What Would Reagan Do?

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Between the arguments for and against border security and the collective gasp of horror at the word "amnesty," one of today's biggest political issues is the complete dissonance in opinions on the topic of immigration. In times of turmoil we turn to great American leaders for advice. A question that has been brought up several times in the last few months is, what would Ronald Reagan do?

In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act was said by the Republicans to grant amnesty to those living in the US illegally, but this was more due to the sympathetic nature of Reagan's policies; pouring into the US were Cuban refugees, those who sympathized with the US from Communist countries, and Mexicans fleeing Central American unrest.

Reagan did not think these people were the dregs of society, and he knew that a solution was needed fast to fix the national problem. After the 1986 Act turned out to be a failure, America is realizing that it is even more critical now to address the issue. With new technology to help aid border security, there is no excuse for failure.

As governor of California, Reagan would have probably advocated bringing in foreign workers to help farms and the food industry in general. In 1977, he said that the Labor Department "has been making it harder and harder to bring in foreign labor (to harvest crops), insisting that the farmers hire unemployed Americans."

Ronald Reagan was a pioneer in immigration reform. The US now has the opportunity to build upon his foundation. In his words, "Trust, but verify."

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Obama Plan to Pressure GOP Reps About Immigration Bill

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WASHINGTON — In conjunction with White House spokesman Jay Carney claiming that it was time for the Senate to act, rumors abound that President Obama will take the advice of Democratic Representative Ruben Hinojosa from Texas and take a tour around the country, speaking of immigration reform.

"We believe that the president is giving consideration to going across the country and explaining to the American people the benefits that will come from passage of this legislation," Hinojosa said. "We welcome that." Hinojosa is chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Meanwhile, Carney claims that the President is trying to rally the support of small businesses, local governments, and law enforcement for the immigration bill. "The economic costs of inaction are simply too high to delay," he said.
Hoping to sway the House, the White House announced that Obama would talk to a wide variety of potentially interested parties including faith and Evangelical leaders and law enforcement, as well as the rest of the American people, on the issue of immigration reform.

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Relaxed Immigration Law Feed the US Economy's Growth

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The economic prosperity of the United States in the last century was unparalleled, due to the fact that immigration laws and procedures were much more relaxed. It wasn't until the 1920s that the government began to turn away people who were of good moral character, which was all that was needed to enter the US previously. Following the ideals etched into the Statue of Liberty's plaque, America thrived.

Then, America started a series of rules and regulations based at least in part on the Malthusian theory: that there just isn't enough wealth to go around and immigrants would dilute the prosperity of those already in the States.

This is untrue, of course. States with the highest population density such as Monaco, Hong Kong, and Singapore have thriving economies while smaller population density, like in Sudan and Mali, make the state poorer. Population growth is undoubtedly linked to economic prosperity.

Read the entire article on Forbes.com

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Social Security Boom From Immigrants

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The Social Security Administration claims that the immigration bill passed by the Senate would help add almost $300 billion in revenue over the next ten years. The Social Security Administration's chief actuary, Stephen Goss, says he believes the net gain will stay around for as long as 75 years out because of immigrants.

However, the immigrants that will be putting so much money into Social Security will eventually be taking that money out, as well. That's the trouble with trying to predict such long-term plans. Goss's estimates are based on a lot of assumptions, says Paul N. Van de Water, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Economists who have studied the issue tend to agree that immigration is better, though the effect isn't as drastic as the Social Security Administration claims.

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Senate Sends Immigration Bill to House

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WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the Senate approved a bill for immigration reform and sent it to the House to be voted on. The 68-32 vote showed that a mostly-divided Senate could come together to create bipartisan legislation that the American public desperately wants. Party leaders hope that since Senate Republicans showed such overwhelming support for the bill (especially once the border security amendment was added) will pressure the Republican-majority House to also approve it, though it seems to want to avoid passing such expensive, bulky legislation and break up the bill into smaller pieces to vote on those individually.

Before the final votes were cast, the bill's drafters, the infamous "Gang of Eight" gave one last argument for the legislation. Most notable among them was Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida and the Hispanic voice of the Republican party. He was congratulated by his group members after his rousing speech, but is now facing scrutiny from both sides; so much so, that he might lose his contention as a possible presidential candidate for 2016. Rand Paul, a primary oppponent for Rubio in 2016, voted against the bill.

The Senate approval was a good start for immigration reform, but now the critical thing is getting the House's approval.

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