Immigration Theater

Wall Street Journal ^ | 24 May 2008 | Editorial Staff

[shrinkermd]

Federal immigration officials raided an Iowa meatpacking plant this month... Nearly 400 of the plant's 900 employees were arrested on immigration charges. Do you feel safer?

Ever since immigration reform died in Congress last year, the Bush Administration has made a show of stepping up enforcement. But do homeland security officials really have nothing better to do than raid businesses that hire willing workers – especially in states like Iowa, where the jobless rate is 3.5%? These immigrants are obviously responding to a labor shortage for certain jobs. Giving them a legal way to enter the country would free up homeland security money and manpower to focus on real threats.

Meanwhile, back in Washington, lawmakers continue to ignore this economic reality and pretend that illegal immigration is nothing more than a law enforcement issue. The good news is that their latest attempt to turn employers into immigration police appears to have stalled.

The Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement Act (SAVE) was introduced by Heath Shuler, a North Carolina Democrat. The bill does nothing to increase legal immigration, which is the only realistic way to decrease illegal immigration. Instead, it throws more money at a mandatory employment verification system (E-Verify) for the nation's six million employers.

The Democrats never intended to pass the measure, mind you. While collecting co-sponsors, Mr. Shuler assured Democrats there would be no action this year.

Rahm Emanuel, the Blue Dog patron in the House leadership, told reporters that a recent Congressional Budget Office report had given him pause. The CBO estimated SAVE would cost more that $30 billion in lost tax revenues and spending because it would increase the number of employers and workers who resort to the black market outside of the tax system.

[dennisw]

Pre-Hart Celler laws discriminated against southern and eastern Europeans too. Nevertheless, those are some good points. We can’t all be king, however. ;-)

Bullcrap! (with all due respect)
If this were true we wouldn't have so many Italians, Polish and Greeks in America. And check out Chicago and the Midwest--- Teaming with Eastern and Central Europeans

[Clemenza]

WRONG! The laws passed in 1924 STRICTLY RESTRICTED immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe, and favored immigrants from Ireland and the UK. The Poles/Italians/Lugans mostly came BEFORE the 1924 laws:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Act_of_1924

[dennisw]

I stand corrected... But the 1924 Immigration act is preferable to the chaotic 3rd world dominated immigration of today which comes from Cellar-Hart-Kennedy

Not to mention the massive illegal immigration that eventually grew from Cellar-Hart-Kennedy

[Clemenza]

I think most rational people can agree that Kennedy-Hart-Cellar was a mistake. The sad thing is that many who do it privately do not dare do so in public, including many Democrats.

[chesley]

I’m certainly not disagreeing with you. But it will be atacked as RACIST, you know.

[Liz]

If I were king of America I would build a border fence, reduce legal/illegal Mexican immigration to zero and allow 400,000 Europeans (real Europeans not Muslims living in Europe) to immigrate here each year with preferences for educated English speakers and those learning English. This was pretty much our immigration policy before the Ted Kennedy immigration acts of 1965 which changed our emphasis on immigration from Europe to immigration from the 3rd world.

Sounds good to me. I get just as rankled by legal immigration as illegal.

Once recent case involved the brutal murders of three legal Korean immigrants (who are touted as hard-working business and professional people). In this case, the Koreans were living in an upscale neighbothood. When L/E came in, they found evidence of extensive ID theft and credit card fraud, huge amounts of cash, and large numbers of casino chips. Seems a young Korean friend did the deed---when apprehended, was found carrying $88K cash, the victims' credit cards and casino chips.

[television is just wrong]

I will not feel safer til they remove all of the illegal aliens from Southern California.

[dennisw]

Legal and illegal immigrants can pursue criminality with more carefree abandon than Americans. Because they know they can always flee back to their homeland and get away with it.

My guess is 95% of the time a criminal immigrant who flees America will get away with it. Never be extradited. Judges encourage this by granting bail in the first place. It’s an invitation to scram

[dennisw]

I think most rational people can agree that Kennedy-Hart-Cellar was a mistake.....

Maybe 5% of Americans are aware of it and how much this law changed immigration

[dennisw]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanuel_Celler

He was German and Jewish. He wanted more Catholics and Jews to be allowed in. He was a freshman when he saw the 1924 immigration restrictions pass. He worked in Congress for 40+ years to get rid of them. It was his life mission

[Liz]

Outrageous.........and legals calculatedly get US citizenship b/c it eases travel back and forth to their homeland.....NOT b/c they yearn for freedom and democracy.

[Clemenza]

Correct. Manny Celler was something of a legend in NY politics.

What many people seem to forget is the role played by the "ethnic associations" and the Catholic Church, to say nothing of organizations like the UJA in lobbying for a more open immigration policy. At the time (1950s and early 1960s), many white ethnic neighborhoods were seeing an influx of blacks from the south. As a result, many thought that by liberalizing immigration laws, that they could replenish existing neighborhoods in the face of the black influx. Jackson-Vanick was also passed with many of the same intentions (Brighton Beach was on the verge of becoming a black/Puerto Rican area until the Refuseniks were let in under J/V).

For the first decade and a half, the largest groups coming in were from Greece and Portugal, with a sizeable Italian influx until 1970. When the western European economies improved, immigration shifted to Asia, Latin American, and the Middle East starting in the late 1970s.

[gitmo]

The bill does nothing to increase legal immigration, which is the only realistic way to decrease illegal immigration.

Huh. When I lived in Guantanamo Bay, we had very little illegal immigration. There was a fenceline. And some landmines. A whole lot of them. And some US Marines with machine guns. And some heavy artillery. And the waters had sharks. And barracudas.

But we did it without increasing legal immigration.

[shrinkermd]

I wonder how many of those posting know the following: (1) In a given 12 month period 1.3 million illegals are apprehended and returned; (2)And, since 2005, the previous policy of returning illegals to the community to await trail has been averted because it now takes only 19 days instead of over 90 to process and deport an illegal.

Many are assuming nothing is being done. They are in error. In respect to the fence, remember in many areas of the US 40% of illegals got here legally—visas and shopping—and have just overstayed.

All of these problems would diminish appreciably with picture id; however, many of those crying, whining about not big enough a fence would appose such an id because of the “show me your papers” possibility. Finally, remember the long border with Canada and our extensive coastline. Those believing a simple fence will protect our borders are mistaken.

[dennisw]

I wonder how many of those posting know the following: (1) In a given 12 month period 1.3 million illegals are apprehended and returned; (2)And, since 2005, the previous policy of returning illegals to the community to await trail has been averted because it now takes only 19 days instead of over 90 to process and deport an illegal.

Where are these 1.3 million illegals apprehended? In Wisconsin? In California? In Kansas? In New York?

This is a serious question. The answer is the vast vast majority are apprehended very near the border and sent back to Mexico. Many are returned 3,4,5 times and more

If you think 1.3 million are arrested and deported from the greater United States you are dead wrong. This activity is just about all at the border and within 50 miles of the border which is how far the US Border Patrol ranges

[shrinkermd]

My source is Karl Rove on the Radio. I doubt he could say this if this were not true; the RATS would pillory him.

He also indicated 1 out of 20 of those paying payroll taxes are illegal. Paranoid, conspiracy theories aside, there can be no question that illegals are an important part of the labor pool.

[MARTIAL MONK]

Eight years ago the State of Iowa was openly advertising for and recruiting illegals as a way to reverse the population decline of the state.

[dennisw]

With all due respect read again what I said-— These are not deportations from deep inside the interior United States. They are deportations from the border areas. Karl Rove did not lie. He just spun about the 1.3 million yearly deportations

[shrinkermd]

Oh, now I understand. If we don't catch them in Wisconsin they don't count or is it, if we catch them near the border they don't count?

We do agree that 1.3 million illegals are being apprehended and returned. Harder to do is the 40%, in many areas, that have overstayed their visas or other legal means of entry. Not even a 100 foot fence on the Mexican border can remedy that.

[dennisw]

Oh, now I understand. If we don't catch them in Wisconsin they don't count or is it, if we catch them near the border they don't count?

That's exactly correct. The only deportations that count for me are from the greater United States. Apprehending illegals on the border of Texas or Arizona and sending them straight back to Mexico is a lot easier. Though I acknowledge how hard the Border Patrol works

When most people think of deportations they think of someone from their city or county being caught and deported. Not Mexicans caught at the border being gaveled through mass hearings and sent on busses back to Mexico. And that is EXACTLY what 95% of the 1.3 million deportations are. People rushed back to Mexico where most of the time they try agains and again and again