Democrats and Republicans seem hell-bent on debating immigration only after it happens. Amnesty or deportation? This leaves the more fundamental question of how immigrants can come legally on the back burner. If Congress could modernize the legal immigration system, enforcement would be both easier and more popular.Congress has not substantively updated America’s legal immigration system since reforms in 1986 and 1990 — almost four decades ago. In those days, most illegal immigrants crisscrossed the border seasonally. Ronald Reagan urged Congress to “make it possible for them to come here legally with a work permit.”In response, Congress created the H-2A visa program for seasonal farm workers to work legally. It took until the late George W. Bush administration for all the relevant agencies to get the system working properly. But today, it finally provides an orderly and legal path for over 315,000 workers per year. Problem solved? Well, in seasonal agriculture, yes.
The story of the H-2A visa highlights both the problem and the promise of legal immigration reform. H-2A workers are vetted abroad, enter legally, and cause little trouble for law enforcement or government budgets. Yet we solved the problem of the 1980s. Today, most illegal farm workers aren’t in seasonal crops, but in dairy, livestock, and poultry processing.READ RESTORING AMERICA’S THINK TANK SERIES, THE RIGHT WAY FORWARD: IMMIGRATION AND NATIONAL IDENTITYMore importantly, 86% of illegal workers today aren’t in agriculture at all. They’re in construction, hospitality, restaurants, delivery, and other non-seasonal sectors, which have no path to hire anyone legally. If Congress is serious about illegal immigration, it needs to create a system that both immigrants and employers can use.That’s also a system that’s more likely to be enforced. President Donald Trump himself has publicly recognized the economic problem with deporting illegal immigrants in agriculture, hospitality, and other sectors. If enforcing our current system can’t get the enthusiastic backing of the most hardcore enforcer in American history, it’s time to fix it.Legal immigration means the workers who come would compete on a level playing field, which would benefit U.S. workers, including low-skilled workers. The availability of workers also plays an important role in businesses’ decisions to invest in the United States. If there are only half the workers you need to open a factory, the factory just won’t open.
