More Misinformation from the Media:
Rounding up more than 11 million people . . . is a ludicrous notion to begin with. . . . Even if it were possible, the idea of federal authorities rounding up millions of people and loading them on buses is an image America could never stomach. . . . The way to stop illegal entry is to spend our money making legal entry efficient. . . . Try this, instead no caps. No categories. No quotas. Just a straightforward background check . . . and a reliable system to know who is coming and who is going. – Build a Better Immigration System, Not a Wall, Gary Johnson, CNN, 8/29/16
Fact Check: Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico, is the presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party. Johnson shares the common libertarian view that our borders should be open to virtually all comers.
He maintains that it is a “ludicrous notion” that we might apply our immigration laws to resident illegal aliens. Therefore, we must ignore the law and reward these lawbreakers with legal status. This is a false dichotomy. Enforcing the law does not require a massive round up conducted overnight. Instead, effective enforcement can proceed in a slow but sure fashion which will make it increasingly difficult for illegal aliens to live and work in the U.S. In this situation, many will return on their own to their home countries.
As for no caps and quotas, Johnson should consider what this would mean in terms of practical reality. An international Gallup poll four years ago found that approximately 150 million adult foreigners would like to move to the U.S. Does Johnson really believe we could admit that many people without a problem? Just what impact would the sudden arrival of that mass of humanity have on our cultural cohesion, our job market, our welfare system, and our environment?
But 150 million is actually far less than the number we could anticipate arriving if we did away with all caps, categories, and quotas. Many of these people have spouses who almost certainly would accompany them, and many have minor children whom they would bring. So, with just these two categories the total could go up to as high, maybe, as 300 million.
The ultimate total, however, would be even more—a lot more. Once the 300 million get in, their relatives back home (parents, adult children, and siblings) might decide that they too want to come to America. And what might that total be? To hazard a guess, let’s say another 200 or 300 million. And once those people get here, their relatives abroad might want to come. And so the cycle would continue.
This kind of “chain migration” is now what drives legal immigration to the U.S. Currently, however, we have caps and quotas to keep it from getting totally out of control. But if we did away with them and invited everyone to come, the scenario outlined above is not inconceivable.
It’s interesting that Johnson imagines that we could keep criminals out by doing background checks on all the people our open borders would invite. Right now, as the head of the FBI admits, we can’t even do that with the refugees coming from Syria. Background checks require adequate record keeping the immigrants’ countries of origin. All too often, particularly in Third World countries such records don’t exist.
What is truly a “ludicrous notion” is the idea that we should have no limits on immigration. It’s an obvious reality unseen by people blinded by libertarianism and other rarified ideologies.