23A019 Newcomers Without Permits by Jim Davies, 5/9/2023

Unfortunately, the FedGov is authorized (by Article 1 Section 8) to "establish a uniform rule of naturalization" which its judges have interpreted to include immigration control, and it has built a web of laws and enforcement agents to do so. Worse yet, the regulations vary dramatically from one administration to the next; recently one built a wall to keep out "undocumented aliens" from our South but could not complete it, while the current one has no plans to try.

The result is a large daily flow of immigrants walking into the USA, frequently avoiding the enforcers. Democrats are delighted, for they think the flow will increase their votes in future; Republicans are horrified for the same reason.

There are other reasons to deplore the flow (none of which I share): one is that among the crowd seeking a better life there are smugglers of drugs, posing as family members with children rented for the purpose. If caught, the kids are sent back to Mexico and recruited by other smugglers. Another is that the perils of desert travel leaves some exhausted or dead, and ordinary compassion compels the enforcers to spend much time rescuing them.

Hence the controversy; the one thing neither side does is to consider the obvious solution.

The first obvious step is to reflect that nobody tears himself away from family and the familiar surroundings of his homeland without good reason, or motive. That may include dissatisfaction with his existing environment, a desire for better opportunity in America, or - very commonly - both.

That "better opportunity" used to consist of freedom to prosper from one's own efforts; to work, earn, save, invest and grow a business. This is exactly what happened in the golden age of US immigration (the 1800s) and is what made America great. It's why the country's living standards rose dramatically in that century even while its population was increasing even more dramatically.

But today, while that's still true to a degree, the "better opportunity" has morphed into "more generous government handouts" in the form of free schooling, health care, accommodation etc even for immgrants who succeed in dodging the enforcers. It's not so much an opportunity, more a chance to grab at a basket of freebies.

To cap that, working and earning are impeded deliberately by government, in two ways: (1) it's illegal without its permits, though the resolute may find ways around that, and (2) there are minimum wage laws that remove the newcomer's main competitive advantage. Hence, the paperless immigrant is forced on to welfare. So the driving force operating is a giant magnet to attract the least productive.

Accordingly, the fix is to turn off the magnet. But the Dems have no wish to do that, while the Reps don't have the necessary fortitude. Specifically:

The chances of any US government taking those obvious actions are slim to none. Hence once again, the urgent necessity to end its existence, to make way for a Zero Government Society.

The means are ready and waiting.