Posted on 04/20/2006 7:16:53 PM PDT by Coleus
National Catholic Register (www.ncregister.com/)
The giant immigration marches in April were almost surreal. The attitude of the protest organizers often made them seem inauthentic – but the critics didn’t seem to have their facts straight, either.
First, consider the protesters.
Groups, like A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism), swelled the ranks of marchers in major cities. But, like other activist organizations at the marches, A.N.S.W.E.R. isn’t an immigration group. It’s a communist group that actually opposes Cuban immigrants. But they were there in force – as they are at pro-abortion marches, anti-war marches and anti-globalism marches – selling Che Guevera T-shirts and building their mailing lists.
Signs that said “Bush Step Down” and “Bush is the real terrorist” were common at the rallies. But that doesn’t seem wise. Did the marchers not know that Bush is the one who first proposed the national “guest worker” program for illegal immigrants that they were marching for? Did they remember how his decision to do so imperiled his re-election by angering his conservative supporters?
If the march organizers really put immigration policy as their highest priority, you would think they would court the sympathetic president as a key ally – not antagonize and alienate him. That they didn’t do so raises sharp questions about their credibility and their true agenda. But the critics of the march were just as bad.
Talk radio chattered endlessly about the drain heavy immigration put on America’s resources, but without much understanding of what is at stake. Conservatives were furious at a Republican-supported bill that they say “caved” by agreeing to make illegal immigration a misdemeanor rather than a felony.But they didn’t seem to realize that illegal immigration has always been a misdemeanor – and that to make it a felony would increase the drain on America’s resources 100-fold.
If illegal immigration remains a misdemeanor, then cases can be dealt with efficiently and quickly. If security is your fear, this would be the solution. If talk radio show hosts had their way and it became a felony, then each accused illegal case would be entitled as a felon to a jury trial and a court-appointed lawyer and subject to a much longer process. It was also instructive to listen to the attempts radio shows made to play “Gotcha” with the protesters. Reporters who interviewed actual protesters found surprising stories that didn’t quite support the “immigrant threat” storyline.One Mexican immigrant told Sean Hannity’s program that he had been in the country illegally for 12 years, working hard, paying taxes and raising a family. Another reporter met a doctor who was waiting on tables and learning English. Another was a dishwasher with a master’s degree.
These stories of hard-working immigrants suggest that immigration is a net gain, not a drain, for America. The assumption seems to be that immigrants will come to America, stay on the low end of the economic spectrum, then call over for the sick and weak of their families and put them on welfare. Certainly, plenty will do exactly that. But by and large, today’s immigrants seem to be following in the footsteps of immigrants before them – they are people bold and imaginative enough to leave the comfort of their homelands to stake their futures on their ability to work hard enough to build a better life elsewhere.This entrepreneurial immigrant spirit is precisely what we call “the American spirit.”
As for draining America’s resources: Americans should be more fearful of a future without heavy immigration than one with it. Over the last several decades, American family sizes have decreased nearly as much as European family sizes. Without immigrants, the United States would be below replacement-level population growth. We would be losing more Americans each year than we gain. The crisis that threatens Social Security’s future would be upon us today. Without immigrants, we wouldn’t have enough workers paying into the system to support retirees. If you draw Social Security income, you should thank an immigrant.So, what’s the answer?
We like the Knights of Columbus’ resolution, which can be found on their Web site, www.KofC.org . It calls for Congress to gain control over the process of immigration in a way that will encourage, not discourage, immigration.
It is, at last, a position Catholics can applaud.Gee, the Church is against Muslim immigrants in Europe, but loves the Cholos polluting our society. I wonder why...
Hmmmmm
It could, if some laws are changed. Many states have limits on the number of hours, age and type of jobs school children can work. They say it interferes with their school work. I say the kids don't put any more time into studies, it all goes to goofing off.
The local news (Dallas, WB33) was calling them "undocumented citizens" tonight.
Native Americans didn't think our alien invader ancestors were "immigrants" either.
The antique media has long ago given up stating anything close to the "truth". These people are citizens of a non-United States country - that makes them ILLEGAL ALIENS when referring to them inside the United States. No other way to view it.
I have no problem with "illegal aliens" (at least until the law is changed ; )
Get over it. The Native Americans and the Europeans were in a war, the Indians lost, the Europeans won, end of story. Its makes me ill that so called "conservatives" such as you resort to Politically Correct BS.
The K of C deserve to be bashed without mercy. The view they are taking amounts to handing over the US and her future destiny to the 3rd world. THis is not the only problem I have with them either. The K of C liek I said amounts to a go along, get along group that for quite some time has excused bad behavior and decsions by the Bishops.
Again, not one of my hard earned dollars goes tothe K of C, they are simpily heading in the direction Catholics Charities has headed in.
Illegal immigration only helps the elites of both the US and Mexico, and it degrades the standard of living for most Americans. The church shoudl focus on unjust conditions in Mexico first, but saldy, the conditions in Mexico are hardly every brought up. The Cathechism states a country has a right to have integral borders, and laws against illegal immigration are not unjust, and in fact, a strng arguement can be made that allowing high levels of immigration is unjust because it reduces wages and upward mobility.
People are fed up with the govrenmnet doing nothing about illegal immigration for decades. Your are tired of people being fed up, thats your problem. How do you feel about American workers being displaced from jobs, having their wages undercut? How do you feel about neighborhoods decaying because of a massive influx of illegals? How do you feel about local and state taxes going up, while services degrade to take care of illegals? You are tired of the truth?
People like you are BLIND, growing up in California, I saw the damage done, severe damage that destroyed many once solid working class communities and turned them into high crime urban slums. Thats the reason why I see this issue as an issue that there can be NO COMPROMISE, I saw California destroyed, and I will be damned if it is going to happen to the rest of the US.
Cable network (CNN or MSNBC), interview this am with illegals sent home by plane. Didn't hear how many times they'd been caught. One said he'd sneaked into the US because he was 'hungry'. (He looked quite healthy.) Doubtless they were all victims with sob stories, but I had to turn it off and did so, thinking it was snow job. Yet talk to any Liberal and this is what you'll get along with a glare: "Where's your 'compassion'? What's wrong with letting everybody in? Aren't we all immigrants? If they came from Ireland or England, you wouldn't care! (closet racist!)"
One Mexican immigrant told Sean Hannity’s program that he had been in the country illegally for 12 years, working hard, paying taxes and raising a family. Another reporter met a doctor who was waiting on tables and learning English. Another was a dishwasher with a master’s degree.
I actually heard the interview done on Hannity's program, it was done by Mark Davis of WBAP, Dallas. Davis basically admitted that he was shocked about the guy he interviewed(the guy who has been living here for 12 years raising a family and paying taxes), didn't fit his stereotype and said he was a good person.
See what happens when you listen to the bile of savage(weiner), tancredo & co., it just as bad and untrue as the bile coming from the left, but that doesn't matter to the loudmouth right. They would rather push these naturally social conservative and probably fiscally conservative people away into the bosom of hillary with their knee jerk bile and talking points, instead of finding a solution to an immigration problem that has been out of whack for 40 years.
"Illegal alien invaders are NOT immigrants"
Bravo! Well said.
An IMMIGRANT is someone who legally makes his way over here, through the legally sanctioned process established. SOmeone whose credentials are vetted, and is actually a net gain to society.
A lawbreaker is just that, a lawbreaker. Lets not tar all the people who have immigrated through proper process, got their citizenship through legal means with the same brush as the guy who just walked across the border and never went home.
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