Expanding Legal Immigration as Nation's Destiny

Expert sees expanding legal immigration as nation's destiny (by Sid Salter, The Clarion Ledger - 3.28.07)

With an estimated 12-to-15 million illegal immigrants already in the United States and more coming to the tune of 1.5 million each year, the illegal immigration debate is one certain to dominate presidential and congressional politics in 2008.

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Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a nationally respected expert on immigration issues, is a rare breed of think tank author and speaker - a fiscal conservative who believes that "sensible levels of open immigration" is in this nation's best interests.

Her conservative message? "People are sick of porous borders and sick of immigrants ignoring the rule of law."

Her conservative solution? "Get illegal immigrants legal and in the system, make them accountable and help the ones who are here illegally to do the things necessary to get legal."

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"Supply and demand creates a flow of 1.5 million Hispanic immigrants a year, but current laws only allow 1 million to legally enter the country," said Jacoby. "The other 500,000 enter the country illegally and there is a cost for that illegality."

Jacoby said the answer to the nation's immigration debate is to bring current legal immigration quotas "into line with supply and demand."

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