Immigration
It seems to me that what all of these immigration protesters are really objecting to is the notion of sovereignty. If you think of it in plain terms, it is really quite ridiculous. We have huge crowds of invaders, non-citizens, who are protesting our legal right to determine who may occupy our country. I guess this means the end of borders as we know them, although from the looks of things Haiti, Somalia, and Guatemala are safe.
The best line on the issue, though, comes from this AP story suggesting that the protests were organized by Hispanic media outlets: "Many of the 500,000 people who crammed downtown Los Angeles on Saturday to protest legislation that would make criminals out of illegal immigrants learned where, when and even how to demonstrate from the Spanish-language media." And if this doesn't work, Congress has threatened to pass even more legislation that will make it illegal to break the laws that make it a crime to break the laws and make criminals out of those acting illegally. Freudian slip?
The second best line I heard comes from a U.S. born, Latino college kid who was intereviewed by CNN radio yesterday: "How can we tell someone who comes here and is sick that they do not have the right to go to the doctor?" [Emphasis mine] In a tip of the hat to the quality of the American educational system, this young fellow is advocating slavery for doctors!
And, fawning media coverage aside, there are those who make a reasonably convincing case that in many respects this is the same old, anti-America crowd we're getting used to, and we could easily substitute "No Blood for Oil!" signs in place of "La Raza."
1 comment:
Thank God for the Mexicans. While many in America continue to wring
their hands and shout their concern about illegal immigrants, I say, "You don't know how lucky you are."
Here are some salient facts. There are currently estimated to be about 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States. Virtually every able-bodied illegal immigrant in America is employed.
The overall unemployment rate in the United States stands at 4.8
percent and has been very low in this country for most of the past 25 years.
If pundits Pat Buchanan or Lou Dobbs or Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., could wave a magic wand and return all illegal immigrants to their countries of origin tomorrow, there would be emergency legislation introduced by Congress within one week to return them all and put them
back to work.
The fact of the matter is, the U.S. economy needs the Mexican work force here as much as those Mexican workers need us and it's probably about time the U.S. electorate comes to grips with that.
If you're looking for who or what's to blame for the current situation with illegal immigrants, most make the facile conclusion that it's those lawbreaking Mexicans who have no regard for U.S. immigration and
employment laws.
Others blame those rapacious U.S. employers who have no regard for the law but only care about profits. Still others blame the Mexican government for "exporting their unemployment problem."
The fact of the matter is, however, the real culprit at the root of this situation is the incredibly dynamic U.S. economy.
Think of all the jobs created in the United States in the past 50
years. Before World War II, few women worked outside the home. After the war, there were so many new jobs that women joined the work force in droves. Now in almost every household in America, both spouses work.
Add to that the amnesty law of 1986. It gave green card status to 3 million illegal immigrants (and eventually their wives and kids) who are now part of the work force.
Then add about 900,000 legal immigrants -- both family- and
employer-sponsored per year -- who are here and hard at work. Finally, add another 11 million illegal immigrants here and working, and the U.S. unemployment rate is still almost as low as it's ever been in the
past 30 years.
Europeans can only look at our immigration "problem" and drool with envy. Unemployment in France, Germany and Spain has averaged about 9 percent over the past 10 years. They have an aging population, a fertility rate that will ensure a decline in their native populations in years to come and historical immigration populations that come from
the same countries that have been producing radical Islamists, the
likes of which bombed the commuter train in Madrid, blew up the subway in London and spent weeks last fall burning up the suburbs of Paris.
By contrast, our Mexican "problem" consists of individuals who, by and
large, have an incredibly strong work ethic, are extremely
family-oriented and share our Judeo-Christian view of the world. Having practiced immigration law in an agricultural area for the past 23
years, I can assure you I have never met one Mexican who came to this country with an ideological chip on his shoulder and wanted to blow the country up to avenge historical wrongs, actual or perceived.
There are many proposals presently being debated inCongress about the
United States' present immigration situation. Any real solution should include a path to legal status for those 11 million people already here and a process by which the U.S. government can continue to accommodate unskilled and semi-skilled workers in the future as the U.S. economy
continues to expand.
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