The Quote Below—More Misinformation from the Media

Why? Because all of us — every human on the planet — respond to the cry of a child. It is hard-wired in us. What sound is more primal, more wrenching, more vivid, more capable of cutting through the noise to connect us to something deeper? What sound is more effective in dispelling the dangerous myth of tribalism and reminding us of the essential truth of our common humanity? . . .

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has shown no signs of backing down on its larger ambition of curbing immigration — legal and illegal alike — and dismantling America’s traditions as a refuge for the world’s tired, poor and huddled masses. . . .

What is required, then, in 2019 and beyond, is not only a reversal of an immigration agenda sharply at odds with this country’s highest ideals, or an end to the hateful and divisive rhetoric deployed on its behalf. What we need is something more: a shift in our hearts, an expansion of our capacity for moral understanding. — America’s Crisis of Conscience, The New York Times, Laurene Jobs, 12/3/18  [Link]

Fact Check of Quote: This article is a classic example of emotional manipulation to short-circuit rational discussion of immigration policy. Yes, it is disturbing to hear children cry, but it is dishonest not to consider the full context of why this happened on our border. Illegal aliens are bringing children with them, often exposing the children to great danger, because our government has sent the signal south of the border that bringing children gives you a better chance of staying in the U.S.

Thus, a good way to relieve distress of children separated from parents at the border is to remove the incentive to bring them. One means is enacting reforms to discourage illegal aliens from making bogus asylum claims.

The writer makes no constructive suggestions of this kind, perhaps because she doesn’t think that securing our border is necessary or justified. America’s mission, she suggests, is offering admission to the tired huddled masses of the globe. A reasonable person might ask if we can afford take them in without a meltdown of our Melting Pot. Such a person might also reason that if we can take everyone in, we must have some effective means to keep them out.

But practicality makes little impression on people who prefer to get high on feel-good emotionalism. This is not to say that emotion and sentiment are wrong, but the lack of balance between idealism and realism certainly is. Also wrong is emotion for only one side. Immigration enthusiasts like this writer, to cite an example, seldom show sympathy toward the pain suffered by American parents of children murdered by illegal aliens.

More broadly, these enthusiasts seem to have little compassion for the tired huddled masses of American citizens who yearn to breathe free from the burdens of mass immigration: overcrowding, stress on the environment and resources, depressed wages, divisive diversity, and multicultural confusion.

If immigration enthusiasts really want to exercise “conscience,” they should abandon their delusions of moral grandeur and practice some humility. It’s a virtue that these self-proclaimed virtuous people seldom if ever possess.

The Quote Below: More Misinformation from the Media

As thousands of Honduran migrants seeking asylum in the United States trek northward through Mexico, President Trump has pledged to stop them at the border by militarizing it with armed federal troops, under the guise of protecting Americans from “criminals” and an “invasion.” What he fails to recognize is that cruelty won’t solve the current refugee crisis. Neither will buddying up with authoritarian leaders in Central America. Instead, those two strategies only deepen the crisis, because criminality and misrule are exactly what the caravan is fleeing. . . .

This dark picture of what Central Americans seek to escape is not a new experience in American immigration. It recalls other horrors that forced human waves — Irish, Italian, Greek, Jewish, Hungarian, German, Polish and more – to flee [to America]. Did America lose by welcoming them? . . . The Honduran caravan is a call for help in ending the violence . . . and replacing it with the rule of law.” – ‘Criminals?’ Hardly. That’s Who the Caravan Flees, The New York Times, Victoria Sanford, 11/9/18 [Link]

Fact Check of Quote: President Trump’s action is no “guise” at all. It is an appropriate response to a growing mass of foreign people who threaten the security of our border. Contrary to the author’s claim, the caravan isn’t just a group of people fleeing crime. Among them, according to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, are 600 convicted criminals.

The criminal intent of many in the caravan was evident when they tried to storm our border while throwing rocks and other projectiles at Border Patrol officers—who properly responded with tear gas to stop the onrushing crowd. Most of the caravan members are young males, which belies the media’s carefully crafted image of women and children being a large share of the migrants.

Perhaps some of them are fleeing violence, but as a study done in Honduras—home of many or most of the caravan people, found that most Hondurans leave for better employment and other improvements to their standard of living. Bad jobs and a high crime rate are not pleasant, but they are not legitimate grounds for claiming asylum. Genuine asylum claims involve a “well founded” fear of personal persecution, usually by government, and not just unpleasant social and economic conditions.

If the Central American migrants were truly interested in asylum, they could have requested at U.S. consulates in their countries or in Mexico. It’s becoming increasingly obvious that claiming amnesty is simply a scam to overwhelm our immigration system and make open borders the de facto law of the land.

Some Americans who support this scam have sinister intentions, others are irresponsible people who think it is “moral” for America to play the savior of the world. They are totally indifferent to the practical consequences of their fervid generosity. Allowing the migrants to crash our border will end a message to the world that everyone is welcome to come. The consequence will be America overwhelmed—just another failed society among others in the world.

It is true that America took in the immigrants the author mentions. The difference from the current situation on the border is that these were legal immigrants that our society admitted to our country to serve its national interests. More than a century ago, large-scale immigration made some sense as a way to develop an undeveloped land. It doesn’t make sense today.

Even a hundred years ago, it was becoming evident that mass immigration was weakening rather than strengthening our country. Wisely foreseeing more negative consequences, Congress began moving to restrict immigration. That decision worked out well for our country. Unfortunately, much of our leadership class today lacks wisdom. They think that goodness means ignoring what will happen to future generations of Americans. That is neither wise, not good.