Immigration Problems Need More Than Good Management.

I recently read the Jack and Suzy Welch weekly Business Week column "Immigration: A Reality Check" which urges the reader to face reality and view the immigration problem from a management perspective. There are some good insights in their comments, but what they fail to include is that the reality is that there is not one immigration problem, but several, each with its own causes and each must be solved individually.

Legal Versus ILLEGAL Immigrants. The Welchs' quote a Tuft's immigration history professor, who says that all immigrants have tried to stop the next wave of immigrants. This is probably true but we are not dealing with "legal immigrantes" we are dealing with "illegal immigrants". My own and my wife's ancestors all came from foreign countries, but they came here legally and this makes them different from the major issue facing us to day.

At Least Four Different Segments and Problems. To solve the problem, we need to segment the problem into the different types of illegal aliens and the reasons they have violated our immigration laws. These are few of the key types:

1. Visa violators- I have read that 45% of the illegals are here because they came on legal Visas and never went back home. Clearly, this means that we need to know who comes to this country and who doesn't leave? One expert pointed out that if Fedex and UPS can track millions of documents and packages daily and know where they are at all time, why is it so complicated to know who and where those who are violating US Visa rules are? All passports now have barcodes and so we should use them to monitor who enters the country and when they leave. If they don't leave we can track them down and deport them.
   
2. Seasonal, "slave- like laborers"- Second, there are millions of people who are coming here to work in "poor paying, seasonal jobs", who are being hired by "greedy" individuals who are only interested in taking advantage of their poverty and inability to earn a living in Mexico. Several decades ago, there were immigrant children working in sweat shops in most of our urban areas. Their employees claimed that this was the only way to compete. However, laws were passed and implemented to stop this practice and the employers were put in jail if they violated the law. What is so different about the current situation where greedy people are exploiting the current poor illegal workers? These dishonest business people argue that if they didn't have these "slave" labors they would go out of business. I don't think this is true since many employers in these industries follow the law and are still able to make money and stay in business, even when they have to compete against those who violate the law and take advantage of these poor people. It is true we might have to pay a little more for our fruits or vegetables or to have services provided, but I think most of us would be happy to do so or be willing to do without.
   
3. Foreign Students- Third, there are thousands of foreign students, who "the Welchs' describe as entrepeneurs, in our colleges and universities who don't leave our country when they graduate and in fact, many don't even show up for classes. Again, we have laws that must be inforced and it is the responsibility of the Universities and trade schools, to know who is in class, who is in violation of the law and report them.


4. Mexico has failed- The fourth and maybe, most important reason is that Mexico lacks the leadership to use its natural resources and strategic position with the United States to create good paying jobs. Over the past several decades, many US companies moved their manufacturing to Mexico to take advantage of its lower labor costs and proximity to the United States. Obviously, the Mexican government has not been able to capitalize on these gifts and oppotunities to create a stable society. It is pathetic that Mexican citizens will risk their lives, leave their families, even pay to be "imported into the United States" and to take poor paying, difficult jobs in order to escape from their homeland. This is a complex problem, but if Mexico can't take care of it own people, the broken borders will continue and even get worse.
   
   

In short, these are just four entirely different situations, each has a different cause and must be solved individually. If we enforced our current laws we would at least stop the growth of the illegal immigrants.

Another assertion in the Welchs' column is that it is impossible to deport all of the 12 million plus aliens already here. This is true. But it doesn't mean that all of the current illegals are the same. Again we need to segment them and deal with each separately. This is just common sense and sound strategic thinking. For example:

1. Hard working individuals, who want to be citizens and pay taxes. Some of those here illegally are hard working, good people who want to pay taxes and be given a chance to become citizens. However, we must be fair to those who become citizens by following the rules and it must be highly selective, since not everyone fits into this category.


2. Opportunists- Others are just here opportunistically and have no interest in becoming citizens or paying taxes. They take jobs, don't pay taxes, send the money home and plan to leave. They have no desire to be citizens and pay taxes. Often, many in this category go on welfare and take away the funds that should be allocated to citizens who deserve them. These should be deported.


3. Criminals and Terrorists- A third group are criminals and even potential terrorists. These should be dealt with like any other criminals and put in jail and then deported. If their native countries will not expatriate them, then they stay in jail. This will communicate the message to these unwanted individuals and will deter more to follow.
   

In conclusion: This is not just another management problem and the reality is that we are dealing with a very complex number of different problems. However, these problems can't be ignored or just passed over as "reality". They impact our homeland security, economy, legal system and ability to retain our national identity. We need real strategic leaders, with the courage to stand up and be counted and not just try and satisfy the few greedy business people or to get the votes of those who favor ignoring it. Timing is NOW...it will require consisten actions and not just slogan and words.

Bill Rothschild, author of "Risktaker, caretaker, surgeon, undertakers- the four faces of strategic leadership" and The Secret to GE's Success, both available on http://www.strategyleader.com/ and Amazon sites.