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Let's Not Reward Lawbreakers North County Times Demagogues can be found at the fringes of every political debate and the one that surrounds U.S. immigration policy is no exception. One of the most strident of these demagogues is Raoul Lowery Contreras, an open-borders advocate whose invective and blatant misrepresentation aimed at those who oppose him is featured on the opinion pages of the North County Times. There are three important constituencies in the immigration debate: the immigrants themselves, businesses that seek to employ immigrants, and the vast majority of the American public who are neither immigrants nor employers. The first two viewpoints are well represented and easy to understand. Immigration is always in the interest of the immigrants. Nobody moves to another country, legally or illegally, unless it serves some economic, social or political interest. Employers also benefit from an expanded labor pool, especially if the expectations of the immigrant workers are lower than those of U.S. workers. The interests of the third constituency--the remainder of the American public--is harder to define, but no less important. Net annual immigration to the United States (using the most conservative estimates of illegal immigration) is about 1.3 to 1.5 million people per year--roughly the population of the city of San Diego. There is virtually no aspect of anyone's life that is not affected in some significant way by immigration on such a large scale. The overwhelming majority of advocates for reduced immigration are motivated by the belief that mass immigration does not serve the long-term interests of the nation or its citizens. However, many Americans are hesitant about expressing opposition to mass immigration because there are those, like Contreras, who instead of disputing their assertions will impugn their character and their motives. Name-calling, misrepresentation and innuendo are unpleasant, which is why it is a favorite tactic of demagogues of all stripes. Instead of using persuasion, they try to silence their opponents. The unfortunate result of the natural human response to unpleasantness is that the demagogues win. Americans have the right to a voice in the immigration debate. The primary purpose of U.S. immigration policy should be to protect the economic, social and, as we have learned in the past few months, the physical security of the American people. With so much at stake, we must not be dissuaded from expressing our interest in this important public policy. What the Federation for American Immigration Reform has stood for, since its inception in 1979, is an immigration policy that reduces the influx of people coming here and enforces the rules fairly and consistently. We believe that immigration should be limited to the immediate nuclear families of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents, legitimate refugees and asylum-seekers and a small number of people with exceptional or needed skills whose presence here would benefit all of us. These objectives could be met with an overall annual flow of 200,000, a level consistent with our historic traditions. To prevent massive illegal immigration, FAIR believes it is essential to have more security along our borders, but more importantly, we must deter people from migrating illegally. We must make our vital national documents, such as the Social Security card and state-issued drivers' licenses, secure and verifiable documents and ensure that only citizens and permanent legal residents have them. The United States must also make it clear that there will be no rewards for illegally migrating, such as the amnesty proposals being considered in Washington. There will always be those who seek to win through intimidation and by silencing their opponents. The impact of mass immigration, however, is too great to allow that to happen. |
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