Immigration policies are dysfunctional

I thought there was a consensus that organized day labor centers were a good idea. Evidently that consensus no longer exists. The attempt to establish a day-labor center in Burbank has met with heated resistance. There have been demonstrations opposing Glendale's center ("Protesters clash at center," Jan. 9).

Obviously the nation's immigration policies are terribly wrong. Almost everybody understands that fact. Both those who are primarily concerned about stopping illegal immigration and those who are primarily interested in protecting undocumented workers concede that immigration has been badly mishandled by the federal government. During my 45-year career in the federal service, the last two of which were in the Department of Homeland Security, I have had more reason than most to worry about this problem.

While U.S. immigration policies are undeniably a mess, nevertheless, they have remained because there are many who benefit from them. Some beneficiaries are easy to identify -- business owners and farm owners who want cheap, docile, hard-working laborers who tolerate deplorable working conditions without a murmur of protest. And then there are the rest of us -- we who benefit from cheaper groceries, less expensive restaurant prices, gardeners who mow and blow for $80 a month, women who take care of our children and clean our homes at affordable prices.

We know there are costs to us, but these costs are somewhat elusive and difficult to quantify. Upon reflection we may realize that the costs are heavy -- increased crime, increased spending for social services, costs stemming from severely strained public education and healthcare systems and from the over-burdening of almost all other infrastructure systems, and the costs associated with the general reduction in quality of life that comes from over-crowding.

Yet, we are aware that we have been depending upon undocumented workers so long that they have become woven into the fabric of our society, and we rightly worry that our economy would unravel if they all disappeared at once.

One thing we should understand is that all of us are culpable to one degree or another, as we all have been willing to reap the benefits.