I have been quite concerned for some time about the shrill debate over illegal immigration and its potential fallout for free trade. I have argued, at Acton events and elsewhere, that no long-term solution to the flow of illegal immigration from Mexico is possible, without significant economic growth in Mexico. U.S. per capita GDP is 6.5 times greater than the Mexican per capita GDP. The public service infrastructure in the US is far superior to that in Mexico. Taken together, a Mexican, even uneducated and working at the worst jobs in America, can substantially improve his standard of living in the US. Until something is done to equalize the incomes, the pressure for immigration, legal or otherwise, will be enormous.
Therefore, I was relieved to hear that Senator John Cornyn is proposing a North American Investment Fund to improve the infrastructure of Mexico. At the same time, I am distressed to see so many conservative publications denouncing this and other moves as attempts to compromise US sovereignty. See here and here, for instance. I am at a loss: if we want to control immigration, we have to do something about the earnings gap. If every attempt to help Mexico through free trade or infrastructure support is attacked as an affront to US sovereignty, what exactly do these people think is going to help?
