Victor Davis Hanson: Our Brave New World of Immigration

Real Clear Politics ^ | May 25, 2006 | Victor Davis Hanson

[JustPiper]

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[backhoe]

Such mayhem is no longer an uncommon occurrence here. I have had four cars slam into our roadside property, with the drivers running off, leaving behind damaged vines and trees, and wrecked cars with phony licenses and no record of insurance. I have been broadsided by an undocumented driver, who ran a stop sign and then tried to run from our collision.

This has become routine in my small southern city.

The local press won't report it, so it's up to talk radio to cover the subject.

The daughter of a friend of mine was T-boned at the Palmetto Cemetary intersection- she wasn't hurt, but her car was totaled. The driver and all passengers bailed out of their car and ran away.

The police claimed "there's nothing we can do about it."

Their attitude baffles me- there is a paper trail associated with any vehicle- the last owner to license and insure it, if nothing else. He has to know who he sold it to, even if they neglected to get a plate and insurance.

[Smartass]

Thanks for the good, and informative article.

 

[VOA]

"I'm here to tag my new car. My old car got totalled the other day.
The other guy jumped out of his car and ran away. Cops haven't caught him.
Probably illegal."


That's what a fellow standing in line with me at the DMV in Los Angeles
(on Cloverfield in West LA/Santa Monica area) told me when I was getting my
CA license in 1995.

[TheLion]

Bttt

[La Enchiladita]

Poignant article.

[Fury]

But the real problem is that we, the hosts, are also different from our predecessors. Today we ask too little of too many of our immigrants. We apparently don't care whether they come legally or learn English - or how they fare when they're not at work. Nor do we ask all of them to accept the brutal bargain of an American melting pot that rapidly absorbs the culture of an immigrant in exchange for the benefits of citizenship.

Absolute slam dunk. Home run.

Many immigrants end up sending money back to Mexico, while suckling at the teat of the US and state government for health care, schooling, food stamps, etc, etc. Until there is an disincentive to not send money back to the "old country", and folks are absorbed into the American melting pot, there problem will continue to get worse. Of all the possible writings, I think Dr. Hansons's writings on the immigration problem are the best, and his solution seems reasonable.

[okie01]

Let this thing go to trial!!!

No such luck. The federal government is immune from tort suits -- unless they volunteer to be sued.

[Hildy]

How about individual suits? I saw an episode of BOSTON LEGAL last month where a foreigner sued the government...so..why can't I?

[okie01]

Unless the government agrees that a.) it is liable for your claim and b.) you are free to sue, you are out of luck.

[Hildy]

What if someone who has lost a husband or wife to an illegal alien suing the government for not doing their job of controlling the border?

[okie01]

Your past my pay grade. I'm just aware that there are severe limitations on an individual's (or class') inability to hold the government liable for damages in a tort case.

I'm not a scriptwriter for Boston Legal, or anytbing...

[dljordan]

"For many on the Left, I sincerely doubt that it is empathy, more like a calculated strategy to add to their voter base."

I respectfully disagree with you. Some high level strategists may see it that way but Joe Blow Progressive really "feels" for these people. They're starry eyed and utopian in their outlook and have "Kumbaya" on constant replay in the back of their minds. These folks really do think with their "feelings" and believe borders and sovereignty are an anachronism. They want to help their fellow man and feel good about themselves in the bargain, unless of course you're a conservative or religious person and then they wouldn't have any compunction about shipping you off to the camps.

[little jeremiah]

BTTT and later read.

[Kozak]

"Indeed almost one-tenth of Mexico's population currently lives here illegally!"

Which given the extent of kinship, and the "chain immigration" aspect of granting them amnesty means probably most of the remaining population of Mexico will be eligible to come to El Norte as well.

[Kozak]

Their babies, in their minds, cement them to the new life in El Norte.

In fact not just in their mind. Every stroller is dragging an anchor.

[GOPJ]

Many Americans - perhaps out of understandable and well-meant empathy for the dispossessed who toil so hard for so little - support this present open system of non-borders.

Or perhaps out of greed -- or a lack of understanding that there's no free lunch -- or perhaps an inability to look beyond a short term gain to see the long term disaster. Perhaps, indeed.

[GOPJ]

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