Posted on 04/25/2006 10:57:43 AM PDT by underwiredsupport
Myth vs. Fact
by Thomas R. Eddlem
May 1, 2006
http://www.thenewamerican.com/artman/publish/printer_3745.shtml
Politicians and pundits are defending illegal immigration with worn-out myths that can easily be proven wrong.
Myth: Illegal immigrants contribute greatly to the American economy.
Fact: So-called statistics supporting this myth are typically a deceptive amalgam of statistics and supposition arranged to conceal an undeniable truth. Consider, for instance, this statement from the ACLU paper Immigrants and the Economy (2002): "Immigrants pay more than $90 billion in taxes every year and receive only $5 billion in welfare. Without their contributions to the public treasury, the economy would suffer enormous losses." If 32.5 million immigrants (the total of legal and illegal immigrants, according to the recent U.S. Census figures) really pay $90 billion in taxes, then they pay half the taxes the average native-born American pays. Note too that the ACLU combines both legal and illegal immigrants into its statistic. Most taxes paid by immigrants are paid by legal immigrants. Illegal immigrants often pay little or no taxes because many of them are working "under the table" in the underground, cash-based economy.
Welfare is a term limited to only a few federal subsidy programs, and the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) notes: "Even though illegal aliens make little use of welfare, from which they are generally barred, the costs of illegal immigration in terms of government expenditures for education, criminal justice, and emergency medical care are significant." CIS estimates that the total net cost of illegal immigration is an annual drain on the government of $11-22 billion annually.
Myth: We are a nation of immigrants.
Fact: This myth is false on its face. Nearly 88 percent of the people living in the United States today are not immigrants; they were born here. This is a nation of natives, not a nation of immigrants. "But," the liberal propagandists reply, "we all have ancestors who come from other countries." And, one might reply, so does just about every other nation on Earth.
Are not the French merely descendents of the immigrant barbarian Franks, who drove out the Roman era Celtic Gauls? And the English are simply immigrant Angles and Saxons who virtually wiped out the Celtic Britons in the fifth century A.D. They too are simply nations of immigrants under this liberal myth, as is practically every other nation on Earth. The myth descends to meaninglessness upon any serious analysis. Yet whenever this myth is uttered, we are expected to nod our heads in agreement that a deep and salient point has been made.
Myth: You cannot deport 12 million people.
Fact: This is nothing more than a slogan for people who have stopped trying to address the problem. The U.S. government needs to begin deporting illegal aliens, and even if it only deports a fraction of them over the next few years that would be progress. If the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency deported only two million of the 12 million illegal aliens, 10 million illegals would be better than 12 million.
Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) notes that enforcing employer sanctions could lead many to go home on their own without deportation proceedings: "If you can't get a job in this country, and if you can't get social service benefits, you go home." Additionally, a lot of immigrants visit families on their own, and wouldn't be able to get back in if Congress decides to secure the border.
On the other hand, if the 12 million illegals are legalized, none would be deported. Moreover, this amnesty (whether called amnesty or not) would simply induce more illegals to cross the Rio Grande in the hopes of waiting until the next amnesty.
Myth: Illegal immigrants are only taking jobs Americans do not want.
Fact: Many illegal immigrants are able to work for less than market value because they don't pay income or Social Security taxes and are able to take their entire paycheck (or cash) home. This is not only unfair competition against employers who follow the law and pay employees "above the table," but it depresses the wage scale for Americans who would otherwise select jobs currently filled by illegal immigrants. These are jobs that Americans "do not want" only because the illegal immigrants have depressed the wage scale for the positions. Take away the illegal immigrants, and the market would raise wages to the level where Americans would take the jobs.
Myth: Guest workers would only be here temporarily.
Fact: History demonstrates that "guest workers" would be as temporary as the "temporary" telephone tax, still in effect, that Congress enacted in 1898 to pay for the Spanish-American War. And what would happen if 12 million "guest workers" decided not to leave? Those who argue against deporting the current 12 million illegal aliens as impractical are likely, if challenged, to say they find the prospect of deporting "guest workers" impractical as well.
Thus, it is hardly surprising that President Bush fails to mention a time limit on the "temporary" worker visas the federal government would permit under the "guest worker" program he is pushing in his public addresses. Most pending congressional legislation would limit the "guest worker" to three years — but what then?
Myth: Illegal immigrants have a right to come here. It is our Christian duty to provide hospitality.
Fact: Nearly two-thirds of the 32.5 million foreign-born people living in the United States entered this country legally, and the United States has more legal immigrants than any other country in the world. That's hardly poor hospitality, and no bill before Congress that has a chance of becoming law would change this nation's hospitality. But it is poor hospitality to say to the nearly 22 million legal U.S. immigrants who waited in line that they wasted their time following the rules because illegal immigrants will now get the same status.
The need to deport illegal aliens and secure our borders has nothing to do with persecuting minorities or lack of hospitality. The United States can continue to allow a large or small number of immigrants into this country legally, depending upon how many can be reasonably assimilated without destroying our American identity. Rather, securing our borders is necessary as a matter of principle — in the interests of equal justice under law — as well as practical security in this age of international terrorism. And this nation can no longer afford to allow "myth-information" slogans to sidetrack the nation from fulfilling the mandate of controlling the borders.
The issue of whether illegal aliens contribute more than they cost is constantly being used in this debate but it really does not matter at all. In this country, the people get to decide public policy on illegal immigration. That is what "republican" self-government is all about. The fact is that the lawful citizens of this country have decided this issue long ago and this decision againt illegal immigration is now and has been expressed in our laws for decades. The ignoring of these democratically enacted laws for decades by our elected officials is nothing less than a revolt by the political elites and their corporate clients and handlers against the sovereignty of the people.
Also, I do not agree for one moment with your economic arguments for allowing illegal immigration. Everything does not come down to economics afterall. One murder of an American citizen, or any crime for that matter, conducted by a person who is here illegally and against whom our government was obligated to protect us is already too much crime. This nation was founded to establish self-government, not to ensure the largest tax revenues possible!
The "totalization" agreement with Mexico will siphon off more social security money than the illegals have contributed...never mind all the public services they steal.
Another way of thinking of this is that Mexico is outsourcing its unemployment to the US.
Oh BS. Our borders should have been secured well over 17 years ago and I don't believe our President was in office at the time. The "Bush's fault" mantra is as tiring as "doing jobs Americans won't do".
Our government has no such duty. Our government has a moral responsibility to provide for the security of our citizenry; a responsibility they miserably fail to uphold by allowing people to drift across the borders wby the millions with absolutely no accountability whatsoever.
Good point about the ownership of the Spanish speaking media. The FCC needs to require them to transmit in English only.
Bad point about our domestic laws applying to anyone. They apply to anyone who is here legally.
But when an enterprise "costs" more than it generates, it goes bankrupt.
But, you know, Luis, what shall we say about Cubans who come to this country scott free and agitate to let in any and all that would come in contempt for our laws, so long as the illegals resemble them?
Maybe we ought to rethink the Cuban policy, don't you think, being an American yourself? 
Will you explain to me why they don't rise up and MAKE their country take care of the problem? They can demostrate here and say how bad we are but they can't do it there for fear of being shot. Well our ancestors faced the same problem and they solved it. People in other countries need to do the same and stop looking to us to solve their problems for them. Get real and stop blaming US for their probs.
...and I was agreeing with you. Although a firmly founded Christian myself, too many people equate morality with religion...they feel that keeping religion out of government equates with keeping morality out of government...which is precisely something both our founders and european enlightenment philosophers warned us about when considering representational governments, democracy and the republican systems.
What you are trying to say is the other presidents did it, so Bush can too, and that is pure BS.
Unfortunately, we can expect nothing from the President on this issue except more of the same.
Actually, the SSA doesn't chase down the fraud. Instead they simply assign (enumerate, in SS parlance) a new number.
Much worse than that.
BUSTED?
You made a good and too seldom offered analysis. Thanks.
Simply put, the ponzi scheme is running out of suckers.
I guess you haven't read the data supplied.
As far as the "Cuban" comment is concerned...
Maybe you need to look at yourself and re-think the assimilation argument, it's you who can't accept those who have assimilated such as myself.
I'm in here debating as an American, free to speak my mind and free to defend my opinion on the way this country should run itself, yet, the moment that I say something that you don't are with, you immediately make the asinine comment that you made, throw in a veiled race card (you have no idea who or what I resemble), and try to subjugate my right as an American to opine freely on the business of America.
I AM an American...obviously a better one than you.
The FCC is disallowed that by the Constitution.
Doubt it. They used the number, probably not the name that matches it.
Point being, this is one of the dirtiest secrets the Gov wishes the sheeple would not acknowledge. This money just gets absorbed by the system. The failing SS system that is supposed to be saved by allowing Illegals GREATER access to funds they now do not claim.
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