IMMIGRATION ROUNDUP: Mickey Kaus wonders,

Miriam Jordan's solid 12/6 WSJ summary of the illegal immigrant/drivers' license debate notes the charge from some quarters (in this case, Sen. Lieberman's office) that the attempt to deny such licenses is "not a security provision. It's an anti-immigrant provision." Of course it is! Or, rather, it's an attempt to restrict illegal immigration by denying illegal immigrants the normalcy, and the legitimate perquisites, of legal residence. Why isn't that a perfectly proper objective? ... It would be equally true to charge that the supporters of licensing illegal immigrants aren't really concerned with making the roads safer, requiring insurance, and obtaining information on drivers--they're really, at bottom, committed to legitimizing the presence of illegals and they don't worry much about whether that encourages others to become illegals. ... Why is it only respectable to argue on the surface-argument level--about fighting terrorism and requiring auto insurance--instead of the real level (about controlling immigration)?

Perhaps because the surface arguments are easier. Consider a simple model in which there are two countries and only economic migrants. Some of the economic migrants have credentials and apply for admission. Not all are accepted. Other economic migrants lack credentials but sneak in, despite costs of getting in and a probability of getting deported. Controlling immigration is costly. The more of those costs the rich country's government shifts to legal applicants, or the tougher it is to be admitted, the more likely legal applicants will be to sneak in instead. The more difficult the rich country makes it for people to sneak in, the fewer people will sneak in, but the rich country incurs higher costs to enforce such policies, as well as reduced output compared to what it would have with illegal and legal migrants participating in its economy. On the other hand, open borders make it possible for political migrants (some of whom might be asylum-seekers; others, terrorists) to legally enter. But that's a further refinement of the model. The optimal policy, then, is probably (this is the next stage of the research) one in which there's relatively easy access for migrants with jobs or job opportunities -- although ensuring that workers admitted remain employed, there used to be something called "alien registration" each January, and I remember the ominous public service announcements: if you are an alien, you must register. My context at that tender age was "alien=from outer space" (don't ask why...) so imagine my confusion.

Instapundit promises some thoughts of his own.