From the Center for Immigration Studies:

On January 7, 2004, President Bush announced his outline for a vast guestworker program that would be used to amnesty illegal aliens already in the United States as well as provide for the importation of new foreign workers.1 In the extensive discussion of the proposal since then, there has been no detailed examination of the assumptions underlying this or any other guestworker proposal. This paper seeks to remedy that oversight, and will focus on Mexican immigration, since people from that country make up a majority of the illegal population. Although the debate has been centered on Mexicans, the president's plan would, of course, apply to all nationalities.

• Immigration is inevitable... [The discussion of this and the other assumptions is too long to post]
• The poor are overpaid...
• Jobs Americans won't do...
• Free trade requires open immigration...
• Guestworkers will go home...
• No significant cost to taxpayers...
• Foreign labor won't slow innovation...
• It is administratively feasible...
• It aids national security...
• There are no alternatives...

Fixing the Problem

Employer Sanctions. Congress in 1986 finally prohibited the employment of illegal aliens in an effort to turn off the magnet of jobs attracting illegal aliens. But enforcement was lackluster at best and, in response to political pressure, the INS has in recent years essentially discontinued worksite employer sanctions enforcement. In FY 2002, only 13 employers were fined for hiring illegal aliens. To make employer sanctions work requires a number of steps, including: A large, permanent increase in the number of investigators doing worksite enforcement and prosecutors pursuing law-breaking employers; a national computerized system that allows employers to verify the work-eligibility of new hires (there is an ongoing pilot program which has been well-received by employers); and much stiffer fines and jail time for employers caught knowingly hiring illegal aliens.

Other Interior Enforcement. Following the model of employer sanctions, we need to cut off other important choke points to illegal aliens by requiring verification of legal status. These should be events that are central to modern life but which do not take place so frequently that turning them into such choke points would bog down society's business. For instance, legal status should be checked when obtaining drivers licenses, bank accounts, mortgages (or perhaps any loan above $10,000, similar to anti-money-laundering rules), enrolling in higher education, etc. Likewise, the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service must be required to maintain ongoing, systemic cooperation with immigration authorities to identify people using fraudulent or stolen identities. Finally, legislation like the CLEAR Act is needed, in order to strengthen cooperation between federal immigration authorities and state and local police.

Border Enforcement. Despite significant increases in funding in recent years, efforts at the border are still inadequate. At any given time, there are perhaps 1,800 Border Patrol agents along more than 2,000 miles of border with Mexico. The Border Patrol needs to be at least double its current size and the border needs a system of fences and other barriers to help the agents in their work.

Legal Immigration. While jobs are one of the magnets that draw illegal immigrants to the United States, the other, equally important, magnet is family and friends, the networks that make it possible to immigrate illegally in search of work in the first place. And these networks are created and nurtured by ongoing legal immigration. Communities of recent immigrants serve as magnets and incubators for illegal immigration, providing housing, jobs, and entree to America that would otherwise be very difficult to secure. And with at least one-fourth of each year's "legal" immigration made up of illegal aliens using the system to launder their status, the immigration system has evolved into a permanent, rolling amnesty for illegals. Limiting family immigration to the husbands, wives, and young children of American citizens would be especially useful in stemming illegal immigration since it would serve to end chain migration. With the end of chain migration, the networks that drive illegal immigration would gradually atrophy, as immigrants here had less frequent and intimate contact with their home communities, moved to different neighborhoods, and assimilated into the American mainstream.

Transitional Assistance. Finally, Congress can help allay the concerns of employers who have become dependant on unskilled foreign labor through transitional funding for research and development into new labor-saving technologies. This would be especially fruitful in agriculture, since the U.S. Department of Agriculture banned federally funded mechanization research during the Carter Administration. By promoting this kind of research — whether in agriculture, construction, light manufacturing, or elsewhere — the federal government can help reduce the demand for labor which it fostered by permitting and encouraging unskilled immigration in the first place.

This examination of the assumptions underlying a guestworker program demonstrates that they are without foundation. Congress can use this information to finally bring an end to the period of mass illegal immigration - or it can supercharge illegal immigration by enacting a guestworker program.