Thread by @MatthewSoerens

Some thoughts after a drive from Illinois to Wisconsin on immigration policy, respecting the law, and bills being considered by the House of Representatives

[long thread]

Driving north from Illinois to Wisconsin this evening I observed something I’ve noticed before: crossing the state line, the speed limit jumps significantly—but most cars (including mine) suddenly slow down

Why?

I suspect it’d because most who drive here regularly know that the police on I-94 near Kenosha, WI aren’t messing around: you’ll see plenty of squad cars along the interstate, and it’s not unusual to get a ticket for exceeding the 70 mph speed limit by just a few miles per hour

On I-94 through Chicagoland, where the speed limit is just 55 mph in most places, drivers regularly go 75 mph or more, yet enforcement seems much less common. Almost no one is going 55 mph; it actually feels unsafe to do so

So we all set our own standards—I personally feel it’s reasonable to go 15 mph over, but I judge those going 25 mph over as reckless—each doing what seems right in our own eyes. In time, with enforcement minimal, the law begins to lose its meaning.

As someone who thinks the rule of law really matters—that a general respect for the law has served this country well—I think that’s problematic.

But the solution isn’t necessarily to ticket all the Illinois drivers: it might be to raise the speed limit (& then ticket violators)

This is roughly analogous to the US immigration challenge. Our quotas on immigrant visas—mostly written decades ago & unchanged, even as our economy has grown—don’t nearly meet the demands of our labor market, especially right now with low unemployment

Most immigrants would prefer to come lawfully, but there aren’t enough visas. Especially for those without close US citizen relatives, who aren’t highly educated & who aren’t fleeing persecution (though maybe fleeing poverty), there’s usually no line to wait in to come lawfully

But if they manage to get here other-than-lawfully or to get a temporary visa and overstay, there is almost certainly a job available, even though they lack work authorization documents. And our duplicitous government will happily deduct taxes from these unauthorized earnings

With more job openings than people in the US looking for work, almost any economist will tell you we need more immigrants to sustain economic growth. They’re vital workers, consumers, taxpayers & entrepreneurs

But rather than increase visa quotas, for years our government has selectively ignored the law—looking the other way as employers hire people unlawfully, as those on tourist visas overstay & as folks cross the border illegally (though that’s become more difficult in recent years)

The solution isn’t to arrest all the speeders: it’s first to raise an unreasonably low speed limit…and then ticket the speeders

And the solution for immigration is to make it easier to immigrate legally, upping the number of immigrant visas to meet labor market demands

Instead, nearly half of the House of Representatives vote for a bill yesterday to cut legal immigration by 40% (immigrationforum.org/article/incomp…)

(for IL, @RepHultgren & @RepKinzinger voted for the bill cutting legal immigration; @PeterRoskam, @RepBillFoster & @CongressmanRaja voted no)

If we cut legal immigration (the equivalent of lowering the 55 mph speed limit) and don’t want an economic disaster with no one to fill jobs, as a nation we’ll simply have to selectively ignore the law…which eventually has the effect of eroding the meaning of the law

A vote next week on another House bill would reduce legal migration by 1.4 million people over 20 years (cato.org/blog/house-gop…), at a time nearly all economists believe that—because of an aging workforce & low birth rates—the US needs more immigrants to sustain economic growth

These cuts to legal immigration are in large part an effect of restricting family reunification visas.

And while it aims to keep families arriving at the border together (better than the separation policy), it does so by detaining kids indefinitely, which I think is also wrong

I just called my Rep, asking him not to cut legal immigration and not to detain kids. You can find your Rep and call as well: worldrelief.org/call-to-reunite

If their voicemail boxes are full by Monday morning of expressions of concern, it could cause some to reconsider their support