Northern Alliance Radio Network

More From Tamar Jacoby

Last Saturday, we were joined in the second hour by Tamar Jacoby for a lively discussion on immigration reform. Tamar has a new piece on the subject in the LA Times called A law that means business:

It isn't hard to see the moral of the story. Yes, we need better enforcement on the border (particularly in remote, rural areas such as southern Arizona). Yes, it's essential that we focus on the workplace, checking employees against Social Security records at the moment of hiring (electronically, with a system something like credit card verification). And yes, we need penalties stiff enough to deter future offenders--perhaps even fines based on a percentage of company profits.

But even more important, we need to recognize that our laws are out of sync with the country's labor needs--and that it doesn't pay to try to enforce unrealistic laws. We need immigration quotas--or a guest worker program--generous enough to supply American employers with the employees they need to grow their businesses. And we need to bring the 11 million illegal immigrants already here and working onto the right side of the law. Otherwise, as in Nebraska in 1998, we risk putting whole industries out of business.