From Body and Soul, which is a great name for a blog:
Between 1994 and 2002, we spent $20 billion militarizing our southern border and trying to keep out or send back immigrants, and it's hard to see that as anything but a complete waste of money. According to a study released last year by the Public Policy Institute of California -- Holding the Line? The Effect of Recent Border Build-up on Unauthorized Immigration
-- during the time the US was drastically increasing border enforcement, the number of undocumented immigrants living in this country increased enormously. Tougher enforcement did not substantially reduce unauthorized border crossings, however it helped increase the number of immigrants because those who made it stayed longer, afraid that if they went back, it would be difficult and expensive for them to return.
This is an interesting and logical extension of the argument, "You get more of what you reward and less of what you punish." In this case government is effectively punishing those who return to their native countries, ergo...
$20 Billion? That's a lot of punishing.
Posted by Walter at November 12, 2003 07:43 AM