The Gates Test

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Immigration faded as an issue during the recent recession, as many unemployed illegal immigrants self-deported. With this context, now is a good time to reconsider our policies. William Bennett, secretary of education under President Reagan, once referred to the "Gates Test":If you open a nation's borders, which directions do people flow? Are a nation's gates, walls and fences keeping people out or in? In the case of the U.S., if we eliminated our border patrol and physical barriers along the 2,000 mile U.S.-Mexican frontier, we would be flooded by millions seeking better lives.

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