Some Advice For Pro-Immigration Protestors

Posted by Alex Nowrasteh

Many of the problems affecting America’s modern pro-immigration movement were evident during the recent May Day rallies. Unless addressed, they will condemn immigration efforts to failure. Since I sympathize with the activists’ overall goals, I would like to offer some advice.

One, be pro-American. Whatever you do, do not wave Mexican, Guatemalan, or any other flag at your protests. Remember, you want to stay in the United States, not go back to your native countries.

Two, reject the political Left’s multiculturalist propaganda. The United States is a melting pot that has melded a uniquely American culture from myriad national influences. American culture is dynamic because newcomers do their best to assimilate. Americans are keenly aware of multiculturalism’s balkanizing influence in some European nations. They do not want it here.

Three, do not deride America as bad and unjust. No doubt, immigration raids and deportations are traumatic and devastating. But if your goal is to stay in the U.S. to work and provide for your family, blame the government’s policies, not the nation.

Four, appeal to Americans’ self interest. Explain why immigration is good for America. Highlight the stories of immigrant entrepreneurs like Metin Ozen, founder of Ozen Engineering. Or the fact that 40 percent of U.S. science and engineering Ph.D.s are foreign-born. Or that 24 percent of all international patents filed form the U.S. listed a foreign worker as an inventor or co-inventor. Or that immigrants pay more in taxes than they receive in government benefits.

Five, make it clear that you want to follow the law. Without a doubt, America’s immigration laws are broken. For most illegal immigrants, sneaking into the country is the only way to get here. But Americans, rightly, have great respect for our laws and institutions. Point out that immigrants commit fewer crimes, on average, than native born Americans. This should be easy to do—the U.S. is enjoying its lowest crime rates since the 1950s.

Six, don’t blame the free market, and focus on reforming bad immigration laws. Capitalism is the reason America is a rich desirable place to live. Were entrepreneurs allowed to operate freely and without restraint, they would be able to hire anybody they want from anywhere in the world.

Ignore these simple truths, and you will fail to reform America’s broken immigration regime. The late economist Julian Simon rightly called people “the ultimate resource”—and that is true regardless of national origin. A steady flow of immigrants, and their labor, ideas, and innovations, will help reinvigorate America’s economy, as those immigrants help themselves.

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05/13/2008 @ 2:57 pm | Odds & Ends | Comments

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    After careful review, anyone with a even a modicum of logic can come to no other conclusion: illegal immigration must be halted, illegal immigrants here now must be deported and legal immigration needs decreased from the approx. 2 million allowed in per year currently.

    Please review the following report on the FISCAL COST OF IMMIGRATION by economist Edwin Rubenstein released in April 2008:
    http://www.esrresearch.com/Rubensteinreport.pdf

    A partial summary of the report:

    The impact on 15 Federal Departments surveyed was: $346 billion in fiscal related costs in FY 2007.

    Each immigrant cost taxpayers more than $9,000 per year.

    An immigrant household (2 adults, 2 children) cost taxpayers $36,000 per year.

    Legal immigrants were not separated out from illegal immigrants for the fiscal impact study, but if they had been, the fiscal cost per ILLEGAL immigrant would be even more shocking than the figures quoted above.

    The most extensive and authoritative study, prior to economist Edwin Rubenstein's "The Fiscal Impact of Immigration" (April 2008) , is the National Research Council (NRC)’s The New Americans: Economic, Demographic and Fiscal Effects of Immigration (1997).

    The NRC staff analyzed federal, state, and local government expenditures on programs such as Medicaid, AFDC (now TANF), and SSI, as well as the cost of educating immigrants’ foreign- and native-born children.

    NRC found that the average immigrant household receives $13,326 in federal annual expenditures and pays $10,664 in federal taxes—that is, they generate a fiscal deficit of $2,682 (1996 dollars)per household.

    In 2007 dollars this is a deficit of $3,408 per immigrant household.

    With 9 million households currently headed by immigrants, more than $30 billion ($3,408 x 9 million) of the federal deficit represents money transferred from native taxpayers to immigrants.

    Our national immigration policies have to work for the United States. While improving the plight of the world’s poor is a laudable goal, the finite resources we have available to fulfill that goal would be swamped if there wasn’t some orderly and manageable system in place to limit entry into the United States to what this nation can actually support. The more illegal aliens that are permitted to subvert the immigration system, the fewer immigrants we can accommodate who might actually produce a positive benefit for our country.

    The more we become a nation of illegal immigrants, the deeper we fall into anarchy.
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    Have you heard the saying, when California sneezes, the rest of the country catches the flu? Generally what starts in California eventually spreads to the rest of the country. That is, unless a state takes measures to resist it. Unless every state realistically tackles illegal immigration by instituting Comprehensive Immigration ENFORCEMENT, which California has refused to do, this is what you can expect:

    As of 2006, California contained greater than 25% of the total illegal alien population within the U.S. Many of these illegals concentrate in Los Angeles. New statistics from the Department of Public Social Services reveal that illegal aliens and their families in Los Angeles County collected over $37 million in welfare and food stamp allocations in November 2007 – up $3 million dollars from September. Twenty five percent of the all welfare and food stamps benefits are going directly to the children of illegal aliens. Illegals collected over $20 million in welfare assistance for November 2007 and over $16 million in monthly food stamp allocations for a projected annual cost of $444 million. "This new information shows an alarming increase in the devastating impact Illegal immigration continues to have on Los Angeles County taxpayers," said Antonovich, LA County Supervisor. "With $220 million for public safety, $400 million for healthcare, and $444 million in welfare allocations, the total cost for illegal immigrants to County taxpayers far exceeds $1 billion a year – not including the millions of dollars for education."

    Just keep in mind that the $37 million a month is for only one county in one state and is only welfare and foodstamp benefits. It doesn't include hospital care, education, fraud, wage depression, crime, depreciation of housing values, the portion of bad loans given to illegal aliens by banks, insurance costs and the myriad of other burdensome expenses that illegal aliens put on the backs of American citizens. There are 29 sanctuary cities in California and because of that there should be little wonder why so many illegal aliens stay in this state. They basically operate with impunity and even if they get arrested for a serious crime there is little chance of them being deported. They can sign up for welfare and food stamps with no questions asked and the hospitals provide them with free care as long as there are still emergency rooms that can’t turn them away for lack of funds. All things considered, California has rolled out the welcome mat for them.

    Is there any wonder that California is right now in a fiscal crisis emergency with a budget deficit greater than $14 billion and growing? Reliable estimates calculate illegal aliens cost the state $10.5 billion each year! So what’s Schwarzenegger’s solution? A 10 percent across-the-board reduction in state agency funding,, transferring $2 billion in spending to the next fiscal year and increasing taxes. Why not cut all public services to those not in the U.S. legally? Just a simple thought on my part that would go a long way to putting California back on its feet. A bell should be ringing in you head about right now that tells you this is what is coming throughout America if you refuse to act locally and demand that your political leaders act against illegal immigration.
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    See my May 14th post for a rebuttal.

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