[vbmoneyspender]

Poor, illiterate Mexicans, like most other Hispanic immigrants, don’t do particularly well in the sophisticated American economy.

If Brimelow had lived a hundred and fifty years agor he'd have said the same things about the Irish. And a hundred years ago he'd have said the same things about the Italians and the Poles. To the extent we have an illegal immigration problem in this country and a failure on the part of immigrants to acculturate, those are symptoms of the problem, not the problem itself. The problem is the welfare state, which encourages people not to work hard while also encouraging people (e.g. people of different ethnic backgrounds) to think of themselves as victims so that they remain dependent on the welfare state. Pare back the welfare state and the multiculturism that it fosters and the only people we will have coming here are people who want to work hard and who want to become Americans.

On a related note, we also might try putting pressure on the Mexicans to change the way they govern themselves so that a bloated government that is filled with corruption doesn't stifle the economic activity that would otherwise be occurring if they had a liberalized economy.

[Sam the Sham]

Sure. And the best way to solve the auto theft problem would be if everyone drove a twenty year old Yugo.

[Sax]

Agreed, if the newly arriving were striving to assimilate into the American culture and looking to better themselves through hard work and education, this could be a benefit, just like other waves of immigration in our past.

The danger is having welfare-minded folks simply waltzing across the border for handouts. I found this quote quite disturbing:

"The Mexican government has quite openly taken the historic decision to dump its poor on the American welfare state — a phenomenon sometimes called ‘the Mexodus’ — and to encourage them not to assimilate."

Here's the danger:

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure." -Alexander Tyler (100+ yrs ago.)

[B4Ranch]

Immigrants from countries that haven't reached the same technical levels as we have generally take a generation or two to assimilate. Unfortunately their criminal leaders are among the first to acculturate.

[skeeter]

If Brimelow had lived a hundred and fifty years agor he'd have said the same things about the Irish. And a hundred years ago he'd have said the same things about the Italians and the Poles.

The current immigration situation with Mexico has no parallel in the past - not with Ireland, not with Poland, not with Italy. Its silly to contend otherwise.

[elbucko]

On a related note, we also might try putting pressure on the Mexicans to change the way they govern themselves so that a bloated government that is filled with corruption doesn't stifle the economic activity that would otherwise be occurring if they had a liberalized economy.

Oh dream on! Why should the ruling oligarchy of Mexico change the status quo?