The Quote Below: More Misinformation from the Media
“President Trump’s latest assault on immigration, cutting the number of refugees accepted to a mere 18,000 from 30,000 last year, is better than a complete ban that some of his aides were seeking. But looking at mere numbers misses the point.
“This is the administration latest message to anyone dreaming of a freer life in America: that they should just stay away. The Trump administration has systematically acted to bar as many refugees and asylum seekers as possible, virtually from its first day, supplanting America’s traditional welcome to the world’s desperate people with a spirit of xenophobia.
“Led by Stephen Miller, a zealot who has planted lieutenants throughout the government, the Trump White House has made its anti-immigration campaign something akin to a crusade, with ‘the wall’ along the Mexican border as its symbol. . . .
“[T]he United States cannot let anyone in who wants to come. But the severity of the cutbacks makes clear that the administration’s rationale hides its real motivation: to score political points with a base of voters fearful of immigration by seeming to keep out as many people as possible
“This shortsighted politicking denies a fundamental virtue—and key advantage—of America’s democracy: that it is a land of immigrants and refugees. It ignores the contributions of immigrants to the greatness of the United States.
“There is no sensible argument for opening the borders to everyone. . . . But Mr. Trump’s approach is not the answer. . . . But that failure is no reason for Americans to be taken in by Mr. Trump’s fear-mongering and evasive explanation.” – Trump Tears Up the Welcome Mat, The New York Times, The Editorial Board, 9/27/19 [Link]
Fact Check of Quote: This article indulges in sheer fantasy when it claims that the Trump Administration is “assaulting” immigration. The figures clearly reveal the truth. Legal immigration, all categories combined, has been averaging more than a million a year for the past thirty years—the highest sustained level in our history. As a developed country, we simply don’t need this flood of humanity that stresses our society in every possible way.
The diversity it brings is not our strength, but our downfall through division. It suppresses the wages of our workers, and places growing strains on our infrastructure, resources, and environment. Americans “who dream of a freer life” from this insanity get no sympathy from the likes of the NYT Editorial Board members. Perhaps they would if immigrants typically competed for editorial writers’ jobs at prestigious newspapers.
President Trump initially proposed to “assault” this excessive flow of legal immigration, but unfortunately it appears that cheap labor interests have persuaded him to stick pretty much with the status quo. Refugee admissions are the only legal category of immigration that the Trump administration has aimed to cut. During the Obama presidency the annual total of refugees was around 60,000. Thus Trump is seeking a mere reduction of 40,000 a year—a sum which barely makes a dent in an annual total of more than one million immigrants.
Refugee numbers have needed cutting for a long time. It is much more cost effective to resettle refugees near their homelands than transport them to the U.S. Also, the current resettlement program needs reform. Commonly it involves religious “charities” taking public money to settle refugees in U.S. communities. The “charities” profit while they impose the cost of resettlement on those communities.
The article pays lip service to border control and “not letting everyone in,” but the writers seem inclined to letting as many people in as possible. And given the Times strident attacks against the president’s efforts to control the border, it doesn’t seem to matter much to them whether the influx is legal or illegal.
The Times editorialists are completely wrong in suggesting that President Trump want substantial cuts in immigration. In this instance, for the sake of our country, it’s a shame they aren’t correct.