The Myth of the Open Border

Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

July 9, 2006 -- Illegal immigrants are not coming into the US because our borders are broken and porous. They are coming because of jobs and economic opportunity. Contrary to what the Minutemen and others would have you believe - our border is not open. It is dangerous and expensive for immigrants to cross. Border crossers risk dying in the desert; and they expose themselves to thugs and smugglers that prey on crossers. How is a fence going to stop immigrants if the Sonoran Desert and armed gangs cannot? Security and enforcement solutions alone will not be sufficient; an economic fix is also needed.

Border security should still be part of immigration reform. If for no other reason, we need increased security to stop the violence and senseless deaths. However, if we are going to beef up fences and agents, we also need an arrangement that allows workers to come and go in a safe, legal, and organized manner. The stories I have heard from illegal immigrants and guest workers suggest that an expanded guest worker program will reduce the need for fences.

I met Ermis Paladino, leader of a tree-planting crew, while working in forestry in Alabama. Ermis had come to the US illegally on two previous trips before becoming a guest worker. Standing in front of a run-down hotel fronting a busy highway in Opelika, Alabama, he says, “If it wasn’t for the guest worker visa, I wouldn’t be able to stand out in the open and talk to you like this.” Ermis almost died in the Arizona desert on one trip, and was robbed on both occasions. In addition, he paid $2000 each trip for smugglers to bring him across, a sum more than his family’s yearly income. He says there is nothing that will stop people from coming, but border security does stop them from leaving the US after they make it. Here is why.

The vast majority of illegal immigrants are young men coming without families. Most are here trying to make money to start a life back home – buy some land, build a house, or start a small business. Most have no intention of staying in the US permanently. They would prefer to come for a few months a year to work and then return home to their families. But, once across the border most do not want to repeat the ordeal. So, they stay. One year turns into two. Two turns into five, and soon they have settled into some sort of life.

Still, there is a mistaken belief that all immigrants want to come here to live. A Heritage Foundation report released last week states that an expanded guest worker program would result in 100 million new immigrants. Among many shaky assumptions, the authors assume that all immigrants want to become permanent residents and citizens; and they want to bring their entire family with them. Granted, many immigrants do dream of starting a life in the US and becoming citizens, but a good many are like Ermis. He says that he has never thought about bringing his family. “I wouldn’t want to live here - life is too busy. The money I make here goes a long ways in my country.” We need to create an immigration system that recognizes this reality, allowing workers to go back and forth across the border.

Many commentators would have you believe that if employers only raised wages, US workers would flock to immigrant jobs. Cliff Schroeder has learned differently. As a forest labor contractor from Barnesville, Georgia, Cliff has been bringing in guest workers for tree planting, herbicide work, and wetlands restoration since 1996. He explains why, “It is not cheaper to hire foreign labor. We bring in guest workers because they will actually do the work as opposed to American workers who never last more than a week. Seasonal forest work is not set up to support the American lifestyle, however, it is perfect for a Mexican farmer who can do this part of the year and work his farm the rest of the year.”

Skeptics may say that Cliff is only lowering wages for US workers. This is a legitimate concern. Presently, guest workers are paid a prevailing wage pegged to wages in other similar jobs by the Department of Labor. However, abuses are common due to lack of oversight. A regulated program would ensure that we are not establishing a two-tier wage system, and that guest workers are not making it more difficult for other workers to find a decent wage.

Creating a system that works is possible, but we have to move the debate away from hysteria on all sides, and start recognizing the reality of our economy. As Ermis says, “Americans prefer work in offices with air conditioning. They leave these jobs for us.”

Josh McDaniel formerly did research on forestry and immigration for the Alabama Extension System. He now lives in Grand Junction with his family and works as a writer.