Enforcement at what cost

The Washington Post examines today the federal government's drive to be credible in its enforcement of immigration laws. The feature focuses on a federal detention camp in Raymondville that houses 2,000 illegal immigrants, part of a record 26,500 held across the U.S.

The $65 million tent city, built hastily last summer between a federal prison and a county jail, marks both the success and the limits of the government's new policy of holding captured non-Mexicans until they are sent home. Previously, most such detainees were released into the United States before hearings, and a majority simply disappeared.


The policy has led to a dramatic decline in border crossings by non-Mexicans. The building boom of detention camps is part of President Bush's drive to create a program for temporary foreign workers and a path toward legalization for as many as 12 million illegal immigrants.

Expect agriculture to suffer if more and more illegals are detained. Critics asks whether the Bush policy of enforcement is sustainable and humane, but overlooked is the reality that growers will face greater shortages and hardship if lawmakers don't pass an immigration law that can provide workers and be credibly enforced.