The Golden Door: Time to Close It?
"Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door!"
"The New Collosus" by Emma Lazarus,
inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty
The US House of Representatives passed an immigration reform bill on February 10. This measure, supported by President Bush, was introduced by Wisconsin Representative F James Sensenbrenner, who represents the northern and western suburbs of Milwaukee.
This bill would require that a driver's license will be acceptable as airport identification only if the issuing state verifies that the driver is a legal resident of this country. Is this a good idea? Is the Golden Door to immigration open too wide? Here are some of the issues:
1. Why do immigration advocates refer to illegal aliens as "undocumented immigrants?"
Because that term sounds like someone who has lost his visa, not someone who has violated US law and has no legal right to be in the country.
2. Governor Doyle says that the Sensenbrenner bill "..would result in more undocumented immigrants driving without licenses or insurance, reducing road safety." Is he right?
Suppose an illegal alien is caught speeding in Wisconsin. Right now, he gets a ticket. If he did not have a driver's license, he would get arrested and then deported. I believe if illegals could not get a driver's license, some would probably drive anyway, but they would be the most cautious and law-abiding drivers on the road! (However, this would also provide an incentive to flee police, which could lead to some dangerous chases.)
3. How can we stop illegal immigration?
Ask the Israelis to share their blue-prints for the Security Fence. We could use one along the Rio Grande and between California and Mexico. We don't have to worry too much about illegal immigration from Canada, since any Canadian who moved south would lose government health insurance coverage.
4. Will halting illegal immigration keep terrorists out too?
Maybe, but probably not. The September 11 hijackers entered the US with legitimate student-visas. None were wanted for terrorism or other crimes, or even had a criminal record. The US Consular Service had no way of knowing that some of them had trained with Al Qaida in Afghanistan.
5. President Bush wants to let long-term illegal aliens stay here and become citizens. Is that a good idea?
No, because it rewards breaking US laws.
6. Why do some people favor more immigration?
A. Some are relatives and friends of people who want to enter the US.
B. Some are Hispanic politicians, who want to increase the electoral clout of Hispanics and thereby enable them to win higher offices.
C. Some are Jews who regret that US did not admit our European brethren in the years before the Holocaust, when millions could have been saved. The struggle for Soviet Jewry in the 1970's and early 1980's also included advocacy for admitting these Jews to the United States, and it would look hypocritical if Jews now did not support admitting other immigrants. (By the way, Emma Lazarus was Jewish; surprised?)
D. Some are employers who want a large supply of low-cost labor.
E. Some are human rights activists and liberals who sympathize with those who are oppressed or malnourished in their home countries.
7. Aren't we a nation of immigrants?
Sure, and anthropologists tell us that even those who call themselves "Native Americans" (aka Indians) are actually descended from Asian immigrants who got here before Columbus. (Indeed, the experience of the American Indians serves as a warning of the fate that awaits those unable to control immigration to their land.) But as sure as we are all Americans now, we must address public policy questions on the basis of the interests of the United States and the American people, rather than on the interests of others who would like to live here.
8. Right now about 5% of Americans are unemployed, but we are told that when the "Baby Boomers" retire there will be a shortage of workers. How will immigration impact the labor supply?
Trends in education indicate that there will be a shortage of engineers, mathematicians, chemists, physicists, and science teachers in the years ahead. Immigration of people with these degrees and skills will be beneficial. There is a surplus of unskilled labor in this country, and the trend toward outsourcing manufacturing overseas will probably increase this surplus in coming years. Most immigrants are not skilled or degreed.
9. Don't immigrants take jobs that nobody else wants?
At first they do, and many are employed as migrant farmworkers or in minimum-wage dead-end jobs in the big cities. But as they gain knowledge of English, education, and job skills, they will inevitably compete with native Americans for better jobs. Moreover, because of anti-discrimination laws and affirmative action programs, some immigrants will actually receive preferential treatment from employers, at the expense of white Anglo native Americans.
10. Does immigration also increase the number of jobs?
Yes, but most of the jobs created are in the public sector, such as teachers, social workers, police, and so on. The taxes paid by immigrant workers will be swamped by the cost of providing their public services. Miami has the highest rate of poverty of any city in the US in part due to massive immigration, mainly from Cuba and Haiti.
11. Should this country provide refuge for people facing oppression and persecution in their home countries?
People who have been allied with the United States, such as the Vietnamese who fought alongside US soldiers, should be first in line to enter this country, especially if their ( and our) enemies have taken over. The free nations of the world should share the burden of welcoming victims of persecution . We should bear our share, but we cannot bear the entire burden ourselves without harming our own country.
12. How large a population can the United States comfortably accomodate?
No one knows, because the main constraint on population growth in this country is not land, but safe drinking water. Therefore it is crucial that population growth not exceed our ability to provide safe water and a healthy environment. Accordingly, immigration must be effectively limited, so that we have enough time to build water-treatment and sewage systems sufficient to deal with a larger population.
I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door!"
"The New Collosus" by Emma Lazarus,
inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty
The US House of Representatives passed an immigration reform bill on February 10. This measure, supported by President Bush, was introduced by Wisconsin Representative F James Sensenbrenner, who represents the northern and western suburbs of Milwaukee.
This bill would require that a driver's license will be acceptable as airport identification only if the issuing state verifies that the driver is a legal resident of this country. Is this a good idea? Is the Golden Door to immigration open too wide? Here are some of the issues:
1. Why do immigration advocates refer to illegal aliens as "undocumented immigrants?"
Because that term sounds like someone who has lost his visa, not someone who has violated US law and has no legal right to be in the country.
2. Governor Doyle says that the Sensenbrenner bill "..would result in more undocumented immigrants driving without licenses or insurance, reducing road safety." Is he right?
Suppose an illegal alien is caught speeding in Wisconsin. Right now, he gets a ticket. If he did not have a driver's license, he would get arrested and then deported. I believe if illegals could not get a driver's license, some would probably drive anyway, but they would be the most cautious and law-abiding drivers on the road! (However, this would also provide an incentive to flee police, which could lead to some dangerous chases.)
3. How can we stop illegal immigration?
Ask the Israelis to share their blue-prints for the Security Fence. We could use one along the Rio Grande and between California and Mexico. We don't have to worry too much about illegal immigration from Canada, since any Canadian who moved south would lose government health insurance coverage.
4. Will halting illegal immigration keep terrorists out too?
Maybe, but probably not. The September 11 hijackers entered the US with legitimate student-visas. None were wanted for terrorism or other crimes, or even had a criminal record. The US Consular Service had no way of knowing that some of them had trained with Al Qaida in Afghanistan.
5. President Bush wants to let long-term illegal aliens stay here and become citizens. Is that a good idea?
No, because it rewards breaking US laws.
6. Why do some people favor more immigration?
A. Some are relatives and friends of people who want to enter the US.
B. Some are Hispanic politicians, who want to increase the electoral clout of Hispanics and thereby enable them to win higher offices.
C. Some are Jews who regret that US did not admit our European brethren in the years before the Holocaust, when millions could have been saved. The struggle for Soviet Jewry in the 1970's and early 1980's also included advocacy for admitting these Jews to the United States, and it would look hypocritical if Jews now did not support admitting other immigrants. (By the way, Emma Lazarus was Jewish; surprised?)
D. Some are employers who want a large supply of low-cost labor.
E. Some are human rights activists and liberals who sympathize with those who are oppressed or malnourished in their home countries.
7. Aren't we a nation of immigrants?
Sure, and anthropologists tell us that even those who call themselves "Native Americans" (aka Indians) are actually descended from Asian immigrants who got here before Columbus. (Indeed, the experience of the American Indians serves as a warning of the fate that awaits those unable to control immigration to their land.) But as sure as we are all Americans now, we must address public policy questions on the basis of the interests of the United States and the American people, rather than on the interests of others who would like to live here.
8. Right now about 5% of Americans are unemployed, but we are told that when the "Baby Boomers" retire there will be a shortage of workers. How will immigration impact the labor supply?
Trends in education indicate that there will be a shortage of engineers, mathematicians, chemists, physicists, and science teachers in the years ahead. Immigration of people with these degrees and skills will be beneficial. There is a surplus of unskilled labor in this country, and the trend toward outsourcing manufacturing overseas will probably increase this surplus in coming years. Most immigrants are not skilled or degreed.
9. Don't immigrants take jobs that nobody else wants?
At first they do, and many are employed as migrant farmworkers or in minimum-wage dead-end jobs in the big cities. But as they gain knowledge of English, education, and job skills, they will inevitably compete with native Americans for better jobs. Moreover, because of anti-discrimination laws and affirmative action programs, some immigrants will actually receive preferential treatment from employers, at the expense of white Anglo native Americans.
10. Does immigration also increase the number of jobs?
Yes, but most of the jobs created are in the public sector, such as teachers, social workers, police, and so on. The taxes paid by immigrant workers will be swamped by the cost of providing their public services. Miami has the highest rate of poverty of any city in the US in part due to massive immigration, mainly from Cuba and Haiti.
11. Should this country provide refuge for people facing oppression and persecution in their home countries?
People who have been allied with the United States, such as the Vietnamese who fought alongside US soldiers, should be first in line to enter this country, especially if their ( and our) enemies have taken over. The free nations of the world should share the burden of welcoming victims of persecution . We should bear our share, but we cannot bear the entire burden ourselves without harming our own country.
12. How large a population can the United States comfortably accomodate?
No one knows, because the main constraint on population growth in this country is not land, but safe drinking water. Therefore it is crucial that population growth not exceed our ability to provide safe water and a healthy environment. Accordingly, immigration must be effectively limited, so that we have enough time to build water-treatment and sewage systems sufficient to deal with a larger population.
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 3:32 PM
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