It’s not realistic to erect a physical barrier and to shove the costs on a top trading partner without weakening your own economy and putting in jeopardy the 1.1 million American jobs that depend on that trade. But we could use economic forces, rather than flying in the face of them. What the United States needs are smart economic policies that disrupt the market forces that are currently driving undocumented immigration.

A better way to secure the border is to reduce demand for undocumented immigrants. How do you do that? Allow foreign laborers who are needed in the United States to enter legally. Once work can be had legally, the price that people will pay to cross illegally will plummet. Coyotes will see demand for their services dry up. The U.S. Border Patrol can then focus on stopping more dangerous criminal activity.

Effective immigration reform would ensure that needed workers can enter the country legally to match the existing demand for such laborers. But it’s not enough simply to open a new legal immigration channel — employers and immigrants must choose to use it.