Immigration that imports poverty.

Robert Samuelson observes some simple truth about immigration:

Guest workers would mainly legalize today's vast inflows of illegal immigrants, with the same consequence: We'd be importing poverty. . . . Since 1980 the number of Hispanics with incomes below the government's poverty line (about $19,300 in 2004 for a family of four) has risen 162 percent. Over the same period, the number of non-Hispanic whites in poverty rose 3 percent and the number of blacks, 9.5 percent. What we have now -- and would with guest workers -- is a conscious policy of creating poverty in the United States while relieving it in Mexico.

He concludes with this simple truth that seems beyond the understanding of the superbrains throughout Washington:

We've never tried a policy of real barriers and strict enforcement against companies that hire illegal immigrants. Until that's shown to be ineffective, we shouldn't adopt guest worker programs that don't solve serious social problems -- but add to them.

"We Don't Need 'Guest Workers'." By Robert J. Samuelson, Washington Post, 2/22/06 (emphasis added).