Andres Oppenheimer; clueless drivel
In today’s Miami Herald is an opinion piece by Andres Oppenheimer entitled Five Myths of Anti-Immigration Talk. The typical east coast liberal drivel, summed up in one phrase; anti-illegal immigration talk is really xenophobic and racist – so throw open the doors.
Point-by-point;
• Myth No. 1: ”We are only against illegal immigration. Undocumented immigrants should get in line for visas.” That’s deceptive because you can’t demand that people get into line when, for the most part, there is no line to get into.
While the U.S. labor market is demanding 1.5 million mostly low-skilled immigrants a year — and will demand many more in coming years, as the U.S. population becomes increasingly educated — the current immigration system allows into the U.S. an average of one million legal immigrants a year, and most of them are already here.
”There is a huge mismatch between what the U.S. labor market needs and the supply of immigration visas,” says Frank Sharry, head of the National Immigration Forum, which advocates both secure borders and a path to legal residence for many of the 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.
On top of that, most anti-immigration groups want to reduce legal immigration. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a favorite of radio and cable television Hispanic immigrant-bashing news shows, wants to reduce legal immigration from the current 1 million a year to about 300,000, with a 20-year cooling-off period.
Um, Andres, maybe we need to reduce immigration in the short term to compensate for the flood of illegals it will take years to count once we cut off the flood. If unemployment is currently on the rise, why would need another 1 million every year? Are they going to live at your house?
• Myth No. 2: ”Anti-immigration advocates are not anti-Hispanic.” Maybe many aren’t, but when was the last time you heard anti-immigration Republican hopefuls or cable television talk show hosts lashing out against illegal immigrants from Canada?
In addition, the escalating immigration hysteria has created an ugly environment that affects all Hispanics — both legal and undocumented — in many parts of the country, as recent studies by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center have shown.
”We are seeing more discrimination and harassment,” says Michele Waslin, of the Immigration Policy Center. “Anybody who is Hispanic-looking or has an Hispanic last name is being treated as an undocumented immigrant.”
Well, being married to a legal Panamanian immigrant, with four hispanic kids, am I anti-Hispanic because I want to shut down the flood of illegals? Most of the legal hispanic immigrants I know want to shut down illegal immigration so that they, the legals, won’t suffer the scrutiny you described. If there are no illegal immigrants, no one is going to accuse anyone of being illegal, will they.
• Myth No. 3: ”We are a nation of laws, and the law says you have to enter the country legally.” Yes, but we are also a nation of immigrants. And, by the way, nearly half of all undocumented immigrants enter the country legally, and overstay their visas.
Just mind-numbingly idiotic. If we’re a nation of laws AND a nation of immigrants, we’re nation of legal immigrants aren’t we? Once immigrants overstay their legal visas, they’re illegal. What kind of pin head logic were you subscribing to with that?
• Myth No. 4: ”Building a border fence will solve the problem.” Wrong. As long as the per capita income in the United States is five times bigger than that of Mexico, and as long as U.S. labor market demands millions of low-skilled jobs that Americans won’t fill, people will jump over the fence, dig tunnels under it or come through Canada.
So, we should just do nothing because everything we do isn’t 100% effective? Try telling that to Al Gore about the environment, or the birth control people who advocate the use of condoms. Or Congress while they try to sell spending on alternate fuel development. A wall won’t be a cure, but it’ll be a damn good start, and it’s a damn-sight more than we have now.
• Myth No. 5: Those of us who criticize anti-immigration groups are ”amnesty” and ”open borders” supporters. Baloney. I, for one, support both border protection and an earned path to legalization for millions of undocumented workers who pay taxes and are willing to learn English.
My conclusion: Let’s call things by their names, and agree that most opponents of a comprehensive immigration package are anti-immigration.
The only way to solve the current immigration crisis will be to legalize undocumented workers who have paid their dues, and to increase economic integration with Mexico and the rest of Latin America in order to reduce poverty and emigration pressures south of the border.
So we should reward law breakers with what they wanted in the first place when they circumvented our laws? Since when is it our responsiblity for “poverty and emigration pressures” in Mexico. Shouldn’t you be taking that up with the Mexican government rather than the people who want to enforce our own laws and protect Americans.
The rest is, for the most part, populist demagoguery.
Populist demagoguery is precisely what you’ve written. No thought, no facts, just emotional drivel in hate-filled, short-sighted phrases. Oh, yeah, your intent to call Americans who want to limit immigration racists is real apparent. That’s how your type stifles debate against your vacuous populist demagoguery.
Welcome visitors form my battle buddy’s blog, Crotchety Old Bastard.
Category: Illegal Immigrants
I swear to God….it’s rubbish like this that makes me want to slam my head against the nearest brick wall! I just do not understand this sort of mind-think…this liberal logic that totally misses the arguments.
Myth No. 2: ‘’Anti-immigration advocates are not anti-Hispanic.’’ Maybe many aren’t, but when was the last time you heard anti-immigration Republican hopefuls or cable television talk show hosts lashing out against illegal immigrants from Canada?
When was the last time we’ve seen an overwhelming number of Canadians streaming across the borders as illegal migrant workers because their government is providing them the jobs?
The whole article is stupid. What’s scary is the idea that anyone out there reads it, and eats it all up.
I agree, Wordsmith. When millions of Canadians come across the border, don’t leave, and I have to learn to speak French to get a Big Mac, I’ll worry about them, too.
I fired off my own missive to the obliviot….no answer yet.
Immigration is when people from another country come to America through proper channels with the intent of becoming U.S. Citizens.. When millions of people from the same country cross our border illegally and deliberately cause harm to our Country and our Citizens, that my friends is called an Invasion… Why do you suppose the Mexican Government is issuing GPS and other aid to their own Citizens seeking to sneak into our Country.. There is alot more going on here than meets the eye, and we need to stop it..