• The Les Aspin Center for Government held a discussion on the impact of immigration on the United States.
• All four panelists agreed that the current immigration law is flawed and needs change.
• Each panelist had different thoughts on whether the Obama administration would change immigration law.

A passionate exchange on illegal immigration was held Tuesday night in the Raynor Library Beaumier suites.

The event, sponsored by the Les Aspin Center for Government Alumni Council, was titled "Beyond Borders: How U.S. Immigration Policy Affects the Economy."

But panelists spent most of the time debating current immigration law, its flaws and its enforcement.

The four speakers all agreed the current law is flawed and the immigration system needs change.

Barbara Graham, a law counsel for Catholic Charities USA, a large private network of socials service organizations, said few people understand the law.

The problems with the current U.S. immigration policy are that there is no border control and the current law is not properly enforced, said John McAdams, an associate professor of political science.

According to Edward Fallone, associate professor at the Law School, the problem is that there is a disconnect between the demand and supply for unskilled labor.

"There is a demand for the labor, and immigration provides a supply for it," Fallone said. "But the current legal system for immigration impedes the use of the supply."

State Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) said the labor performed by immigrants is incorrectly labeled as "unskilled" work. He said it wasn't fair to consider landscaping or being a nanny as unskilled.

He said immigration law has not been properly enforced.

"The Bush and Clinton administrations passively encouraged the illegal immigration of many into the U.S." Grothman said. "This was done to provide favors to the business sector and private employers that could benefit from the cheap labor."

He said the federal government also benefited by collecting taxes from illegal immigrants without having to give them benefits.

McAdams said immigration law would fall into place by controlling national borders. Eventually, the federal government could begin to set quotas on immigrants allowed into the country, he said.

Grothman opposed this by saying it is wrong to give favoritism to certain countries when people in other countries, like the Philippines, have been on a waiting list for many years.

Fallone said a difficulty in creating effective immigration law is that it would have to deal with blended families — which include both documented and undocumented immigrants.

Graham said most of her legal clients are some of the nicest people to deal with. Grothman said emotions have a place in the creation of effective immigration law.

Grothman said the Obama administration would probably move toward legalizing some of the undocumented immigrants already in the country, but no immigration law will work until laws are enforced.

McAdams said the status quo will be kept, and nothing will change with the Obama administration. Graham agreed, but said the issue could take some precedence in a potential second term.

Fallone said failed legislation in 2007 would have been a good attempt at providing effective immigration law but that it was opposed by Republican social conservatives.