President Trump's announced goal to overhaul our creaky, leaky, and harmful immigration system seems a good start. As with any new proposal, of course, many questions exist which need answering.
I like the idea of FINALLY putting the emphasis on merit for immigration, including some level of English-language proficiency, and not just so-called "family reunification." According to some pundits, take that for what it's worth, the Trump proposal would make merit the basis for immigration in about 57% of cases as opposed to the current level of about 13%. That's a good start.
To digress a moment into the Diplostore of memories, I will never forget a frustrated nuclear physicist, who spoke beautiful English, and who desperately wanted to immigrate to the US, but had no family ties here. I tried to help him as much as I could legally, and ended up helping get him a job offer from a major university; off he went as a "temporary" worker with the hope of maybe getting some sort of adjustment of status eventually. I don't know what eventually happened. It was absurd. Every day on the visa line in that same country we sent hundreds of poor and unskilled people to the US just because they had a parent, a sibling, or a child who had "somehow" gotten into the US, adjusted status, and now sought to bring all his or her relatives.
The proposal is short on key details. I am particularly concerned about the numbers of immigrants. The proposal doesn't seem to address that. How many immigrants do we really need? Emphasis on NEED. We certainly don't need that bizarre lottery system, nor do we need adults petitioning for adult siblings.
I would favor a temporary halt to virtually all immigration--I imagine you would have to make an exception for spouses and minor children of a US citizen--until we figure out what we need as a country. We might, for example, want to adopt more child friendly tax and other legal structures to encourage Americans to have more children instead of importing workers from abroad.
Our first priority should be to take care of our own. Any immigration that depresses wages, become a drain on public resources, denies jobs to qualified Americans, and fosters criminal activity . . . well, I'd say we don't need it. We have lots of homegrown criminals willing and able to commit crime.
Let's see how this plays out in 2020.
"But I want to help the desperate people from foreign countries... (by bringing them into the US on *your* tax dollars and inserting them into *your* community without concern for crime rates or cohesion.)"
ReplyDelete"What? You want to put my dear foreign desperates on MY street?"
It's admirable to help the homeless and needy, but these supposedly bleeding hearts only want "other people" to make the sacrifices. "Well I tried, I voted for 'the good guy', and for higher taxes on other people, and it didn't work, so there's nothing more I can do to help."
Voting is not a beatitude.
- reader #1482
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ReplyDeleteToo bad Emma Lazarus wassn’t more clear-eyed and pragmatic.
ReplyDeleteToo true.
DeleteL. Cohen
Delete. . .
Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by
You can spend the night beside her
And you know that she's half crazy
But that's why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer
That you've always been her lover
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For you've touched her perfect body with your mind
And Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
From his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said "All men will be sailors then
Until the sea shall free them"
But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
And you want to travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you'll trust him
For he's touched your perfect body with his mind
Now Suzanne takes your hand
And she leads you to the river
She is wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters
And the sun pours down like honey
On Our Lady of the Harbour
And she shows you where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror
. . .
~~~OW~~~
ReplyDeleteCaveat: What follows is from someone who read Mr. Amselem's post with a lot of respect and sympathy.
But I'm not so sure I'm anti family reunification (and God forbid that I should ever speak against the skills-based route that brought one of my brothers-in-law to these shores). I teach ESOL in a heavily Hispanic community (with numbers of Horn of Africa people, Vietnamese, etc. as well). Yes, some are from poor and marginal backgrounds. But I have seen some extended families with lots of uncles, aunts, and cousins which seem to be a stabilizing factor in the lives of poorer people--including to the point where some of my students from such clans have gone off to college on scholarship (in STEM, no less), or to respectable training programs. But I should also say that such extended families also came legally under the system we now have.
I'll also challenge the meme that these immigrants do not want to assimilate. My wife has a night job teaching ESOL to adults; and I've known a lot of limited English parents, aunts, and uncles who'd jump at easily accessible classes in ESOL and negotiating American life.
I've also seen the problems we import. Further, I would love to see the organizers of the Central American caravans arrested for both human trafficking and endangering the lives of minors (as I think about those children who died in custody both here and in Mexico).
But, at this point, as both a former consular officer and a current teacher and citizen, I can only say that I think the immigration issue is very knotty and difficult.
It's mainly a question of speed. There's 'infinity' like the open borders crowd, and then there's 'zero' like many of our allies and gentrified areas of San Francisco. Changes like Vancouver/Richmond BC, where the population goes from somewhere like 95% english speaking to 5% english speaking in a decade result in a loss of the country in its entirety. It's slightly mitigated by Hong Kong having been a british colony, but still.
DeleteIMO, It's not about changing the nature of America as being a land of opportunity, but rather seeking to keep it a country at all. There are practical ways to implement that, and one of them is stopping illegal crossings and another is limiting the up-tree genealogical sprawl.
- reader #1482
@1482: I'm also for maintaining ourselves as a nation-state, even if defining what we are as a "nation" (in the 19th century European sense) is problematic. One of the first of my extended clan on these shores took his Civil War orders (a Wisconsin regiment) in his native German, and, I understand there were some enemies from Texas who took theirs in Spanish.
DeleteOne reason why I'm for, at minimum, enforcement and fair application of the laws we already have and clamping down on illegal immigration is because one of the things that makes us "work" (and, as well, attract immigration) is our rule of law.
I think the emphasis is against the liberal "America: The Global Homeless Shelter" but rather to try to make America "better through immigration".
DeleteI support homeless shelters and encourage people to provide help to those in need.
However, I don't take money at gunpoint from people to give to my favorite shelters. This is the aim of big-government open-borders goons. By voting for some idiot who promises free stuff and to bring all the third world in and feed them, lefties often believe they are "doing something for the needy". That vote, in their minds, absolves them from the responsibility for actually *doing* something for others. Now they can continue screaming at their neighbors, abusing others selfishly, refusing to commit to anything, and harassing/shooing the unappealing people out of their communities. After all, they voted to 'love their neighbor', so they're covered, right? :)
Many of these people would feel differently if they actually extended mercy *personally* and focused on the people in their lives, rather than the people watching their facebook feed and the people they'll never ever meet in their lives.
"I'm doing my part, I voted for that one guy who's going to take money from people other than me, and do what I'm supposed to do with it. Meanwhile, I've gotta grab my non-fat soy latte, be right back."
A lefty, imo, is a non-practicing Christian, whether they think they're atheist or what not. :)
For a laugh:
Millenials International (adopt an apathetic millenial)
- reader #1482
Touching #...who knew the struggles they've endured, no more Trump Sign in the yard, I'm reaching out, and creating SAFE SPACE for these poor afflicted kids to recover their ccCourage! All Donations Welcome! Please Forward to: PO Box #OU812 or Call BR549 with your pledge! WWJD~~~
DeleteAs in the 1920, we need to slow down immigration, since 1 out of 7 residents were born outside of the US. Need time to assimilate those now here.
ReplyDeleteReports are that the President will invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act to close the border. It has been used to quell riots when local police were overwhelmed.
Congratulations Australia!
ReplyDelete"Any immigration that ... fosters criminal activity. . . "well, I'd say we don't need it. We have lots of homegrown criminals willing and able to commit crime." WLA
ReplyDeleteSi Señor! -- and should the numero of Americano banditos, begin to drop off, duh Demoncratia Partee, will shorten all violent crime prisoner sentences so as to hire importante patriotic hombres to re-victimize citizens. And permisso to be the "herders of the flock" in perpetooity, and THE Criminalees shall have direct access to all the Ballot boxesses and Federale supplies of pistoles, bullets, and wimmins, as many as we collect! Saddle-up Compadres!
OW~~~Quixoticaly tilting and windmills```
"Let's Roll"
Interlude:
DeleteDulcinea 1965
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLXbV9iNUDk
"How many immigrants do we really need? Emphasis on NEED. "
ReplyDeleteAnd there's the rub. The growth at any cost crowd just want numbers to rent apartments, buy cars (used and or/new), buy clothing and food, etc.. IOW to "stimulate" economic activity. We are in the end stages of a Ponzi scheme that started in the 60s and they are desperate to keep it going, knowing that the end will be ugly.
Diversity will definitely not be our strength when the bubble bursts.
How many can we afford? California can barely house, educate, feed and water what she has, yet Sacramento wants to add more.
DeleteDiversity + proximity + time = war. Always.
DeleteFormer consular officer here. I joined the Foreign Service in the aftermath of the 1986 amnesty law and got to see the consequences (fraud and encouragement of more of the same) up close and personal in the Philippines and China. Saw the crazy diversity program in Montreal where it benefited not Canadians (silly idea) but rather third country nationals living in Canada (legally, mostly). Most of the diversity beneficiaries were poorly educated, no family ties, weak English skills.....normally would never have qualified otherwise. I support suspending most immigration while we revamp the current system. But since Congress has to be involved I have little to no confidence they will get it right.
ReplyDeleteI'm a scientist and have written probally 8 letters of support for guys applying for the Talent- of-american-interest/ genius visa (mostly indian but a few chinese). One time i calculated how many new americans i am directly responsible for (includes babies born to my postdoc and students). 58. Personally, also squeezed out 2 national merit scholars. Occurs to me that the immigrants might end up as my most pronounced legacy. So i would like to see immigration shut down completely for 20 yrs. nevertheless proud of the turds i helped get in:)
ReplyDeleteIf we go to a merit based system, I think we'll go from importing a working class to importing a ruling class.
ReplyDelete