A step in the right direction

Physical border security could--and should--be improved, but that alone won't fix the wave of illegal migration. Removing incentives--like the ability to find underground employment--will. So long as businesses profit by importing cheaper labor than they could find through natural market forces at home, there will be little momentum to address the problem. This should get their attention, though.

A new law in Arizona that takes effect Jan. 1 aims to punish employers who hire workers without valid US residency. Even though this experiment is by only one state trying to fix only one piece of the US immigration puzzle, the law may provide answers for the whole nation.

Arizona stands out in illegal hires – about 10 to 12 percent of the workforce. This border state with only 6.2 million people has more illegal immigrants than Illinois or New York. Two-thirds of Arizona's foreign-born population are not in the US legally, and the vast majority of them live at or near the poverty level.

Arizona is doing the US a favor by going after the prime magnet for border-crossers – companies that offer jobs without checking an applicant's legal status. The new law's punch lies in taking away a business's license if the employer is caught more than once with illegal workers (even ones with fake documents). A similar enforcement effort by the US Homeland Security Department is barely off the ground.