A Conservative Look at Immigration

I read an article today in the UK Telegraph by Tim Stanley entitled Mexican Death Cult is fueling America's Anti-Immigration Backlash: This is about Crime, not Race. Of course, Stanley is writing for an audience in the UK, that doesn't truly understand American conservatism. Even so, I have generally liked Stanley's writing. But this time, I think he misses the mark just a little bit.

First of all, illegal immigration is itself a crime. That's why it is called "illegal."  One hates to state the obvious, but sometimes it is necessary for clarity.  The moment these people crossed the border, they committed a crime, no matter what else they may do.  Often, they also trespass on private property.  If all they do is leave a mess for the owner to clean up, he can count himself lucky.  People have had property destroyed, and have been murdered on their own property by illegal aliens. Now, if these people wanted to go about the process of coming here legally, simply to work, the State Department has programs to give temporary workers status as legal aliens. Such a status gives these people the full protection of our laws, a valuable thing to have in a foreign country. The State Department would also screen for criminal behavior and possible diseases, which is valuable to us. Stanley got that part right, it is about crime, not about race.  What's more, they can obtain a drivers license legally, buy property, and most other things a citizen can do. Why don't they go that route?  One suspects it is a certain disdain for law, which in their country of origin is a terrible joke that varies from place to place depending on who you ask.

Second, the claim is made frequently by Leftists, and the open borders Libertarians, that these "undocumented workers" are just here for a better life.  They will do the jobs Americans won't do.  I heard Bob Beckel repeat this lie just the other night on Fox News The Five. Of course, it is not true that Americans won't do some things, but rather that Americans won't do them for the price employers are willing to pay. Americans would do many of these jobs for the right price. Beckel says that nobody wants to hang wall board, for example. But I have a nephew who would jump at the chance. Hanging wallboard pays good money. But the Mexicans have largely taken over the work, and he finds himself aced out of the market. Americans built this country, and did all the dirty jobs that come along with building something great. Now, employers, for competitive advantage, want to use illegal Mexican labor to keep wages low. I remember years ago having a conversation with a Leftist about the topic, when the Leftist blurted that he did not want to pay $10 for a head of lettuce. Therefore the selfish...pr..er...person, was willing to keep a bunch of illegal aliens down on the plantation to pick his lettuce.  I said I doubted that lettuce would ever get to $10 per head. Something else would inevitably be done to reduce costs. Perhaps a mechanical lettuce picker would be invented. And, right on time, so it has. But orders for the mechanical picker are not coming in. Why would that be?

Which brings us to the third item, the exploitation of these people because we can. Because they are not legal, and therefore have no status here, they take the wages offered, which are admittedly better than Mexico. This is very close to slavery. People should not be treated like this in this country. It does nothing but breed resentment that their children, because of their own choices by the way, can not advance and take their place in society. But that raises yet another problem: assimilation.

In past waves of immigration, it was typical that the parents often remained in enclaves where they knew everyone, and everyone spoke the same language. But their children learned English. By the second generation, these recent immigrants had become fully assimilated into the American way of life. For many, they retained some of their own traditions, usually associated with holiday celebration, but they had adopted the American traditions as their own. But because of a stubborn belief that all cultures are equal, there is no incentive for the illegal Spanish speaking immigrants to assimilate, or to learn English.

I think a few examples will suffice to show that multiculturalism and nonjudgementalism are loony moombattery and utter hogwash. First example: is a cannibalistic tribe in the jungles of South America equal to a republic founded on the principles that each individual has a right to life, liberty, and property? Really, you can say that? OK, then: Does a tribal culture that believes in treating women as property, and in beheading apostates and hanging homosexuals equal to a society in which women have rights and property rights, and in which homosexuality is tolerated, even if not accepted as the best lifestyle?  How about this, would you rather live in a society that officially offers free healthcare, free education, and a host of other "free" stuff, but delivers on none of them (and prevents you from doing it yourself) or a society that says you can have anything you can pay for, and where even their poor people have automobiles, television sets, air conditioning, and are often rather plump.  I will tell you that if you ask the average legal immigrant, they will without hesitation say that the latter culture in each of the examples is heads and shoulders superior to the ones they left behind.

As a conservative, I demand that anyone entering our country must first and foremost respect our laws. America is a nation based not on blood and soil, but on a Great Idea. That Great Idea is that everyone has a right to life, liberty, and property, and that no man is above the law. Anyone who wishes to share in that Great Idea, and is willing to do what it takes to get here legally is welcome. I understand that the process has become onerous and expensive, and I think we need reforms to change that. However, having been tricked once before into supporting amnesty with the promise of border enforcement, and never getting the border enforcement, I am now unwilling to be tricked again.  If the Leftists truly believe what they say about America being a nation of immigrants, then they would be insisting on assimilation too.  We can not be a nation, if we speak many languages, and have differing customs and traditions.  The only way we can be a nation is by assimilation, and if the immigrants do not believe America is the superior culture, they don't have to come here.