Immigration Fuels Our Entrepreneurial Economy, So Let’s Get it Right

There is an interesting policy issue as it relates to immigration that will likely get lost the current emotional debates about illegal immigration.
It is a fact that immigrants are a major source of new businesses in any entrepreneurial age. We saw evidence of this during last big entrepreneurial explosion in the US during the late 1800s (no, class, I did not witness this first-hand). We see evidence of the same thing today in this new entrepreneurial economic age we are now experiencing. From Hispanic Business:

Historically, entrepreneurship in the USA has been highest among immigrants launching grocery stores, construction companies and other businesses serving their communities.
For example, the number of Hispanic-owned firms — many started by Mexican immigrants whether here legally or illegally — soared to 1.6 million from 1997 to 2002, the Census Bureau said this spring. That 31% jump was three times the growth of all firms.
“This is a country of immigrants,” Minniti says. “They replenish the core of the population that is more likely to generate businesses.” Immigrants tend to be younger and have more children, creating generations of future entrepreneurs.

All true. But, that does not remove our obligation to develop a process for immigration that will allow for the smooth flow of new people into this country through an organized and controlled process. Yes, I want to encourage entrepreneurs of all nationalities to come to this country. We need them. We are in an entrepreneurial age in this economy and their energy and drive will help make this a better country. But, those facts cannot be an excuse or be used as a smoke screen for the disorderly and uncontrolled immigration process we now face.
Allow in the immigrants who want to work and can help build this country. We also need to find a better and more systematic way to bring in those who want to come here to be entrepreneurs. The current immigration laws are outdated and do not reflect our need for more new entrepreneurs in the US.
We need to do more than control illegal immigration. We must acknowledge that It is, at least in part, a symptom of an unbalanced supply and demand of human capital in our economy. We need more workers and we need more entrepreneurs. To solve the current problems we face, pull the current immigration system out by the roots. We need both to develop a new set of immigration policies and processes that reflect our new economic age, while at the same time improve the security of this great nation in an age of terrorism.
Politicians seem to have set this whole thing up as an either/or proposition, which it is not. We need to enhance the flow of legal immigration and protect our national security and preserve the rule of law.
(Thanks to John Russell for suggested a discussion of this issue).