Immigration is fast becoming a major political issue in the US. And while illegal immigration is a valid concern, we need to be cautious not to restrict legal immigration during the current entrepreneurial economic boom. The latest evidence of the positive economic impact of controlled immigration can be seen in the large number of Hispanic entrepreneurs starting businesses across the country.
From the Tennessean:
Hispanics owned nearly 1.6 million businesses in 2002, a 31% increase from five years earlier, according to a report yesterday by the Census Bureau. The number of all U.S. companies grew by 10%, to about 23 million, during the same period.
It is inspiring to see so many new people coming into this country and embracing our system of free enterprise. They come here to add to our national wealth. But, illegal immigration at the level we now are experiencing can only hurt these entrepreneurs. It fuels animosity from the general population and can even unfairly casts doubts over the legitimacy of these small business owners. Getting control over immigration will be a benefit for Hispanics who are trying to legitimately become a part of the American economy.
I believe that now is not the time to restrict the flow of new people into this country. Quite the contrary. We are in the early stages of a new economic era we have not seen the likes of in this country in over 100 years. The last great entrepreneurial economic boom was created in large part by first generation Americans and sustained by a large, but controlled, wave of immigration that helped to build an economy that last through most of the 1900s.
However, if we want immigration to be a positive contributor to this new era it must be managed properly. We have lost control of our borders and this threatens both our economic health and our national security.