Illegal Aliens Will Deport Themselves Under the Right Circumstances
Friday, January 16, 2004
By: Dan Stein

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Throughout 2003, articles and reports appeared in major news outlets around the country noting the exodus of illegal aliens Middle Eastern or South Asian origin from various communities around the country. Some headed north for Canada, others went home, but it is clear that many left the United States.

The people who left the U.S. either entered the country illegally, or were living here with expired visas. They left in response to a government program that required citizens of countries whose governments are known to support or harbor terrorists to register with U.S. immigration authorities. Correctly, or incorrectly, many people who were living in the U.S. unlawfully, perceived that this country might be getting serious about enforcing its immigration laws, and so they responded in a very rational manner: They left.

Of course the people who departed in response to the special registration program represented only a tiny fraction of the estimated 9-11 million people living illegally in the U.S., but their behavior is instructive. Illegal aliens are, by and large, rational people who respond to the messages our government sends. When they perceive that illegal immigration will be tolerated, or even rewarded, they come and stay. Conversely, if they believe that this country is serious about enforcing its laws they either will both stop coming and leave.

One of the chief arguments promulgated by proponents of granting amnesty to most or all of the illegal aliens residing in the U.S. is that these people are here to stay, they’re not going anywhere, and we are certainly not going to deport upwards of 10 million people. Experience and human nature indicate otherwise. Millions of illegal aliens are not going anywhere under existing circumstances. Change those circumstances, as we did with people from countries that pose the greatest risk of terrorism, and their behavior changes as well.

The United States is host to an enormous illegal alien population because it has been quite clear to people around the world that we would do nothing to prevent them from getting a job if they come here, that many state and local governments would provide them and their families with benefits, social services and other assistance, and most law enforcement agencies would ignore their illegal status. In 2002, the federal government fined a grand total of 13 employers nationwide for hiring illegal aliens. Meanwhile, many state and local governments have increased the benefits available to illegal aliens even as they experienced fiscal crises, and more local police departments adopted policies protecting illegal aliens. Why would any rational human being ever consider leaving under these circumstances?

Enforcing immigration laws is no different than enforcing any other law. You get people to comply with laws even those that may not necessarily be in their interest to observe by increasing the odds of being caught and raising the stakes for being caught, not by actually catching every violator. (No government agency has applied this philosophy more effectively than the IRS.)

We did not acquire 10 million or so illegal residents overnight, nor will they depart overnight. However, over time, a steadfast policy of seeking out and punishing employers who hire illegal aliens will dry up the supply of jobs available to illegal immigrants. Make an example out of enough business scofflaws and everyone else will get the message.

Next, state and local governments must make it clear to people living here illegally that all non-emergency or non-essential services will henceforth be unavailable to them. Moreover, while it is not the duty of local police to enforce federal immigration laws, they will no longer ignore evidence of illegal presence when it is staring them in the face.

With a dwindling supply of jobs and restricted access to social services and benefits, people in other countries will come to recognize that it is not worth the effort to migrate illegally to the U.S. Many, perhaps most, of the illegal aliens living here like those affected by the special registration process will eventually give up and leave. Over time, what is now an unmanageable and chaotic situation will become a manageable one.

Perception becomes reality. The perception that violating our immigration laws will be rewarded with amnesty will create one version of reality, while the perception that we mean to enforce our immigration laws will create a different reality. It’s really up to us.