I don’t have much of an opinion on the topic, but the thoughts that came up for me are mostly positives:
- We have an overcrowding problem in American prisons (too many prisoners, not enough space), so it would be a way to house more people in less crowded conditions. No jobs would be taken away, there may perhaps be less jobs created in the US, but I do think also we’re running out of places to put new prisons. I mean, no one wants a prison in their backyard. So what are we supposed to do with all the people? The alternative is to release criminals early, but is that really a good solution?
- We throw a bone to the Mexican citizens and offer them a chance at real jobs and a real income. That is, provided that we don’t take advantage of them and pay them a reasonable living wage. This could help reduce the numbers of people illegally crossing the border for the chance of a life not living in total poverty and squalor. This is not a total solution to this problem, of course, but I feel like we could maybe help some of them, and that’s worth something.
Negatives of course are the fact that the Mexican government is full of corruption and that if prisoners were to escape, they’d likely disappear for good (seeing as that people on the run tend to head for Mexico because it’s easier to live off the grid).