400,000

Wow

With no arrests and the only near issue were some skinheads trying to cause problems.

The issue always amuses me because if you look at polling it looks like a big issue with majority support to do something….but something isn’t anything and it seldom gets above 10% of the public as the most important issue. It’s an issue increasingly of social conservatives that gets majority support in some sort of general sense, but then the specifics break it down. Looking at the polling data since 2004 it actually looks like the number of people thinking it’s important is slightly down or stable.

It gets brought up every few years, but most people are somewhat ambivalent about the undocumented workers. People generally respect those who come to work, but want them to follow the law–and yet understand that companies are the ones giving undocumented workers the incentive to come over illegally.

There is a simple way to end illegal immigration—fine companies for hiring them. Instead of scapegoating the people who want to work hard (and should be given better opportunities to do that within the law), scapegoat those who use them.

Making the immigrants into felons is absurd–for that matter making it a criminal and not a civil violation is silly unless the desire is to punish those making the least. Skirting immigration laws is done by those who know the penalties are small compared to the increased profits. For those who advocate markets, the way to end that sort of system is to make it unprofitable to hire undocumented workers.

Ultimately, immigrants are upset because the argument is only about those who cross the borders for work and not those who pay them. Given the latter have a greater part to play in the whole process (no demand–no supply), the likely reason left is racism. Immigrants who are here legally and many who have become citizens see that as a danger that doesn’t end with just undocumented workers. The whining about hundreds of thousands illegals misses the point the attack is felt far broader than just those who don’t have green cards, but those who have immigrated and love their home and many of those out there fear what happens next.