There's a fundamental moral issue that is all but ignored -- on both sides -- in the current immigration debate: what right do we Americans have to tell non-Americans that they are not allowed in our country?
I live in Woburn, Massachusetts. Folks in the much-wealthier town of Lexington, MA, just a few streets away from me, have absolutely no right to prohibit natives of Woburn from moving into Lexington. (Whether we Woburnites could afford to live there is another matter, but not for this discussion.)
Massachusetts is much wealthier state than Montana. But if a Montanan wants to move here, we couldn't and (I hope) wouldn't try to prevent them from doing so.
If my neighborhood can't act to keep people from other neighborhoods out, and my town can't keep people from other towns out, and my state can't keep people from other states out ... then why the hell do we accept the current terms of the debate: that our country has the right to keep people from other countries out, and the only question is how to do so "fairly" or "efectively"?
I reject the whole premise. Those of us lucky enough to have been born in the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the history of the world have NO right to tell those born elsewhere that they can't try to get what we already have.
Such an approach could indeed result in a drmatic increase in immigration. It could well lead to lower standards of living in the United States. But the principles of freedom and liberty are more important than luxury shopping sprees, goddamnit.