But before I go off the conservative reservation, as I so often seem to these days, I’ll pay some quick lip service to the truism. Immigrants have made America a better place. Don’t ask me how because it is pretty self-evident. I’ll start by saluting some of the most impactful immigrants to the United States, beginning with Albert Einstein. And while that name is perhaps the most obvious to mention when defending the value of immigration, other names are worth mentioning. Jonas Salk, Elon Musk, Nikola Tesla, Sigmund Freud, Andrew Carnegie, Ayn Rand, and Elie Wiesel must be included in any list of the immigrants to America who had the biggest impact. I would add Arnold Schwarzenegger to the list, just as many other names are worthy of inclusion.

But the issue isn’t really whether there have been famous immigrants to America or whether America has benefited from immigration. The answer is obviously yes. America has been blessed by the fact that some of the most extraordinary people in our nation’s history came to America from other countries. And I also suppose it is probably the case that some or possibly several of the immigrants who have entered into the country, albeit illegally in the last several years, will also go on to do great things and add profound economic and social value to not only America but the world. I pray that is true. I believe it is true. But that isn’t really the point anymore.

The point is what is going on in the rest of the world that tens of millions of people, indeed hundreds of millions over the last 100 years, decide it is their best hope to leave their native country and risk much, and in many cases — too many cases, frankly — to risk all to come to America? In 2014, when discussing illegal immigration, Jeb Bush torpedoed his chances of ever reaching the White House when he suggested the people crossing the southern border illegally weren’t committing felonies and that, instead, it was an “act of love.” Sounds mostly right to me. Although not all of them come here illegally as an act of love — obviously, some of them, maybe a lot of them, come here to traffic in drugs and people. How many? I don’t know and I don’t know if there is any way to find out. And therein lies the crux of the problem. 

But setting aside those who come here to cause us harm, I do think it’s worth thinking about those who do come here as an act of love. And I’ll define, for my own purpose, "act of love" as the very American and inalienable, God-given right to pursue happiness. And it is because of these human beings that I believe we need to get this seemingly intractable problem right. And just so some of you will stick with me, I’m not going to suggest we allow them to come in. That isn’t where I am going. My non-negotiable position on the issue is if you wish to come to America — and I don’t blame you — you must knock on the front door and wait patiently to be invited in. You might also need to remove your shoes. America has standards, after all.

I was thinking about this issue from the perspective that I think about many issues I write about. And that is from the perspective of taxes. And specifically, the tax regimes from which the people fleeing their homes are escaping. And I noticed something interesting. According to the Pew Research Center, a record number of encounters in fiscal 2021, the most recent data available, involved people from countries other than Mexico. Most of the encounters with non-Mexicans involved people from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. In fact, nearly 600,000 encounters were from those three countries.

And so I decided, just out of curiosity, to see what the tax rate on capital gains is in those three countries. The thinking being: If these countries would eliminate their capital gains tax on small enterprise, it would create new investment capital at home and even draw it in from the United States. The goal being for these nationals to stay or go back instead of settling in Texas, Arizona, and California. As you dig deep into the tax structures of these countries what you notice is varying levels of complexity and duplication. All of which creates barriers to investment and the formation of capital.  

Even Mexico, which has come an extremely long way, is still burdened with a pretty complex tax structure. America can play a key role in assisting these economies by helping to make them more attractive for commerce and also by stressing the value of private ownership, the respect for contracts, and the rule of law. We like to talk about the American dream, but I don't believe working hard to get ahead and owning an equity stake is the American dream; I believe that it is the universal dream.

In 1776, at approximately the time Jefferson wrote our Declaration of Independence, Scottish professor Adam Smith wrote his indispensable book “An Inquiry into the Nature and Cause of the Wealth of Nations.” Smith wasn't just talking about white nations, or rich nations, or nations in a certain hemisphere, or with a certain climate or access to natural resources. Smith was talking about all nations. I believe with a new focus on economic empowerment, aimed particularly at the geographical source of our illegal immigration problem, these nations, with the assistance of the tremendous brain power in America, can reform their economies so that economic opportunity can exist far more than it exists today.

Mexico provides a good example. The Mexican economy has experienced strong growth due to supply-side public policies implemented by President López Obrador's administration. These policies have attracted investment and led to a strong labor market and increased public and private investments. Whoever wins the White House in 2024, I hope they’ll focus more on the source of illegal immigration rather than reducing it to a problem solved with the construction of a tall wall and machine guns. Yes, we absolutely need a wall, but we also need a robust policy of compassion, economic, and prosperity exportation.