The recent election said little about illegal immigration. Sharon Angle, according to this LA Times piece, may have come off too harsh on illegal immigration. Nevada has a large Hispanic population and elected a Republican governor who is Hispanic. Ken Buck may have gotten some backlash from a reputation as an enforcer of laws against employing illegals. However, the Republicans won Arizona where illegal immigration is an issue and Hispanics are a large sector of the population. What does this mean ?
Republicans are in favor of legal immigration. Democrats try to mix the legal and illegal sides of this issue to confuse voters. Many Hispanic voters oppose illegal immigration but may worry about harassment of legal residents. There is no question that California has been devastated by the demands of the illegal population. Texas has escaped some of the negative effects because its state government is funded by sales tax, not income tax which may be avoided by illegals.
What is the solution ?
One is to build the fence and control the border. So far, 600 miles have been constructed and the “virtual fence” advocated by George Bush has been shown to be useless.
The Obama administration is preparing to scrap plans to extend the high-tech “virtual” border fence along vast stretches of the 1,969-mile U.S.-Mexico border, ending a troubled and politically contentious security measure inaugurated in 2006 by then-President George W. Bush, the Houston Chronicle learned Friday.
The decision, expected to be announced shortly by the Department of Homeland Security, comes after federal authorities poured nearly $1 billion into a four-year, post-9/11 demonstration project to show that state-of-the-art remote cameras and ground sensors could help U.S. Border Patrol agents intercept undocumented immigrants, drug smugglers or potential terrorists surreptitiously crossing the border.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, a former governor of Arizona keenly familiar with the technical problems afflicting the project, first signaled plans to scrub the “invisible fence” with a series of internal decisions in recent weeks that shifted the year-to-year contract with the prime contractor to a month-to-month contract due to expire on Nov. 21.
It was a waste of money and time. The real fence, however, has been effective where built. That is why most illegals are coming through Arizona now. There is a fence in California.
Once the fence is built, then what ?
Many of the workers compensation claims I review, about 70%, are for workers with Spanish surnames. Of these, about half are Spanish speaking only. When reviewing these cases, I note that the vast majority claim two years of education. Two years ! They are illiterate in Spanish, let alone English. They have no skills and can work at manual labor only. They tend to become injured and disabled by age 40. Then, they are a drag on the economy as they live on disability.
Legal immigrants bring education and skills. Canada requires that immigrants have assets and education. Very few countries permit illegal immigration as we do. Certainly Mexico does not permit immigration. There is no naturalized citizenship in Mexico.
What about illegals who have been here for years and have families who are citizens ? We can develop a policy toward these people once the border is secure. Right now, we have the significant possibility of a violent failed state on our southern border. That will accelerate migration and may well lead to violent confrontations between criminal gangs, who are learning tactics from Islamist groups, and US authorities.
Close the border and then worry about the illegals residing in the US with significant ties here.
Tags: Bush, immigration, politics, terrorism
“Republicans are in favor of legal immigration.”
Ahh… but to what degree, doc?
I see no need for unskilled third-world immigration. Do you?
Call me old fashioned, but I’d much rather concentrate on getting American blacks up to speed.
Folks… feel free to check economic and social stats white vs. black. Black America is screwed up! We need to address that issue and stop importing competition for bottom of the ladder jobs which are the pathway for the lower classes to advance.
Now if you’re talking importing engineers and scientists and skill, successful, and self-reliant professionals then I’m with you.
I have no problem with importing competition for top level position. Hell… it would do the American middle, upper middle, and upper classes some good to be forced to “up their game” via “survival of the fittest.”
Why do liberals hate black people; that’s what I want to know! Why do liberals want to keep the black man down in this country?
Legal immigrants have to meet certain criteria. I would sharply limit the family unification policy that is letting a lot of illiterate peasants in.
Exactly, doc!
We have more than enough of our own illiterate peasants! We don’t need to import more!
(*CHUCKLE*) (*SMILE*)
Seriously… all “humor” via “shockingly politically incorrect statements” aside… we want the best and brightest… we want those who share our ideals, who share our cultural norms… we’ve seen what the Mexicans have done with Mexico… the Central and South Americans with most of Central and South America… the Africans with Africa…
(*SIGH*)
Do I open myself to cheap shots against my “racist” observations? Yeah. Sure. No doubt. But it is what it is…!!!
Is there nothing we can learn from foreign peoples and cultures? No! Of course not! But what we must learn and emulate are the positive aspects of foreign cultures… we must take what’s best from the rest of the world and make it ours – not take the bad and allow it to infect our culture.
What am I talking about? O.K. Allow me to provide a few specific examples: Take crime. Take gangs. Take organized crime.
Oh, sure… criminal behavior is a facet of human nature and America has always had crime, and gangs, and criminal enterprises, and vicious killers…
No one denies this.
But the types of crimes… the levels of violence… the activities of the Mexican, Central, South American, and Caribbean drug gangs… how their activities are extending beyond the ghettos into middle and upper middle class areas…
(*SIGH*)
And, hey… in case anyone reading this thinks I’m oblivious to “white” crime… there are no more vicious thugs than those working for the Russian mafia… the Armenian mafia…
The Tongs? Sure! Throw in “yellow” along with white, brown, and black.
My focus here isn’t on “race,” it’s on culture… it’s on the worst of the worst from abroad coming here!
I started off with the wiseass comment that we have enough of our own illiterate peasants. Well… wiseass comment or not – it’s a true statement. Another true statement is that we have more than enough “homegrown” crime and corruption here in the United States… the last thing we need is to “import” (to allow to come here) the worst of the worst from abroad.
As to the vast majority of illegal immigrants who want nothing more than to better their situations and make a better life for their families…
(*SIGH*)
TOUGH…!!!
Fix your own damn countries so that you and your children will be afforded “homegrown” opportunities there!
We don’t need foreign illegal “go-getters” at the bottom rung of the economic ladder here when overall black citizen unemployment is 16.3% and amongst black teens and early/mid 20-somethings (say 16-25) some estimates peg the percentage in the 40’s…
(*SIGH*)
Millions and millions of our own people need and deserve space on the “bottom rung of the ladder” so that they can begin climbing that ladder!
Anyway… I’m gonna rein it in now.
To conclude, I agree with you, doc, concerning reining in the “Family Reunification” aspect of American immigration policy. Furthermore, either statutorily or if need be by Constitutional Amendment we’ve got to redefine “birthright” American citizenship to apply only to the children of either two American citizens or one citizen and a legal resident who is on the track to his or her own U.S. citizenship.
BILL