The Illegal Alien problem

Obviously, all the Congress is beholden to special interests, so they're stuck and can't solve this problem, so those of us with common sense and human compassion will need to step up to the plate.

There's already a small solution in place in McAllen, Texas. It's called legal shopping. The Wall Street Journal did a story on it earlier this year by Amy Chozick.

"Mexican shoppers, both rich and poor, are pouring into the area, making it the equivalent of Madison Avenue for northern Mexico's consumer class. Border agencies tally nearly 40 million legal visits a year by Mexicans coming to Texas for leisure activities. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas figures they spent $3 billion on merchandise in Texas border counties in 2004, the latest data available, up from around $1.6 billion a decade earlier. In the past 10 years, retail sales in McAllen have risen more than 75%, nearly double the nationwide pace of 40%. Per-capita sales here are twice the national average, according to the census." Full story

40 million legal visits for shopping. Why couldn't we have say, 10 million legal workers, approved ahead of time, with IDs, with priority going to those who have some skills and some English, matched with employers in the US who need them? If they come north and keep their noses clean then employers won't hire illegals because someone better is available, then illegals will dry up as a labor source. If they want to become citizens, great. Let them pay taxes and pay for the social services. Give them some priority points for working hard and not getting into trouble and put them on a waiting list. Send the other guys home and shut down the employers who are keeping this illegal thing going. And it's time for Congress and the President to start encouraging Mexico to come up with some solutions for their poverty on the other side of the border and stop depending on their poorest to send home money.

Stop whining about how much we need them. It's a myth. We're spending more on social services than what their low wages are contributing to cheap labor. Clean your own bathroom. There are plenty of Americans who will work construction and landscaping and restaurant kitchens, which are the jobs they presently fill in Columbus. But Americans are kept out of the jobs by unscrupulous businesses undercutting salaries.

In the 1960s, the federal government patterned the Peace Corps on the small programs developed after WWII by the Mennonites and the Brethren. Often it takes a non-government entity to figure things out. McAllen, TX has the key. Now it's up to Congress to find the door it fits.