TPPF's Border Solutions Event

"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,"
Ephesians 6:14

Texas State Capital -- This afternoon, the Texas Public Policy Foundation hosted Securing the Border: A Symposium on Solutions.  The event followed last week's event identifying the problems.  In hindsight, the event might have been better served with a more concrete and detailed discussion of border security, but it did a fantastic job highlighting solutions to fix our current immigration system that was designed by labor unions:

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

Highlights:

• Laura Collins (American Action Forum)
• Streamlined legal immigration (which, for the record, is a future-oriented policy, NOT AMNESTY for those currently here illegally) will alleviate stress on the border.
• Personal note: DUH!!!
• Border security is a component of sound economic policy.
• Not that anyone's proposing it, but mass deportations would contract the economy.
• Both components (border security and streamlined legal immigration) are necessary for sustanable reform.

• Sikha Dalma (Reason)
• No one trusts Washington.
• Current immmigration policy = Leninist central planning.
• The number of available visas isn't sufficient
• Washington's handling of immigration is designed to create shortages and lawlessness.
• Even as Obama attacks Arizona, his administration won't assist Utah's efforts to take in the illegals currently in Arizona.
• "Federalized" immigration policy (aka. the 10th amendment): Allow states to set their own policy.
• 

• Mike Gonzalez (Heritage)
• Obama's foreign policy failures are exacerbating border problems.
• People have been bitching about immigration since the 1720's.
• Liberals don't understand the meaning of 'nation of immigrants.'
• Current immigration policy was designed by leftists and labor unions in the 1960's.
• Progressives want to convince immigrants government is benevolent

• Q and A:
• Without easier legal immigration, the bad guys will still figure out ways to get here but it'll hurt the people we want.
• Getting U.S. welfare benefits under control will alleviate a lot of these labor shortages, rendering a lot of the current immigration 'debate' irrelevant.
• We can have an orderly flow of immigrants or we can have a fortress.