One of the greatest strengths of America is the ideal of the great melding pot that turned a collection of immigrants from around the world into a nation of Americans. This ideal is currently under threat, not from any one group, but from a confused patchwork of immigration laws and polices, and the understandable alienation and frustration on all sides over the inequities that have resulted.

In Southwest Florida, and all across America, we see the immediate effects of our failed immigration policy. However before we start demanding mass deportations and giant walls across our borders, we need to recognize that the spike in illegal immigration we’ve seen over the past decade isn’t simply to due to an increased supply of illegal workers, but also a greater demand for cheap, illegal labor.  

A combination of bad policies both here in America and in countries such as Mexico that include lopsided trade agreements such as NAFTA, along a lack of enforcement not only along our borders, but also in our factories and worksites have done more to cause the  spike in the number of illegal aliens working in this country than anything else.

We need a consistent national immigration policy that focuses not only on border security but also the enforcement of labor laws that protect the safety and job security of citizens and legal immigrants alike.

We also need to strike a balance between creating an effective deterrence for illegal entry into this country and the practical need to ensure that our growing immigrant communities are fully integrated into American society by creating a legal pathway to citizenship for those deserving, longtime, undocumented residents who are otherwise contributing to this nation. 

The answer to our immigration problem is better laws not more walls.