Double-edged message.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Monday's marches in Eugene and nationwide were intended to dramatize the need for immigration reform by flexing the economic muscle of people recently arrived, legally or not, in the United States. It was an impressive show, but the message is double-edged: Yes, many sectors of the economy have come to depend on the labor and purchasing power of illegal immigrants - but no, an economy that relies on low-paid, easily exploited workers is nothing to celebrate.

The catalyst for the "Day Without Immigrants" rallies was an enforcement-only immigration law reform proposal in Congress. The absurdity of a round-'em-up approach was made clear by the sheer numbers of participants in Monday's events. Some sectors of the economy would undoubtedly suffer if all illegal immigrants were herded aboard trains and deported tomorrow. But it's no use trying to gauge the economic effects of such a roundup, because it will never happen. Illegal immigration has expanded to such a degree that the best the United States can hope for is a reform that gives lawbreakers a pathway out of the shadows, is fair to citizens and legal immigrants, and keeps the problem from growing worse.

The marchers' economic argument for immigration reform is ultimately unpersuasive. The fact that illegal immigrants make up an estimated 5 percent of the American workforce points to the failure of current immigration policies, without pointing to a remedy. Presuming the United States should have any immigration policy at all, its goal should be something other than to keep the price of tomatoes and motel rooms down. The assertion that illegal immigrants take jobs that citizens and documented workers don't want is a diversion - it's a question of wages, not willingness; illegal immigrants are low bidders for jobs that would otherwise be better paid.

What's more, the benefits of the economic power that Monday's marchers put on display are not evenly distributed. Many workers, particularly those on the bottom rungs of the ladder, have been displaced by lower-paid competition from abroad, and the wages of many more have been pulled downward. While illegal immigrants' pay is taxed without being refunded or returned in the form of benefits, some also place burdens on social services that result in a net cost to taxpayers.

The real meaning of Monday's marches was not economic, but human. The United States has been able to avoid a realistic discussion of immigration policy partly because illegal immigrants have remained out of sight. Their numbers are now estimated to be as high as 12 million, and even the harshest send-'em-home measure won't put much of a dent in that figure.

The United States needs to create means for illegal immigrants to achieve some sort of legal status and eventually work their way toward permanent residency or citizenship. This needs to be done without creating a labor vacuum that would be filled by a new wave of illegal immigrants. Those who remain outside the legal system, along with employers who knowingly hire them, must face more certain consequences. The standing of people who have come to the United States legally and are working their way through an often arduous immigration process must not be eroded by any accommodations made for people who entered the country illegally.

The United States will never have a "Day Without Immigrants." It should aim, however, to have days with far fewer illegal immigrants. Achieving that goal would improve wages and conditions for all American workers, whether their families arrived yesterday or three centuries ago. What was on display Monday - a segment of the economy reliant on people whose very presence breaks the law, and whose numbers permit open defiance - is bad for everyone.