JPod: As a fellow-traveller of the crunchy conspiracy, I agree that current policy favors cheap labor over community. But the real costs wouldn’t be as great as you’d think (and not just because of reduced government expenditures — politicians would waste the enforcement dividend) All unskilled labor — native-born and foreign-born, legal and illegal — only accounts for 4 percent of GDP. Allowing the market to raise the wages of unskilled workers just wouldn’t have much of an effect on the economy, even in fresh fruits and vegetables, where the farmworker only gets a few cents of the retail dollar.