Immigration reform has been in the news steadily for a couple of years now, including an article in the Star Tribune today on the continuing fallout of the raids on Postville, Iowa.
Our immigration system's problem is clear to me: the laws don't match the market reality. Our market has an incredible appetite for immigrant workers, and indeed it always has. That's why dozens of immigrant groups have managed to find success in our country, and why we have such an incredible diversity of cultures here. Only now, at a time when there is a huge demand for Hispanic workers, our laws don't allow them into the country in adequate numbers.
The sentiments of one Star Tribune commenter are easy to understand: "If you are here legally, welcome. My grandparents did it the right way. If you are not here legally, GET OUT and do it the right way." After all, why shouldn't everyone be required to respect the law? The answer is that respecting the law is almost impossible when the law is broken. I'm sure most of these undocumented workers would like nothing more than to stop looking over their shoulders, worrying about immigration raids. Let's give them the opportunity to respect the law AND make a living by reforming our immigration laws to allow adequate numbers of immigrants each year.
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