Common Sense on Immigration

Officials in both major parties continue to be paralyzed by political
correctness and bureaucratic sclerosis. They have yet to come to grips with the reality of homicidal America-haters lurking at our doorstep--evildoers whose modus operandi is to infiltrate our country, then kill us.—Gilchrist for Congress

...most economists concur that immigration has reduced the wages of
native workers with relatively little education and few skills. But for the remainder of the U.S. workforce, the impact has not been significant…

From an economic standpoint, the evidence seems clear that draconian measures such as massive deportations or major reductions in legal immigration levels would be counterproductive to the United States and its citizens.—Immigration, Jobs, and the American Economy Greg Anrig, Jr., Tova Andrea Wang, The Century Foundation, 9/29/2004

Immigrants pay on average $3000 each to smugglers. Why not have the immigrants pay America the $3000 and create a system under which we can monitor who is coming into the country and what they are doing? I propose that the government establish ICE centers at the borders. Those wishing to enter the country will pay the $3000 to ICE (US Immigration, Customs and Enforcement Agency). ICE will take the immigrant's photograph, fingerprints, and administer tuberculosis and other health tests. The immigrants must tell us where they are going to live and where they plan on working. With that information, and the payment, the immigrant can enter the country.—Steve Young for Congress

President George W. Bush appointed Christopher Cox, now former Republican congressman from the 48th district in Orange County, California, to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. The congressional vacancy Cox left required a special congressional election, which was held November 8, and the top-voted candidates now are up for the grand finale election on December 6, 2005.

The 48th district is well known throughout the country as a notoriously “red” hold out in an otherwise predominantly “blue” state. The sparse liberals in the district are surrounded by the decidedly conservative and even reactionary crowd, who love George W. no matter what he does or says, and fear Latino immigrants even while employing them by the hoards.

Fear will getcha. It is the emblem of demagogues. It was Hitler’s rocket fuel. Stupidity is forgivable. Ignorance is correctable. Willful ignorance is the downfall of us all.

Gilchrist and his flock sitting on the border with their binocs, vigilantes accomplishing nothing but gaining press coverage—do they think these people, these human beings coming in droves from south of the US/Mexican border, are a big, unified, criminal-terrorist mob? Do they think they are less worthy of the rights of man guaranteed by the US Constitution than native-born citizens by virtue of a border line drawn on a map? Do they think these people who were not born in the United States of America, and are not citizens of this great nation, are not capable of living up to the standards of US citizenship? Do Gilchrist and his followers think about anything but hatred, and vengeance, and fear?

And what’s with Steve Young? He knows he can’t win in the 48th district, with its mindset on Republican red, and Bush, and protection from evil, and NIMBY? What’s his effort worth? I think I know. I remember when Joe Duffy ran as the anti-Vietnam War candidate from Connecticut for US Senate in 1970. Tom Dodd, a friend of my family’s, was the incumbent Democrat and he was pro-war, behind Nixon. This was anomalous to anyone with a conscience at that time, similar to what is starting to happen now with the anti-Iraq War tide.

They still told us (“they” were the establishment, and “us” were the haphazard liberal anti-War crowd) we were pushing against a stone wall. Duffy ran on the motto that one man can make a difference. He miraculously defeated Dodd in the Democratic senatorial primary. The anti-war movement indeed was viable and alive.

Then Duffy ran against Republican Lowell Weicker, and Dodd as the Independent candidate—Weicker won when Dodd split the Democratic vote. This worked out well, it turns out, because the moderate and strong voice of Weicker on the House Judiciary Committee was instrumental in bringing down Nixon and his corrupt paranoid presidency.

So Steve Young’s intelligent voice, in the midst of the din of fear and ignorance, can make a difference. The solution he has outlined is a giant leap ahead of the indifference and confusion present in federal guidelines for immigration.

Immigration policies in the United States are contradictory and often confusing, alternately welcoming illegal immigrants to the country and telling them to go away…

"What we have now is a dishonest immigration policy," said Mark Krikorian, who runs the conservative Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C. "We make it tough to get across the border but easy to get a job. This is really the central conflict. Everything stems from that."

…Much of the nation's wavering on illegal immigration stems from a lack of national direction, say academics and other experts.— Policies on Illegal Immigrants at Odds,By Anna Gorman and Jennifer Delson,Los Angeles Times, 11/27/05

8 to 10 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States, and they are not going back home. This issue has solutions which Steve Young and others can imagine and articulate. They need the help of caring, compassionate, tolerant fellow citizens, not gun-toting Texas Ranger wannabes stalking the border in the name of justice and freedom—they only represent tyranny and endless struggle.

Steve Young may not be the next congressman from the 48th district, but his voice of reason just won’t go away.