I am speaking here in my capacity as a member of the Commission on Immigration Reform. We chose to focus much of that report on controlling illegal immigration. They do send their kids to our schools, and have babies in our hospitals. Those are very serious matters, and they impose costs on the taxpayer. Reducing the employment magnet has to be the linchpin of a comprehensive strategy to reduce illegal immigration.
Jobs are the attraction.
So the only effective way to deter illegal immigration must include the worksite. Better border enforcement is necessary, but not sufficient. In this San Diego Sector alone, apprehensions in fiscal 1995 were more than 524,000. You can police the border, you can certainly manage it better, but border enforcement has its limits. Visa overstayers make up fully half of the influx of illegal aliens who take up permanent residence here illegally every year.