ALIEN NATION
Perhaps immigrants should've excused themselves from welfare programs on May 1, too
BY GEORGE HARRIS

George Harris is publisher of Liberty Watch: The Magazine. He is also a political activist and successful Southern Nevadan businessman. Reach Harris at gopgeorge@earthlink.net  Other stories by George Harris

While millions of immigrants liberated themselves from their American jobs on May 1, I went to work. For me and many others, it was just another American day of performing labor in this burgeoning welfare state. 

On May 1 - like every other workday - I watched America suck away some of my earnings to provide for the "less fortunate." I'm taxed for my labor, because I choose to perform labor. Since millions of immigrants chose not to work on May 1, you and I were stuck footing the bill on programs that a fair amount of those workers were enjoying. That is, unless, immigrant workers also freed themselves from social services May 1. I think not.

Although illegal immigrants are ineligible for welfare, food stamps and other public service programs, they can obtain some of them by using false identification papers. It's a big business and not difficult to create an identity for this purpose.

Other services, such as walk-in clinics, do not ask for identification at all, so patrons can simply make up a name and social security number to get treated. Furthermore, hospitals employees, even if they know someone is an illegal alien, will not turn him away, and will not report him. Even if facilities did report illegal aliens, the United States only has enough resources to deport a small fraction of all deportable aliens, and will always go after those who are committing more serious crimes first.

Some 12 million people are in the United States illegally. That's equal to the population of Nevada, Indiana, Montana, South Dakota, and Kansas combined. If we look back to 1970, we would see that there were 50 million fewer foreign citizens. That's more than the population of the entire country of South Korea. 

A half million more are making the migration annually to the good ol' U.S. of A. There is a cry in the land to round up and deport those already here and to seal the borders so that other would-be illegal entrants can be turned back. May 1 would have been a good day to do it - but it still wouldn't have solved the problem. 

Millions of immigrant workers took the first day of the month off from work to protest a congressional bill that would make felons of folks who are here illegally. The bill sounds like a good plan of attack. However, it only means you and I will have to pay for the enforcement of the law, and also any kind of temporary services we would provide until deportation takes place. 

The solution is as simple as it is impossible. Open the borders and abolish the minimum wage. No health care, no benefits, no welfare and no guarantees. But Democrats would never let America live in a non-welfare state. Therefore if we opened the borders, we would give these immigrants legal status and make them eligible for billions of dollars worth of government goodies, paid for by you and me. 

By removing the incentives for immigration, the problem would be corrected. Instead of sending jobs to a sweatshop in Mexico, we could erect thousands of properly waged jobs right here at home. But no one is going to stand for that in our kinder, gentler Western world, so any kind of legal recognition will come with a package of benefits.

The cheapest solution is to do nothing at all. Most aliens either work below the radar (and below minimum wage) or they use fake identification that keeps them off the benefit rolls at "jobs no American will take." But with unemployment hovering comfortably at 4.7 percent, I'm not exactly buying the argument that illegals are taking our jobs. Our economy is flush with illegal immigrant labor, and there's still a shortage of migrant farm workers. Apparently, some jobs stink so bad even aliens won't do them. 

Illegals aren't taking your job - they're just making your job pay less. Illegal immigrants are working in a gray market niche in the economy, where employers don't have to worry about benefits. That's left to you and me. 

In which case, it's a good thing we went to work on May 1. LW