Posted on 08/23/2015 6:03:46 AM PDT by Kaslin
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses" is perhaps a noble sentiment. As immigration policy for the 21st century, it is barking mad nonsense. There should be only one litmus test for permitting immigration into the United States. Does it benefit the U.S. and our own citizens?
Imagine inviting someone into your home, who eats your food, then surreptitiously steals your silverware. And who then tells all his relatives what a schmuck you are, and that they should also come running to take full advantage of your naive generosity. Well, that is more or less the tawdry story of much of Russian immigration to the United States for the last four decades.
Immigration from Russia has not received much attention compared to the much larger flow of immigrants from South of the Rio Grande, but that can tell us much about the dangers of liberal immigration policies and a poorly policed border.
Americans often have romantic and naive ideas about what people in other countries think of the U.S. In the old melting pot narrative, the most courageous and enterprising folk in the village pick up their belongings, make the long sea voyage to America, and with hard work, pluck and a bit of luck forge a new life. In this telling, America is the land of opportunity, opportunity meaning the possibility to earn an honest living free of government oppression. And most immigrants of that earlier era embraced American values and strove to become good citizens of their adopted country. We aren’t living in those days anymore. The realities of immigration from the former Soviet Union that I have observed convince me that without much stricter control of our borders, we risk the long term integrity of American society.
In 1974 Congress passed the Jackson-Vanik amendment, designed to pressure the Soviet Union to allow its repressed Jewish citizens greater rights to leave that country for the United States or Israel. And while many Jews were liberated from Soviet oppression, even more non-Jewish Russians used forged documents to avail themselves of the chance to leave their miserably poor backward country for the U.S.
With the final collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, several million Russians emigrated to America. Not many came legally. Some overstayed “tourist” visas, many others entered into fictitious marriages to get green cards. In general, their conduct should not inspire confidence. In Brighton Beach and other Russian enclaves, sleazy Medicare mills certify “back disorders” on a wholesale basis, with the result that a large percentage of Russian immigrants receive monthly government checks for life. According to the FBI, “Russian émigrés operating as individuals, or working in loose association, are perpetrating health-care fraud at a staggeringly high rate.” And a disproportionate percentage of financial fraud and other criminality also emanates from these enclaves. And although they benefit from America’s generous welfare system, many of these “citizens” bitterly hate the hand that feeds them. I have something of an inside view into this community, and an appallingly large number of Russian immigrants nurse petty resentment against America and cling to a smug feeling of superiority to their “fellow citizens.” In this view, Americans are ignorant and backward people because they haven’t learned to recite Russian poetry by heart. And they believe that America is wealthy and prosperous only because of some perverse and unfair twist of fate, which has deprived Mother Russia of its rightful glory.
It’s above all a problem of mentality. When immigrants come to America, they don’t just simply abandon the loyalties and habits of their original homeland. Russia is among the most corrupt countries in the world, and dishonesty is so widespread and accepted that an honest person is considered a fool or worse. And so scamming America’s welfare system is actually often thought to be highly respectable. And most Russians are taught from childhood that America is a terrible country with no high culture, deserving only of contempt.
The last great wave of Russian immigration subsided once incomes in Russia went from a paltry $100 a month to a more liveable $1000. With the price of oil hurtling lower, the fragile and inefficient Russian economy is in danger of another 1990s style collapse, and with it another wave of people suddenly discovering that it is their dream to become American citizens.
Oh, but what about Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google? Well, of course some of these immigrants from the former Soviet Union have turned out to be model citizens and successful entrepreneurs. The United States can and should welcome selective immigration. The key word here is “selective.” Becoming a U.S. citizen (or legal resident) should be an honor and an opportunity we grant solely to those people eager and willing to make a positive contribution to our society and who regard that opportunity with the respect it deserves.
We should learn a lesson from our earlier open doors policies that not all immigrants are going to benefit America or respect its laws and values. And that should be the litmus test, that granting them entry benefits the United States, without concern for whether it is something beneficial for people to whom we have no duties or obligations. Otherwise we eventually risk national bankruptcy, financial and moral.
We no longer attract the winners from around the world; now they stay home and run their countries (as our competitors) while exporting their losers here. Many Americans don’t realize that much of our Hispanic immigration is composed of illiterate braceros (illiterate in SPANISH); these are no longer the Cuban doctors and businessmen we attracted 50 years ago.
Later
You’re so right at one time we got the families of an Andy Garcia now we get the Tony Montanas of the world.
Welfare reform.
Thanks; I wish the pro-amnesty crowd could rub elbows with these newcomers. Never mind the crime; I want them to live next door to people who simply pile their trash in the yard of their rentals...
He says he has insight into the area (i live right near Brighton) but doesn’t state the basis?
He states the FBI has said staggeringly high fraud. What the heck are they doing about it? I know. They don’t want to bust one person. They want headlines, bringing down an organization. Let me tell you what the FBI surely already knows. Fake docs are almost certainly made in Russia and beyond our reach. Sorry but you have to go after individuals.
Russians drive up to Key Food in $30,000 and up cars and whip out EBT cards to pay. This fraud is incredibly easy to stop but i guess the wills not there.
None of the people that support these invasions are effected by it. They’re rich enough not to care about the increase in taxes and live far, far away from the neighborhoods that are destroyed. Or, they have this weird fetish that brings them joy living among the refuse from 3rd world countries. They wear that on their sleeves, like it’s some type of honor.
But these Russians work scams all over every system we have and they’re masters of it. The mexicans just take the welfare. The Russians take that, plus run scam after scam after scam.
Either way, the folks in the middle, the ones that feel that they are negatively effected(inc taxes, declining property values, immigrant kids getting preferential treatment), are the ones that take it on the chin every day.
What else changed 50 years ago?
Speaking of the 1965 Immigation Act Senate immigration subcommittee chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA.) reassured his colleagues and the nation with the following:
"First, our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually. Under the proposed bill, the present level of immigration remains substantially the same ... Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset ... Contrary to the charges in some quarters, [the bill] will not inundate America with immigrants from any one country or area, or the most populated and deprived nations of Africa and Asia ... In the final analysis, the ethnic pattern of immigration under the proposed measure is not expected to change as sharply as the critics seem to think."
Other countries have very high standards regarding who gets let in. Take New Zealand for instance....http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/alreadyinnz/residents/nextsteps/prvrequirements.htm
In this particular situation, the will is not there because Key Food lobbies behind the scenes to make sure this thing never stops.
I’ve said for a long time that ending the welfare state would do far more than anything else to fix this country’s “immigration problems.” In fact, this country barely even needed immigration laws when there was no such thing as government assistance.
Yep. Russians are some of the worst immigrants to America. In the 70s we had poor Russian immigrants who overran the welfare and hospital systems and today we have the corrupt oligarchy members who go into exclusive restaurants and carry on about how uncouth and ill-educated Americans are. Meanwhile, the women dress in hideous bling and the stout, stocky guys are dressed in cast-offs from the Russian version of Men’s Wearhouse. (Check Putin’s ill-fitting suits.) Not to mention they buy citizenships for their children. I know someone who did that.
I think, too, that there is a “2nd generation” effect that deserves further study. Parents that come to America with young children may do so for economic reasons and may embrace the American dream. But do their children? I say that many of the youth cling to their nationality of origin and feel resentment. They don’t appreciate that the parents removed them from a hellhole. Especially the older youts. Hence the gangs, etc., holding on to their warped sense of heritage. The percentage might not be high, but surely it is significant. Perhaps a genetic sense of Tribe.
The once and future US manned space program did much to attract winners to the US. When that died, like Project Orion, due to a lack of political will, the winners stayed home or went elsewhere.
Some countries send us their criminals, while current and past Admins like to import musselmen. Any value, any cultuire, except ours is acceptable.
At one grocery store I frequent, several times I have seen Russians paying with EBT only to watch them load their purchases into high end lexus’ in the parking lot
And just who or what is going to impose a litmus test on immigrants? The POTUS and Half the U.S. Congress (democrats) do not admire or respect American values and history and the other half of the U.S. Congress (GOP) is only interested in keeping itself in office
Legal immigrants already are getting a litmus test by waiting for their visas which allows them to immigrate and then getting a Green card and becoming permanent residents. So why should they have to take another litmus test?
Widespread use of artificial contraception turned those predictions on their heads; even the 2050 date used for when whites become a minority on this country must be based on 1946 birth rates.
For years now the under-20 demographic has been primarily non-white; I use 2020 as a more accurate date for that particular event.
Yep. Cut the goodies and watch the ‘tired huddled masses’ suddenly decide to stay home.
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