Dear Editor:
Your "editorial", calling for an enormous increase in immigration based on Mr. Greenspan's comments again ignores the distinction between legal and illegal immigration, and the immigration of skilled workers versus unskilled ones. Illegal immigration and "guest worker” programs are problems not because the workers are competition for American workers but because they are unfair competition. The desire for legal status or green cards keeps these workers at the mercy of their employers and subverts the free market. What is needed is revision of the green card programs to include provisions for unskilled workers, if employers will sponsor them, and elimination of "guest worker” programs which prohibit workers from changing jobs at will. Re: Mr. Moser's letter, Mr. Moser mentions the economic contributions of illegal aliens. What he ignores is that these same contributions could and would be made by citizens and legal permanent residents who are displaced from these jobs, or see their wages depressed. It was Cesar Chavez himself who recognized that a continual supply of illegal labor was the surest way to drive down and keep down (farm) wages. Furthermore, the "billions" of dollars in Social Security payments and the like are an extremely small portion of the annual expenditures made to SS recipients. Then, there's the little matter of why illegal aliens are even paying into SS - they're committing identity fraud, which is becoming a major cost to U.S. taxpayers and consumers. Were illegal aliens to be legalized, most would become part of the working poor, and eligible for welfare programs they cannot now access—driving up the costs of illegal immigration. Finally, Mr. Moser refers to "diversification”. It's a funny kind of "diversification” where Mexico and a handful of other countries provide most of the immigrants, legal and illegal. What's "diverse” about that?
Ali Alexander
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Attorneys
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