Curbing Illegal Aliens through Attrition

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies and a contributor to the National Review, says: "What we really need in ending this 'welcome' is to pursue what I like to call a 'firewall' strategy. Make it not just difficult to get in the country, which is something we need to do, but also make it hard to gain access to the important institutions of our society ... so that it becomes as difficult as possible to be an illegal immigrant. So you can't get a driver's license, you can't get a job, etc. Only in that way can we successfully dissuade new illegal immigrants from sneaking into the country and persuade some significant portion of those to leave. ... I describe that as an 'attrition' policy. In other words, not magically eliminating the illegal immigration problem, but causing the illegal immigrant population ... instead of growing every year, to start declining every year."