The Great Immigrant Debacle

I'm a little surprised that the supporters of amnesty... well, what do we call these people anyway? You can't call them pro-immigration, because I haven't met anyone yet - even those opposed to illegal immigrants - who is anti-immigrant. I'm sure there are some people out there like that, but they're the fringe, for sure. Besides, I have no problem welcoming immigrants to this country who follow the law, and adopt the language and customs of America as their own (this is what immigrants to this country have done for a long time).

Are supporters rightly called pro-illegal immigration?

Well, I'm settling on amnesty advocates. The amnesty advocates have organized marches for May 1, vowing to "close" major cities as immigrants walk off the job or walk out of school. Funny that this coincides with May Day, that old Communist/workers day celebration.

If you had to dream up a public action most likely to alienate people who you want to support you, this would take top honors. This would be like asking the Republicans to develop the new motto for the Democrat party (motto: "We're Interested In Your Money").

We'll see how the marches go. There's one in Chicago, and I for one am glad I'm not working in the city anymore. Part of me hopes that they further embarrass themselves and damage their cause, but I think that's been done already.

My perspective on this is one of American exceptionalism. This country is special, and I can understand why people would want to come here. But there is no basis for granting amnesty - none - that stands up to logic. The cost objection (deporting people is impracticable) is often floated, but that is easily handled by removing social benefits and services from access by non-citizens. Suddenly, crossing into this country illegally doesn't seem like such a great idea if there's no chance that you can be taken care of in times of need.

I'll have more to say on this after the marches, and I'm hoping that once we get this blog set up in a team format, my fellow Federalists will add their two tyrant-heads to the discussion.