There have been many guest columns in the Gazette in support of the Work and Family Mobility Act (HB4805), and Question 4, which asks voters to uphold a law that would allow undocumented immigrants the right to obtain a Massachusetts driver’s license. Collectively those pieces address the specifics of the law which are on the ballot and the closely related issue of immigration.
I attempt here to provide some balance by first encapsulating arguments made in favor of Question 4 and indirectly in favor of increased immigration. I follow with an opposing viewpoint.
This nation has always been a country of immigrants unlike other countries and this diversity is our strength.
We have a diverse population which has prospered because of a common respect for the law. Incentivizing law breaking, by rewarding illegal entry, undermines that crucial shared moral value.
The United States is a huge country and our economy will benefit by having immigrants to fill unfilled jobs, rejuvenate our aging population and grow our gross domestic product.
The idea that we can continue to add more and more people to grow our economy is a Ponzi scheme. It makes no consideration for such things as finite natural resources, destruction of habitat, shortages of housing, traffic jams and the decreasing enjoyment of life.
Undocumented immigrants, through no fault of their own, come here desperate and struggling to lift themselves and their families up from poverty or persecution or both.
I’ve worked…
