Another Brick in the Wall: Congress Authorizes the Fence

What are your daily interactions with immigrants? What are your concerns about immigration? How should those concerns be addressed?

Congress is again taking up the immigration question, this time focusing on legislation that would authorize 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.- Mexico border.

Some legislators believe that building the fence is an important first step in immigration reform, while others feel it is an expensive mistake that will do little to prevent illegal crossings.

Debating the wall

A big wall on the U.S. - Mexico border is a start, some say. It will keep more immigrants out and provide more tangible security.

But opponents argue that the promise of a better life in America can’t be stopped by any wall. More immigrants may die trying to cross it, they say, but they will cross it. And what about migrant workers who cross back and forth every ten months? Some forget that a wall that keeps people out also keeps people in.

U.S. & Mexico- the Economics of Immigration

Despite the fact that the federal government has doubled the number of Border Patrol agents and tripled the border enforcement budget to over $6 billion over the past decade, the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. has doubled over that same period. These stunning figures emphasize two fundamental economic realities that our current immigration policy fails to address adequately.

First of all, the U.S. is an economic superpower that is bordered by a nation with lots of unemployed and underemployed workers willing to move north for better work.

Secondly, large sections of the U.S. economy - especially the farming, construction, hospitality, and restaurant industries - are making illegal immigration possible because they rely heavily on undocumented workers. A recent study by the American Farm Bureau Federation found that a crackdown on illegal immigrant labor could cause production losses to U.S. agriculture between $5 billion and $9 billion in the first 1-3 years.

The essential worker

Currently, undocumented immigrant workers perform essential labor that Americans are unwilling to perform for low pay. Specifically, the agricultural and restaurant industries depend on migrant workers for efficient labor at very low cost. All Americans benefit from migrant workers -- the inexpensive labor allows farmers and restaurants to keep prices low. American taxpayers, however, pick up the cost of services for undocumented workers below or near the poverty line.

Congressional action

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist led the push to pass legislation to build the 700-mile, $2 to $6 billion fence - a measure that will allow Congressmen and women to claim some movement on the difficult immigration issue before the November elections.

The House passed the Secure Fence Act of 2006 with a majority of 283-138, with 64 Democrats voting with the Republican majority and 6 Republicans voting with the minority.

However, many Senators - Republican and Democrat alike - have been reluctant to support just one piece of the large and complicated immigration puzzle. Namely, Republican Senator Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania) says that immigration reform shouldn’t be piecemeal, but comprehensive.

The Senate already passed a wide-ranging bill in May 2006, but House Republicans have refused to work out the differences in the House and Senate versions in what is called a conference committee. House Republicans are wary of the guest worker program in the Senate version and want to focus on border security only. For more on this click here.

No digging

The House also passed a measure that would require a 20-year prison sentence for anyone caught digging a tunnel under a U.S. border, and those who permit tunnel-digging on their properties would face a ten-year sentence. The House passed this measure unanimously 422-0.

Senate Passes H.R. 6061; Secure Fence Act of 2006

On September 29, 2006 at 9:30 PM, the Senate passed the Secure Fence Act of 2006 by a vote of 80 to 19, with 26 Democrats joining the 54 Republicans in the "Yea's".

While GOP leaders are claiming a victory on the border enforcement front, critics of the Act have suggested that its limited scope was outweighed by many legislators’ desires to get something - albeit last minute and imperfect - done before they face the November elections. The Act is clearly not the "comprehensive reform" that President Bush and many on both sides of the isle have called for.

Most agree that the illegal immigration issue is far from solved. For starters, Congress will have to fully fund the fence project to make it a reality, and there remains the not so little problem of what to do with the millions of illegal immigrants who are already in the country.

Weighing Immigration Options: So What’s In It For Me?

Clearly there is no magic bullet in the immigration debate. All Americans benefit from migrant workers - inexpensive labor provides us with the low prices for goods and services that we have come to expect and rely on. All Americans, however, also pick up the cost through taxation of public schools, healthcare, welfare, and housing for workers below or near the poverty line.

In thinking about immigration each of us needs to weigh these factors for ourselves against our own beliefs. What should immigration reform look like? Does it start with a fence? Do you see the fence as a hindrance or a help to the immigration problem?

Your input matters

Your representatives in Congress DO care what you think. Especially now -- 2006 is an election year and many representatives will be looking to reconnect with their constituents. Let your congressmen and women know what you think! Give your senators a piece of your mind! To get to your reps, click here.

To explore our archive of past Jobs Issue updates, click here.

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Article Posted on: 10/1/2006