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 Editorials | Opinions | November 2007 
The Crackdown's Ripples: Fewer Crossings Show Border Control is Improving
 The Dallas Morning News
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The smallest policy change can create a ripple in immigration patterns. For example, when the message goes out that illegal crossings from Mexico are relatively easy, that flow swells. When border enforcement tightens, the flow shrinks.
Mexican government surveys published this week show that the number of illegal workers preparing to come to the U.S. has diminished significantly since 2005.
The drop is linked both to Washington's tougher border enforcement and increased raids on sites hiring illegal workers. This greater vigilance coincides with actions by local governments to crack down and a generally less welcoming attitude from Americans.
The message also is getting out that the U.S. can't absorb every immigrant who wants to come here. That's of special meaning to Texas. A Center for Immigration Studies estimate, using census data, claims that about half of the immigrants in the state are here illegally.
Of course, economic risk rises as the number of foreign workers dries up. The flow of about 400,000 illegal workers each year has meant that fruit gets picked, houses get built, children get tended to and food gets processed.
Consumers probably will feel a serious need for workers in those jobs, which Americans often don't fill. Texas consumers may especially feel the pinch; the Center for Immigration Studies also estimates that more than half of our state's illegal immigrants have jobs.
The answer is to match a willing foreign worker with a job here and give the worker a temporary visa. But today's not the time to get heavy into policy. Instead, it's just worth noting that tougher border and worksite enforcement are having a good effect on reducing illegal immigration. We look forward to the day when we see that same ripple from a guest worker program, too. |
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