[jyl]

There's clearly a huge demand for Mexican workers, because Americans just won't do some kinds of work. That's reality. We need to make that reality into a positive, not a negative.

I'd like to see us bring the Mexican laborer market from the underground US economy into the legal US economy. Instead of coming here illegally, working clandestinely, living in the shadows without identification, and not generating payroll or income taxes, Mexican laborers could come here legally with permits, work openly, and generate tax revenue.

The number of permits would be controlled, not a carte blanche. Penalties for entering without permits or failing to pay income tax should be severe (lengthy imprisonment, not just deportation to try again). Penalties for employing unpermitted aliens or failing to pay payroll tax/withhold income tax should be massive (prison terms for management, huge financial penalties or shut-down orders for companies). As a "carrot", Mexican workers who prove themselves after, say, 10 or 15 years - work regularly, don't get in trouble with the law, generate enough tax revenue, learn English, get educated, and so on - would get green cards and eventually the chance of citizenship.

Immigration keeps the population young and growing. Countries with young and growing populations have higher economic growth than countries with old and stagnant populations. The US needs to avoid becoming like Europe and Japan (and, before long, China), with a rapidly-aging and zero-growth population and thus too many retirees per active worker.