A Discussion on Immigration:
Last night I had the opportunity to discuss immigration policy and illegal immigration concerns with a diverse group of people, working in a variety of industries, including: banking, construction, oil/energy, and public education. The largest initial concern about illegal immigration was security, and a far second was the economic issues, a la "they are taking our jobs." Here are some of the conclusions reached from the discussion.

Security Concerns
Despite political rhetoric, there is little need for security concerns in regards to illegal immigration. The vast majority of broken laws are related to the act of illegal entry. (i.e. immigration law, identity theft, and fraud)

1) There is little evidence linking illegal immigrants to higher crime rates. Most violent crime relating to illegal immigrants is regarding the act of illegal entry. (i.e. bandits, smugglers)

2) While there exists a looming threat that terrorists could cross into the United States via the U.S./Mexico border, most measures currently being discussed, including the border fence, would not drastically effect the ability of a committed terrorist to cross into the United States.

Economic Concerns
There are viable economic concerns in relation to illegal entry, the largest of which being the cost to police the border. However the "taking our jobs" argument is not well validated.

1) Costs to police the border, provide medical attention, access to government social welfare programs, and increased costs of schooling can have a significant and unfair impact on the tax payer.

2) Market forces are at play through which illegal immigrants end up with jobs that the majority of Americans do not want or are unwilling to take. In addition, private sector employment is based on costs, and illegal immigrants are used because of the "work value - to - cost of employment" ratio is higher than legal employees. (Those in the construction and related industries argued that goods and services would cost more and hurt the industry if legal workers were used)

Possible Solutions
In line with my previous statements and current stance, the over arching solution to the problem is to effect the desire to (aka. demand on) illegal immigration. So long as there is a reason (value) to enter illegally, and the risk is worth the reward, the practice will continue.

1) Encourage immigrants to stay in their home countries or in Mexico.
This can be done though encouraging private sector investment in Mexico, leading to more opportunities for employment and reducing the demand for illegal immigration for employment purposes. This has been shown to provide higher rates of return for the private sector than investment in U.S. companies; however, government corruption is a major concern.

2) Reduce the value of illegal entry.
This can be done by taking away benefits currently given to illegal immigrants, such as health care, education, food stamps and access to other social/welfare programs. The value of this is unknown as it has not been tried.

3) Increase punishment of private sector violations of immigration laws.
This is a state-by-state solution where by businesses are held more accountable for who they hire. While shown to be an effective deterrent, it could lead to increased identity theft and fraud; in addition, the high costs of background checks will be detrimental to smaller companies or a burden on tax dollars.

Conclusions
Based on the discussion, the best solutions to the problems include: 1) government action to reduce benefits to those who enter illegally while reforming the immigration process for those who are not a security threat, and 2) allowing the private sector to work on stimulating the Mexican economy while holding businesses more accountable for who they hire.
(Your questions and comments are welcome)