By: James Kemp, President of the Jack Kemp Foundation

“E pluribus unum.” The Great Seal of the United States proclaims that while we come from many different places, here we can be one. America’s economic miracle would never have been possible without immigration, which has brought the best, the brightest and the hardest working to our shores.

One of the things that makes America an exceptional country is that we have always looked to immigration as a dynamic source of national economic strength, job creation and growth. The Heritage Foundation released a study yesterday that argues the other side. Securing our borders and managing an orderly flow of immigrants are critical, to be sure; but that is not the end of the story, it is just the beginning.

Tax revenues, government spending, human choices – all will change with new immigration policies in place. Green eyeshade forecasters need to factor in the dynamic nature of human behavior and opportunities for economic growth in considering the budgetary impact of immigration reform bills now before Congress. With a struggling economy, mounting public debt, and the future of 11 million undocumented people (who are in the US illegally) in the balance, it is vital that we get it right. And that takes leadership.

Speaking at Heritage almost twenty years ago, my dad said that “conservatives must offer more than a lament for a lost America; we must offer a vision for a new one.” It is a vision where people are not a drain on the economy, they are our greatest resource. And that is what this immigration debate is all about.