There is a difference of opinion over the economic harm that is done, Degs, and for every set of numbers that you say promotes the success of illegal immigration, I can provide a countervailing set.

If strict scrutiny is applied to this situation, it is illegal to enter this country any way but legally -- strictly speaking, no matter how immoral you think the quotas are, any strict examination of U.S. law would say that the commodity of labor is being smuggled into this country in violation of our import/export laws: It would also say that people are being smuggled into our country illegally in violation of our immigration laws -- and the force behind those laws is constitutionally mandated whether you like it or not.

It also doesn't matter when we decided to enforce immigration law. That the power was ceded to the federal government in the first place indicates that it has that power. So the contracts you are protecting are illegal (it is illegal to suborn a crime, so contracting for illegal commodities is illegal), and the immigration is illegal. That would be as true under strict scrutiny as it is under any other kind of scrutiny.