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The whole gamut of immigration proposals that have been bandied about have one thing in common. From the muscular plans to deploy National Guard and build extra fencing on the border to the softer guest worker visas and paths to citizenship, they are all purely domestic measures. Nowhere in the debate has there been any acknowledgment of the fact that reducing poverty and joblessness abroad is the only real solution to immigration concerns in this country.
Giving people the opportunities to stay in their home countries is no small task. And for U.S. politicians, it has the distinct negative aspect of being unachievable before the presidential elections.
However, if we don't start developing a long-term strategy for lifting up living standards in our neighboring countries now, we can expect the same excruciating debate, ridden with knee-jerk remedies and crackpot xenophobia, for years to come.
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