Topic: An immigration question:
Time to spark a little debate in here! The space thread obviously didn't do the job... let's try again.
Illegal immigration in the US. I don't need to give background information to most of you, so I'll skip it. However, some notes about the debate as a whole:
1: Aside from some fringe groups, the vast majority of Americans want to see some sort of security on the Mexican border, if for no other reason than to prevent the drug trade. The only reason I see that the border has not been secured yet is that the issue of border control has become a political bargaining chip to force the other side to accept their policy option.
2: In terms of the debate of deportation/enforcement of immigration policies vs. allowing illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, there's an interesting argument which I want to point out. Those in favor of allowing illegal immigrants some path to citizenship, many have cited that illegal immigrants provide important jobs which are generally too crappy for most Americans to want.
Now, I would generally agree with this. The United Farm Workers organization made an interesting advertisement to illustrate this point: they offered job applications to people willing to work one of the hundreds of thousands of jobs illegal immigrants hold, doing farm work in triple-digit temperatures for minimum wage and no benefits. They only received a few dozen actual applications, for good reason.
However, that being said, I must pose a question to this argument. I would argue that the reason why illegal immigrants would work these jobs is only partially based upon personal willingness to accept what would otherwise be considered crappy work. Being illegal immigrants, these workers are unable to organize, politically lobby, or make any sort of individual bargaining with their employer, simply because if they do, the employer could report them to the government, and hire other illegal immigrants. Simply put, the illegal immigrant, on an individual level, has very little bargaining power.
What if they were placed in some legal status that allowed them to work, though? The bargaining tools that employers had against illegal immigrants will diminish, easily. Assuming there is a border control along with any move toward legalized status, less new illegal immigrants would be able to enter the country, limiting the amount of cheap labor which farms could use to cycle out disgruntled employees, further diminishing their bargaining power.
My solution, then?
Nothing.
That's right. Perhaps increase counter-narcotics work on the border. But in terms of dealing with immigrants within the border, it seems like the immigration debacle has become somewhat of a balancing act, similar to the China-US-Taiwan issue: If you tilt the lever to one side or the other, shit hits the fan, but if you perpetually keep the status quo, the damage is limited.
Alternatively, perhaps some guest worker program could exist, but only if it created new labor rules as well (wage restrictions in certain categories, perhaps?).
Thoughts? 
The Great Eye is watching you... when there's nothing good on TV...
