By Will Freedom (9-10-01)

Many otherwise tolerant folks get their hackles up when it comes to Mexican nationals working in the U.S. Libertarians often receive a lot of heat due to their stance on allowing people to move across borders freely. A closer look at the real problem is in order. Usually the most ardent supporters of controlling the influx of Mexicans into the U.S. admit that Mexicans are human beings, who are only trying to better their lives and the lives of their families. Problems arise when the foreigners are accused of taking Americans’ jobs away, burdening services, and causing problems for police due to language differences.

No one owns a job except the one doing the hiring. For example: If I cut your grass, it doesn’t mean I own your yard. Obviously, the yard and the mowing job are yours to do with as you please. The mere act of holding a job is not ownership, unless you also own the business. Appeals to xenophobia and bigotry are tools used by tyrants, to hide their own failings, such as why more opportunities aren’t available for citizens. The idea that foreigners drain the government services of resources that could otherwise make this country a socialist Utopia is pure propaganda, designed to divert attention to the unworkable nature of the government programs. The notion that Mexicans are abusing the government health care system is an indictment of the system not those using it. Just because a person is here in this country doesn’t mean it’s the duty of citizens here to provide for his every need, any more than it is the duty of one citizen to be burdened with the maintenance of another unrelated citizen. Due to the myriad rules and regulations regarding foreign laborers, most fear being in violation of one clause or another, and they are not likely to get involved in police investigations for fear of being deported themselves. The real cause of the lack of cooperation with local authorities isn’t necessarily language, but more likely it’s fear, the same sort of fear U.S. citizens have of facing an IRS audit.

The U. S., if it were a free country instead of a country of freebies, would benefit immensely form the willing hard workers from south of the border. Just about all U. S. citizens are descendants of immigrants, most of which, contrary to popular myth, did not immigrate here for freedom, rather mainly for the economic opportunities that freedom affords. The equation is a simple one; more freedom equals more economic opportunities and less freedom has the predictable opposite effect on everyone’s economic prospects -- foreign laborers and citizen alike.