My position, for the record, is greatly increased legal immigration and mass deportation and incarceration of illegals. The net effect would likely be a short term reduction in the number of immigrants present in the US, depending upon the rate at which illegal immigrants are deported versus the rate at which visas get processed. I would even contemplate adding one extra visa for every two illegals deported.
Then how much ultimately would you allow? We already admit over one million legal immigrants per year. That isn’t enough?
And would you even look at reallocating existing visas before calling for an overall increase? Why not abolish Ted Kennedy’s absurd Diversity Lottery visas? That’s 50,000 a year right there. Why not end extended family chain migration? Why not discontinue the settlement of refugee groups who would be better suited elsewhere? Why not be more strict with asylum seekers so we don’t get garbage like the Boston Marathon bombers?
And finally, how can you reconcile support for even higher amounts of legal immigration with supporting conservative principles? Hispanics and (to a lesser extent) Asians are natural liberals. Going left on immigration will not change that. Your policy would hasten the demographic doomsday of conservatism.
American institutions rest solely on good citizenship. They were created by people who had a background of self-government. New arrivals should be limited to our capacity to absorb them into the ranks of good citizenship. America must be kept American. For this purpose it is necessary to continue a policy of restricted immigration. It would be well to make such immigration of a selective nature with some inspection at the source, and based either on a prior census or upon the record of naturalization. Either method would insure the admission of those with the largest capacity and best intention of becoming citizens. Those who do not want to be partakers of the American spirit ought not to settle in America.