The Quote Below—More Misinformation from the Media
“Immigration and the 50 million people in this country who were foreign born have been an unfair target for both political parties in this election. America needs immigrants and the economy would fall apart without their work.
“From talk of mass deportations to less extreme calls to secure the border, scapegoating newcomers is bipartisan, politicians must be reminded that there is no greater long-term folly than shutting down what has historically been this country’s greatest strength.
“Without immigrants, there would be nothing like what we understand to be the American economy. There would be no sustainable food production and delivery sector, there would be no robust construction, millions of small businesses would not exist.. . . .
“If even a fraction of the current foreign-born population suddenly left, social programs like Social Security would be careen toward insolvency as the workforce shrunk and the tax base collapsed. The effects wouldn’t just be felt in some diffuse national way; many individual cities and states would feel acute pain, reentering population spirals that immigration had staved off and having trouble funding municipal operations.
“All these practical considerations are in addition to the clear moral barbarity of policies that would target either longtime undocumented immigrants or those seeking asylum at the border. In the former case, we challenge anyone to make a real, sensible argument for why someone who has lived and worked without incident in a place for 10 years or more, often with extensive family and social ties in the community and U.S. citizen spouses or children, should be deported. What is the benefit?
“If there are any efforts to do this anywhere in the U.S., the resounding and unified response from local leadership should be: no way. We cannot cooperate with immigration enforcement authorities more than is strictly required. . . . We owe it to ourselves and each other to stand firm. No resources should go toward helping with misguided efforts. . . .” — Politicians Must Realize Immigration Crackdowns Help No One and Hurt All of Us. Editorial. Marin Independent Journal, 11/12/24 [Link]
Fact Check of Above Quote: Actually, no one is talking about “shutting down” immigration. Still, many believe it is way past time to slow it down. We now have a record number of more than 50 million foreign-born persons, and the total keeps surging upward. This article suggests that without all of these people our country would be in shambles. Really? Perhaps if there were fewer on them, we would have less of the vexing diversity that we have now’; maybe we would have higher wages throughout society; and maybe we would be less crowded and less environmentally stressed.
Or look at it another way. Sixty years ago, in 1964, America had gone for forty years without large-scale immigration. Far from being a land of stagnation, the America of that era was a united and technically vibrant country, with an economy which provided opportunity to most segments of society. It was a country of vision which proposed equality under law for all citizens, and end to poverty, and exploration of space. Today’s America after 60 years of mass immigration can hardly hold a candle to that country of the past.
Now we are divided and riddled with self-doubt. Our economy is headed in the direction of the Third World, with a dwindling middle class, and relatively few well-off people sitting above lots of not so well-offs. Our industry has gone abroad, and we no longer lead the world in innovation. Donald Trump drew great support with his slogan “Make America Great Again.” Americans commonly believe that we’re not as great as we used to be. So how could that be if mass immigration is such a panacea?
Six decades ago we had much greater respect for the rule of law and the importance of citizenship as espoused by the civil rights movement. Today, the widespread acceptance of illegal immigration has eroded our respect for law and the significance of citizens. Many people today seem to find it outrageous that we would distinguish between citizens and illegal foreigners, or that these aliens should have to suffer the inconvenience of obeying our laws.
Certainly, the advocates of illegal aliens will insist that we will always need them to harvest our crops and do other difficult work. But where would we be now if we had stopped illegal immigration a long time ago? Most likely, we would have seen the replacement of stoop labor with modern mechanized farming.
Mass immigration is like an additive drug. Its addicts are so hooked on it that they can’t even imagine a life without it—even though we once had such a life