The Quote Below – More Misinformation from the Media
“The executive order Mr. Trump signed this week bars people from receiving green cards for 60 days, a move that immigration advocates condemned. But it does nothing to limit visa programs that bring tens of thousands of workers to the United States, infuriating groups that call for deep reductions in the number of foreign citizens entering the country. . . . During the 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump seized on fear of immigrants as a powerful political issue. . . .” — Trump’s Temporary Halt to Immigration Is Part of Broader Plan, Stephen Miller Says, Michael D. Shear and Maggie Haberman, The New York Times, 4/24/20 [Link]
Fact Check of Quote Above: This article repeats a falsehood commonly spoken by mass immigration advocates, namely that proposals to limit immigration stem from “fear” of immigrants—with the suggestion that the fear is an irrational phobia. The trick here is equating prudence and precaution on the issue of immigration with fear and loathing of immigrants as people.
Few if any immigration restrictionists, including President Trump, are calling for an end to all immigration. Their common concern is that the present level and composition of immigration will have a negative impact on our country in a number of ways. These include a weakening of national unity, a lowering of wages and job opportunities, stress on our infrastructure and resources, and overcrowding and environmental degradation.
These are reasonable concerns, not irrational fears. They are so reasonable that mass immigration advocates prefer not to address them, preferring instead to respond with name-calling and the claim that “fear” and “hate” are the only possible motives that restrictionists might have.
Another tactic these advocates use is to suggest that the concerns of restrictionists are greatly exaggerated. This might explain a gross factual error in the article, the claim that it was “infuriating” to restrictionists that visas admitting “tens of thousands of workers” were not reduced. The implication is that they are so emotionally unhinged that a relative trickle of immigration (tens of thousands) incites them to fury.
If the writers are interested in the true figure they need only look at official government sources which are open to the public. The total of visa approvals for foreigners work in the U.S. in 2018 was 1,075,019—certainly a far cry from “tens of thousands.” And with 22 million Americans now out of work, it’s is quite proper to object that our door to these visa holders remains wide open. It’s enough to infuriate any reasonable person.
Close to a fifth of these admissions are allowed for the infamous H-1B visa, a category which enables American companies to import skilled foreign workers at lower wages than they would have to pay U.S. citizens. The companies commonly maintain that they can’t find enough qualified Americans to do jobs in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), but evidence strongly suggests otherwise. One example is that three-quarters of Americans with college degrees in STEM work in jobs outside those fields.
With much of our economy now shut down, and with the possibility of a deep recession even after the corona virus crisis ends, working Americans have legitimate fears as they look to the future. Cutting immigration sharply would help give them hope.