You must have overlooked what I wrote, i.e.,
I agree that illegal immigration needs to be stopped no matter where it comes from, but where it does come from, primarily from Mexico and Latin America, does matter. And so do our legal immigration policies, which are changing dramatically the demographics of this country. There will be growing political tensions and consequences as this elephant in the room grows and grows.
I don't know if you read the two links I provided in my repsonse, but there is a definite link between illegal and legal immigration. No one is disputing that all illegal immigration is wrong, but you can't discuss this issue without understanding the causes and why the problem exists.
It has nothing to do with political correctness or Islamic fundamentalists.
It does. Legal and illegal immigration are changing the demographics of this country. The two are related. Political correctness prevents a candid discussion of what is happening. Legal immigration is out of control just as much as illegal immigration. We need to fix both. They are two sides of the same coin.
No country can financially withstand an onslaught of lawbreakers and underground economy workers in the presence of huge government giveaways. It's about survival of the U.S.A.
We agree on that point.
I read everything you wrote and don’t believe I overlooked anything. We just disagree on certain things. I also scanned both of the documents at the links you posted.
Here is the thing (IMO): Illegal immigration and legal immigration are two different animals. Sure, they have some interrelated effects, but the two are easily separable in my mind. Those who try to tie the two together are those who believe that the U.S. cannot withstand the impact of enforcing our laws. That’s about as logical as those who would free dangerous criminals because jails are crowded.
The easy issue is illegal immigration. It must stop—Now! Existing laws should be enforced, including a crackdown on businesses who hire illegals as their workforce. Including interior enforcement. Including border control. Including federal withholding of dollars to cities providing sanctuary. The result should be an outflow of aliens back to their native land, or some other country (no longer our problem). By stopping the inflow of illegal aliens, and incentivizing the departure of those already here (Big Stick), we stop the continuation of the anchor baby effect. Overall, we’ve made some progress.
As to legal immigration, I don’t see the structure or laws being a problem. Perhaps their strategy or policies need revising. The issues outlined in the two papers you cited should be genuine considerations in developing sound domestic LEGAL immigration policy for the long term. Some of those factors should include the ability of the economy to absorb new citizens without harming the existing population (jobs, schools, infrastructure), the speed at which various groups are assimilating, education levels, etc. Instead of sound policy, we have seen the legal process poorly implemented, probably influenced by the overwhelming reality of millions of illegal immigrants. A sound LEGAL immigration policy cannot be effected until ILLEGAL immigration is addressed and stopped.
Now, I don’t know what in the above requires anyone to be particularly P.C. about anything. Perhaps that would come to light in establishing a LEGAL immigration policy. But you alluded several times to the “ethnic” component. I don’t share that concern. In most ways, I have much more in common with folks from Mexico than I do with people from France. I certainly would not like to see immigration quotas disproportionately favoring groups who come from communist countries or others who do not share some of the same values as the United States. I guess I don’t think of that as “ethnic,” so every time someone implies that this all comes down to race, I react. It doesn’t for many of us.
As to immigration changing the demographics—well, yes. It always has and it always will. I guess there are folks who are against any kind of immigration as a result. I’m not one of them and I don’t think ElkGroveDan, or any significant number of freepers fit that category.
I’m going to stop now... I know I didn’t capture all of my thoughts, but you get the idea. I’m tired and I feel like I am rambling.