A Practical Solution to the Foreign Workers Problem

by Ramon Parellada *

It is no secret that most immigrants left home and risked everything for the desire of better opportunities and above all, higher incomes. Immigrants are admirable people who carry within them the spirit of freedom in which they are capable of risking all they have for a better future.

Immigrants are creators of wealth. They work hard at jobs that others do not want, to reduce the costs of the companies that hire them, increasing production at the same time. Everywhere, American workers complain about the competition and this is possibly one of the groups that opposed immigration with the most powerful lobbying efforts.

American companies often need temporary immigrant workers, especially in agriculture. With immigrant workers, companies can become more competitive and sell their products at lower prices. The distinguished professor Julian Simon used to say that immigrants create more wealth than they consume, and that this benefit both, immigrants and those who welcome them.

Immigrants are not only workers who provide cheap labor. There are also immigrants very well educated, with great knowledge and also there are capitalists who come to make large investments in a country that protects private property like no other. The history of America is that of immigrants who came, in most cases, with empty pockets.

From an economic point of view there is no reason to reject immigration. The economist Benjamin Powell, in a presentation made on April 30, 2005 at the Philadelphia Society entitled "Immigration, Economic Growth and Welfare State" said that immigration has a positive impact not only for immigrants but for the American economy and that the problem of immigration comes from the interventionist mixed economy of the United States and from the current system of immigration laws. He considers that in order to solve the problem of immigration we must attack its root, which is the excess of laws of social security, education, and the like which provide free services to immigrants and that bothers, and rightly so, the Americans who pay. He thinks that the United States should allow free immigration to anyone who wants to go and live in that country as long as they are not criminal, are free from communicable diseases, and that someone in the private sector is willing to provide him a place to live.

I agree with the ideas of Professor Powell but politically there are great debates in the United States on this subject on which nobody agree. The result is a tightening of visa and immigration policies as well as greater border control. There are many reasons such us wrong economic concepts, foreign competition for local jobs, cultural factors and even terrorism.

As a result, the policy of granting visas to immigrants has hardened, leaving many without the opportunity to enter legally to the United States and opting for the informal way. They risk even their lives in order to reach this great country. Illegal immigration has also been rising because the United States has a free and growing economy while their southern neighbors and other countries remain mired in populist and interventionist economies which lack of new and better opportunities.

That is why I believe that the proposal to create work visas of the Vernon K. Krieble Foundation has great potential to solve the immediate problem of illegal immigrants.

I see this as a very practical proposal because it recognizes that the majority of immigrants are people willing to get a job, earn higher incomes and someday return to their countries. This would allow immigrants to get a work visa without the need to apply for a resident status or an American citizenship.

The work visas would be issued by private firms that act as intermediaries between the companies requiring labor and workers from foreign countries eager to get better employment opportunities than in their home countries. The visas would imply an investigation of the person and anyone who is not a criminal or has any contagious disease would be accepted immediately. There would be no restriction on the number of visas since it would be labor demand the factor that determines, in each period, the number of visas needed to meet the demand. Thus, supply and demand would alone regulate the number of visas issued.

The proposal simplifies the granting of legal status for foreign workers while at the same time that will ensure the country's security. Workers would have to identify the workplace. Since private agencies would be involved, the process would be greatly accelerated, instead of taking months as it is at present. This would make possible to issue visas in less than a week. Beyond that, an increase in border control with more technology and personnel is an important part of the proposal.

The proposal for temporary work visas and border security is a great solution to the immigration problem while politicians continue debating the issue and reach no final agreement. The day when the United States close the doors to immigrants, will be a sad day, since they will lose that libertarian spirit that made them great.

* Ramon Parrellada is the exective director of the Centro de Estudios Economicos y Sociales (CEES) at the Francisco Marroquin University (UFM) in Guatemala.

For the Vernon K. Krieble foundation proposal click here.

For the Spanish version of this article click here.

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