I recently had a piece on immigration a San Diego’s Union Tribune.  It is about how an increase in legal immigration could be an economic spark, and I thought I was the only one thinking about the topic.

Turns out I was wrong.

There’s an outfit called the Partnership for a New American Economy, and they are all about immigration as an economic development policy.  They also have a bunch of big names supporting them.  Excellent.

They have a set of principles:

• Secure our borders and prevent illegal immigration through tougher enforcement and better use of technology;
• Develop a simple and secure system for employers to verify employment eligibility and hold businesses that are not compliant, or abuse visa programs, accountable for their actions;
• Increase opportunities for immigrants to enter the United States workforce — and for foreign students to stay in the United States to work — so that we can attract and keep the best, the brightest and the hardest-working, who will strengthen our economy;
• Create a streamlined process by which employers can get the seasonal and permanent employees they need, when Americans aren’t filling vacant jobs;
• Establish a path to legal status for the undocumented currently living in the United States with requirements such as registering with the federal government, learning English, paying taxes and following all laws; and
• Strengthen federal, state, local, and employer-sponsored programs that offer English language, civics, and educational classes to immigrants.

Looks good to me.  I’ll have more about these people soon.

That’s not all.  I find out that there was another op-ed in the Union Tribune just a few weeks ago on the same topic.  Two comments: 1. I’m irritated that I didn’t know about it.  2.  I’m glad to see more people thinking like me.