Getting Unstuck From Stupid On Illegal Immigration.

Today brings more sense from a conservative commentator on what to do about the problem of illegal immigration. This time from Linda Chavez. (Here.)

Not that the anti-illegals will pay it much heed. They can't get past the word "illegal" to the word "immigration" when thinking about solutions. Let's read what Chavez has to say about the contributions of illegals to our country:

Third, the overwhelming majority of illegal aliens pay taxes, including Social Security, Medicare and property taxes, not to mention sales taxes. The chief actuary of the Social Security Administration estimates that three-fourths of all illegal aliens have Social Security (and Medicare) taxes deducted from their wages. How? It's simple.
Since it is illegal to hire someone who does not present a Social Security number (and show other documentation of legal residence), many illegal aliens use phony numbers or cards to get jobs. In 2002 alone, the Social Security Administration reported it had collected $7 billion in payroll taxes and $1.5 billion in Medicare taxes from workers who could not be matched with valid Social Security numbers.
In addition, illegal aliens pay property taxes just like everyone else, either directly, if they own homes (and surprising numbers of illegal aliens do), or indirectly through their landlords' property taxes in the form of rent. Most illegal aliens pay income taxes -- since these, too, are automatically deducted -- but they fail to claim any refunds since they are fearful of drawing attention to their illegal status.

Then, after recommending illegals pay a fine for violating our immigration laws, she suggests a broader solution that echoes what this site has argued (here and here).

The more difficult question is how to stop more people from coming here illegally -- and the best way to do that is to increase border security and change our current, inflexible laws to make it possible for more people to come here legally.

Increased border security, expanded legal immigration opportunities from Mexico, and legalization of current illegals is the right mix of solutions for our country.

-tdr

Technorati: borders, illegal immigration, Mexico.