Letters to the Editor
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Elections
Walter, maybe you can explaine how 12 million people that are violating our immigration laws, laws put in place be elected officals, would make good citizens of our democracy.
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Good citizens of our democracy
Right, JbinMO: Anyone who has ever violated any law should not be allowed to vote; they will not make good citizens of our democracy.
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Thanks
I'm a long time reader of Salon but have never posted my thoughts on an article until today. I'd like to thank the majority of writers that have posted so far. Your articulate dissection of Shapiro's poorly thought out effort is truly encouraging.
Washington Bureau Chief indeed, it seems Mr. Shapiro should spend more time outside the beltway to avoid falling into the morass of political B.S. surrounding this issue.
Gee Walter, can't you see who's for this bill, and why? It's a cliche but, "follow the money".
I can't really match the well thought out responses that i've read so far, but an immigration reform proposal that would have my support would include, in decending order of importance:
1. Counterfeit proof National Worker's I.D. (with stiff, enforced, penalties for employers)
2. Secure the borders - Pursuing any modification of immigration law without doing this would be ineffectual, and inapropriate.
3. Only after the above were accomplished, could reform of our immigration policy proceed.
One more thing, Salon, please fire Shapiro. The astonishing lack of understanding displayed in this article isn't worthy of Salon.com
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If all immigrants were citizens
It would instantly reflect on those elections, wouldn't it? If half of those immigrants are over 18 and half of them vote that's ~3 million new votes both parties could court. The social conservatives like to point to Catholicism as the driver for Latin American social conservatism and in part they are right albeit it's masked by the immigration issue itself. In either case it would interesting to see which way these new Americans vote once freed of the problem of citizenship vs. illegal residence. On the other hand with the doors wide open and millions streaming in there might not be such a force of religious social conservatives streaming in. That could work in the Dems favor. Furthermore that effect would be concentrated in the states that experience the highest illegal immigration today.
We all assume though this is essentially a Hispanic issue. If immigration were wide open we would also see an increase of Asian and Indian mid level/professionals coming here. As well as, I think, a larger group of middle class Arabs/Persians leaving the mid east for better opportunity. There are lots of people in the mid east who'd like to leave for the west but we don't let them in today. Today there are several million formerly middle class Iraqis outside of Iraq. It's the least we could for them to let them come and stay here. Same with Syrians and Egyptians who want to leave their oppressive countries.
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Voting
Actually in many states in this country if you have ever been convicted of a fellony you loose your right to vote.
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Unpacking 'enforcement'
what part of "illegal" do liberals not understand?
Probably the same part you fail to understand when you drive over the speed limit. What, you never drive over the speed limit? Let's hook you up to a polygraph on that one.
There's a genuine debate to be had on the 'enforce the laws' issue: Chris Lydon's 'Open Source' radio show had two people discussing it. One side says 'we don't enforce the laws, so let's enforce them'; the other says 'the laws can't be enforced, because they're a complete mess and they need to be reformed so that they're enforceable'.
I lean towards the side that says 'mess': talk to two USCIS officials about a law and its implementation, and you'll get three answers. Gilliam's Brazil could have been modelled on the immigration bureaucracy.
But the real problem with the enforcement-first side, especially the people who seem to think that you can build a 40-foot fence down the middle of the Rio Grande, is that they kick bureaucratic reform down the road. And if their enforcement plan doesn't work, they'll call for yet more enforcement, and kick bureaucratic reform down the road yet again. Supporting bureaucratic reform doesn't win votes, whereas kicking Hispanics goes down well in certain districts.
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Illegal Immigration Legislation Will Hurt American Poor, Low-Income and Middle-Class
Should the current 'comprehensive solution' to illegal immigration, become law then the following abuses will become amplified:
(1) American Poor and Low-Income will be much less able to find good-paying jobs with benefits and worker protection. There will be very little opportunity for American Poor and Low-Income to climb up the socio-economic ladder to a better life - a life which they deserve priority access to as our American brothers and sisters;
(2) The American Middle-Class will suffer not only from both degradation of wages and benefits, but also from increased taxation to pay for the social programs which the newly 'legalized illegals' will have access to. The taxes paid by the 'legalized illegals' do not now and never will equal much less exceed the costs of all the public benefits which they will be entitled to -thus the Middle-Class will have to pay the bill. As a result, many in the American Middle-Class will see their standard of living decay and will face 'downward mobility' into Lower-Income status;
(3) Big Business and Its Republican and Democratic allies in the Legilsative and Executive Branches of our government, will have finally succeeded in creating a new and entirely legal 'slave' class wherein a surfeit of low-skilled, low-educated people from countries which refuse to care for or otherwise create opportunities for their poor, will be used to keep wages low, benefits non-existent and labor unions broken. The American Plutocracy will win and that would be a shame.
Despite all the mis-placed outpouring of humanity for illegal aliens who come here to work (and I certainly don't blame anyone for wanting a better life), the fact remains that illegal aliens/immigrants steal jobs and public resources from our American Poor and Low-Income brothers and sisters. The claim that 'illegals take jobs that Americans dont' want', is just flat wrong. Those jobs were previously performed at fair wages and benefits until illegal came and offered to perform the same jobs for a small fraction of the previous 'fair wages' and without benefits and in effect stole those jobs away from American citizens who were obeying the law and playing by the rules.
I want all of my black, brown, red, white and yellow American Poor and Low-Income brothers and sisters to have access to good-paying jobs with benefits, the protection of labor unions, good health care, good schools and good fire and police protection - that is to say, the good life and a chance to move upward - before I want to give anything at all to anyone who in effect steals from my American brothers and sisters while falsely claiming 'we just want to work and support our families'. I care first and foremost about my American family - when and only when my American family is well taken care of, will I support additional immigration. As for 'Amnesty' - that's just a euphemism for allowing illegals to become legal and continue to steal from American Poor and Low-Income.
It's time for America to cure the poverty of Americans, to provide good health care for all Americans, to provide good schools for all Americans, to provide a chance for a better life to all Americans. 231 years of denying equal access to American Poor and Low-Income, regardless of race, has to stop. Amnesty for illegal aliens/immigrants will only make it worse, not better.