The Illegal Immigration Solution

When the jobs dry up, they go home.

Hispanic immigration to the Washington region has always followed a seasonal pattern, as the winter puts a chill on outdoor labor and drives workers south. But with home sales and housing starts dropping after years of steady growth, many Hispanic workers -- legal and illegal -- say the good times are gone.

"The Hispanic population in Virginia has grown too much," said Guzm?n, echoing the sentiments of those who support tough immigration policies, "and that's closed off a lot of job opportunities."

Demographers who track migration patterns and embassy staff members say it's too soon to tell exactly how the housing construction decline has affected the region's Hispanic population. But stories of departing workers abound. Some workers say they're headed home; others, spurred by rumors of construction jobs, try their fortunes in the Carolinas, Georgia, New Orleans.

"It's a little better here, but not much," said Raul Amayas, 21, a Salvadoran immigrant reached by phone in Charlotte. Amayas left Manassas last month after losing his $400-a-week landscaping job. Now he's making $300 a week as a busboy at a Mexican restaurant. "It's hard here. Ugly," Amayas said.

Part one - cutting off the jobs - is indisputable. When employment opportunities for illegal aliens disappear - either because the work is no longer available to anyone, or it is no longer available to illegals because the government requires employers to adhere to existing regulations - the illegals will tend to return home. This will end the blatant unfairness the Bush administration has engendered giving free reign to employers using illegal workers.

Let us not forget, that NO ONE in the local Northern Virginia circle of debate is advocating for mass deportation of illegal aliens. Enforcement of existing laws is the chief emphasis.

When the unfair job opportunities disappear locally, so will the illegals, and legal workers will once again have the opportunity to work throughout northern VA.

Part two is fixing the problems the illegals face at home in Mexico and Latin America. This should be the object of a full court press by the United States government.