IT’S NOT ABOUT THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHILDREN

It’s really no trouble at all, Keith. I just do this in my spare time. And I find it takes very little time to not understand what Tom is saying. Thank you for your concern, nonetheless. And, I have no
“leftwing arguments” to offer. I don’t run in those circles. Sorry. Perhaps you have other friends who can supply those needs.

Frankly, I didn’t consider your responses particularly detailed or substantive. Hence my negligible direct response. They appear to be just bald assertions. I say that illegal immigrants don’t vote and are not eligible for welfare benefits. I think the law supports my position. You apparently have another view. Your views strike me as counter-factual. Perhaps if you could embroider your comment with some sort of factual data on how many illegal immigrants voted in this or that election (I’ll let you choose the ones that you think best illustrate your point) and whether they had impact on the outcomes. My impression is that there are few, if any, documented instances of illegal immigrant votes swaying an election in this country. I welcome correction if you have good data on this point. As for welfare, I guess hospital care might count, because we don’t throw people to the curb when they show up at the ER. But I doubt that that is a motive for desperate desert treks, but rather a by-product of extensive illegal entrants. By law, we also provide access to public schools, but I don’t consider that “welfare” and view those costs as probably less than the cost of not educating so many people in our midst. Given the data we have seen in the past few years about the quality of American education, I’m not sure getting access to American public schools would be a material step up for the average young scholar from Central America (Tom would probably agree with me on at least that point) But things that we generally regard as “welfare” (e.g., food stamps, health care, etc.) are generally reserved for citizens and, in some cases, permanent residents. Once in a while one hears of fraud in these areas, but these cases tend to be statistically insignificant and are cited more as an exception that proves the general rule that illegal immigrants don’t get to dip into those troughs, despite the fact that illegals do pay non-trivial sums in taxes both locally and federally.

Moreover, if immigration is an advantage to Democrats, it is only because we Republicans are too thick to understand that immigration from Latin America (and Asia and Eastern Europe for that matter) has within it very strong strains that should favor the Republican Party. Latino immigrants tend to be industrious, often come from religiously and culturally “conservative” backgrounds, and have seen enough of government dysfunction to be skeptical of governments that promise everything. One of the real problems in the current immigration debate is that, starting several years ago, many opportunistic, low-grade Republican candidates fell for the siren song of how easy it is to get cheap votes on this issue by ignoring its complexity and its potential for benefit to the Nation and instead decided to mine the corrupted vein of dross that preys on fear of the next wave of immigration. This country always has feared the next wave, even as the previous wave assimilates and adds strength to the alloy that is America.

Moving on a bit to other points. I don’t particularly see this Administration as the root of immigration problems (although I have serious complaints about other aspects of its current foreign policy or lack thereof). My view is that people who leap to that conclusion are folks who tend to have a kind of embarrassingly reflexive, discrediting boogey-man reaction to this Administration across a wide range of issues. I’ve been paying close attention to immigration policy since the mid 1980s. This Administration has been a more aggressive enforcer of Immigration laws than any in my adult lifetime (which may be about double yours – I’m not bragging about that, mind you, I’m just saying that I have had a while to watch these things). I see the issue as one that spans partisan lines, goes back many years, and is typified by fear more than leadership. Immigration is complex – it is not just Honduran children being used by smugglers as a sideline to their drug dealing. It is also about competing worldwide for the best and the brightest physicists, chemists, engineers, medical doctors, etc. who will come and become Americans dedicated to the welfare of this country. It is about eliminating the underground world in which illegals work outside of the record-keeping and responsibility of the lawful economy. It is about adjusting to seasonal demands for particular kinds of labor. it is about remedying the endless delays and bureaucratic nonsense that makes it virtually impossible in a human, as opposed to geologic time, to procure visas and other permissions to travel here. And, importantly, it is about efficient, user-friendly, effective border controls that give us reasonable assurance that we catch security threats while at the same time providing incentives for productive labor to move in recordable channels, as opposed to finding that desert treks, whatever their dangers, are preferable than waiting for 15 years to get a visa to hammer nails into roof shingles. Thus, I do take exception, as I did in previous comments in this thread to Tom talking about Democrats bringing immigrants into this country. Wherever there are marked economic and/or liberty opportunities on either side of any border anywhere in the world, one will find a strong current running toward liberty and prosperity. If the lawful immigration policies don’t manage that tide well, it will still happen, but much of it is forced into illegal channels. Our system is completely inadequate to modern conditions. Hence we have a lot of illegal activity around it.

My view of immigration issues generally is that they rather transcend cable news politics and are more a manifestation of economic and liberty disparities. As a general rule, immigration tends to benefit the recipient countries and harm the countries being abandoned. I accept that, like any generalization there are exceptions to my general outlook, but view those exceptions, in the case of current conditions in the United States as a reflection of failure of the political system across both parties and across the Articles I and II branches, to build a workable system for the 21st Century.

LikeLike