Missouri policymakers have not waited for the U.S. Congress to enact a new federal immigration policy.  Starting August 28th, new laws will punish businesses that knowingly employ illegal immigrants by barring them from participating in public works projects for three years, and by making those businesses ineligible to receive state loans.  The new measure also prohibits illegal immigrants from being admitted to public institutions of higher education. 

Missouri is not alone in its efforts.  Recently, 30 states have passed 57 measures that punish businesses for employing illegal workers or reduce assistance and services to illegal immigrants.  Although illegal immigration is a problem in this country, immigration itself is vital to our economy.  In order to maintain a healthy economy, we need a well-planned, comprehensive and effective federal program that can meet the demand for workers.  State governments have more pressing local issues to deal with than immigration.

Foreign workers are typically willing to work for lower wages.  This inexpensive labor is beneficial to the economy as the amount the employer must spend on labor dictates the price of goods and services.  These competitive wages allow farmers and other businesses that rely on laborers to afford more employees that in turn create more productivity and profits.The lettuce or oranges you buy at the grocery store might not be so cheap if not picked by immigrant workers.  The fresh produce industry (along with many others) relies heavily on foreign workers, but not having an effective mechanism in place to allow them to work gives rise to unlawful employment.  According to the Pew Hispanic Center, there are approximately 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S.  Undocumented workers comprise 29% of the country’s farm workers and 27% of workers in the meatpacking industry.       

Our economy needs immigrants to maintain its level of productivity and our policies need to reflect that.  Legalizing the undocumented workforce would increase tax revenues from legalized workers and their employers and alleviate costs at our borders.

In any society, there will always be illegal immigrants willing to work for less money than legal immigrants or citizens.  The goal should be to deter immigrants from entering illegally in the first place through penalties that would discourage employers from hiring illegal workers.  Without bait, fish won’t bite.

However, this cannot be accomplished by state governments alone.  If immigration policy is taken up by states, it is likely that a game of one-upmanship would ensue, resulting in illegal aliens being pushed from one state to another, in turn wreaking havoc on state economies.  The states need to be able to focus on issues of local concern rather than wasting scarce resources on a national problem that doesn’t begin or end at a state’s borders. 

We need federal policies that are manageable, enforceable and realistic.  What good is a law if no one can afford to or effectively enforce it?  It is also necessary to create policies that accept the growth in the foreign workforce in our economy.  Clinging to the same quotas that we had last century ignores the changes that have occurred in the workforce and economy since then.

Immigration is a proud part of our nation’s history that cannot be abandoned now.  It was less than 200 years ago that the Irish were treated with hatred and disrespect, but today, almost every American becomes Irish on St. Patrick’s Day wearing green clothes and “Kiss me I’m Irish” buttons.  Immigrants are essential to our economy, and we need a comprehensive federal policy that focuses on the necessity of immigration.  Missouri does not have the resources available to fix the problem on its own.  State policy makers should focus on more pressing priorities.