Open borders, anyone?
Posted by E Van Staaveren on Tue, 04/15/2014
by Elizabeth Van Staaveren
In Thomas Stewart’s opinion piece, “The influx of people has a long, rich history,” (Oregonian, 4/6), we hear the voice of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce loud and clear, a voice that is always calling for more and more cheap labor. To sensible citizens, this sales talk for open borders falls flat.
First, the U.S. has not “always been a nation of immigrants.” It was founded by colonists almost entirely from England and the British Isles at a time when “immigrant” was a word in little use. They were colonists, not immigrants; there was no nation here in the usual sense of the word. For many years after the U.S. became a nation, “immigration” was negligible.
We’ve been blessed with many wonderful immigrants who have contributed much to advance the U.S. In recent years, however, for each immigrant founder of a Fortune 500 company, there probably are a million or more other immigrants who simply add to the population.
Stewart argues for keeping immigrant Ph.D. holders, but why shouldn’t they return to their own countries and devote their talents to improving the quality of life of their fellow citizens? That would be a good thing. We should expect them to use their knowledge to help their own countries and in their own countries.
U.S. citizens don’t object to limited numbers of immigrants. and we welcome those who truly contribute unusual abilities not found here. Nor do we object to giving safe harbor to a fair share of the world’s bona fide refugees. We do object to huge numbers of unskilled immigrants. This country already has more than enough people to do unskilled labor. It’s a fact that recent high immigration levels have already depressed wages and income, especially among the most vulnerable populations of citizens who do unskilled labor. Joblessness is shockingly high and many people have been out of work for more than a year.
Our visa system is riddled with fraud, in all categories, but especially in the H-1B group. It has allowed companies to fire citizens and replace them with foreign workers that are kept in a kind of indentured servitude, paid less than American wages, and made afraid to complain.
There has not been adequate immigration law enforcement for many decades. At this point, the most humane step would be to make E-Verify mandatory for all employers, for both new hires and current work forces. E-Verify, the federal program that now enables employers to check the legal status of new hires, is accurate, despite false accusations made against it. It is ready for expansion. Over half a million honest, patriotic employers use it voluntarily, like it, give it high marks.
We should have another amnesty, Mr. Stewart? No! Seven amnesties have been enacted in Congress beginning in 1986, each one only resulting in more waves of illegal immigration. Any proposal giving legalization of any sort to illegal aliens is amnesty and is wrong morally, economically, and socially.
There is not, as Stewart blithely claims, an unlimited capacity of this or any other country to absorb immigrants. The U.S. is overpopulated now. Our natural environment is in tatters from too many people. Based on Census figures, the Center for Immigration Studies estimated that 80.4% of population growth between 2000 and 2010 was due to immigration (immigrants and children of immigrants.) We need to reduce population by setting a moratorium on immigration for an extended period.
No nation can retain sovereignty without controlling its territorial borders and immigration into the country – witness Ukraine.
