In all the debate over immigration, I want to emphasize two points that are much more important than all the noise that is getting into the news.

First, any change in immigration law should not be just a list of exceptions and exclusions to the current law, leaving the law intact.  It should especially not be a set of exceptions or procedures that allow those who have broken the law to avoid the consequences.  I agree that our immigration law is broken, but punching holes in the law for favored groups, like children and lawbreakers, is wrongheaded, and terrible precedent.  Incentives matter.  Respect for the law matters far more than political advantage or expediency, or even the difficulty of enforcement.

By all means, change the law.  Hash out something better, but it must apply to everyone, not just those with political clout, or political potential.  This is not a game.  This must not become yet another bailout.

Second, any “reform” that includes national tracking of employment, such as proposals that require usage of  E-verify to hire, takes us a step closer to a “papers, please” society.  This is completely unacceptable.  Do we really want to give the federal government the power, through a national database, to allow or denyall hiring decisions?  Do we want the federal government tracking, in detail, everyemployment action in the nation?  This is a badidea.

Letting people operate outside of government “supervision” leaves us vulnerable.  Lacking E-verify will make it harder to enforce immigration law.

Is control of immigration more important than freedom of movement, and the economic freedom to work without government permission?  Requiring E-verify would criminalize simple things like hiring a neighbor to plow your driveway, unless you check with the feds first.  That’s not the USA I grew up in.

Freedom is hard.  Freedom is expensive.

How much is your freedom worth to you?