Posted by
FogCity on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 4:14:08 PM
About immigration reform: Yes, you CAN just deport 12 million people.
Every year, there are approximately 20 million visits of at least 24 hours by Americans between the US and Mexico and another 16 million between the US and Canada. Logistically, you absolutely could deport 12 million illegal aliens in less than a year.
Economically? Doesn't anyone find it interesting that the same folks who claim that we have to eliminate oil from our diet - damn the consequences - are the same ones that suddenly claim that shipping out illegal aliens would bring on economic calamity? Sure, there would be some economic impact if you ship out all the illegal aliens in a very short period of time. These impacts would be both negative, such as fewer vegetables picked, and positive, such as fewer uninsured ER visits.
The debate over what the US should do about the presence of 12 to 15 million illegal aliens should be open and the solutions are neither easy nor obvious. But to suggest that it is logistically and economically impossible to do anything other than grant amnesty to 12 million illegal aliens is intellectually dishonest.
We need to force our politicians to be honest about this.