It's Time for Immigration Reform

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It's Time for Immigration Reform

News article after news article on immigration characterizes anyone who

opposes the current level of immigration as anti-immigrant. This is

biased and deceitful. It's like saying that anyone who doesn't want 10

or 12 children is anti-children. The truth is that many people are

pro-immigration but recognize that the present level of immigration is

unsustainable and will eventually be detrimental to Americans and

immigrants alike.

One often-used irrelevant argument is that we are a nation of

immigrants. While true, it does not shed light on the question of how

many immigrants should be admitted annually and what should be the

criteria for admission. To understand the issue, we must focus on the

numbers involved. Although the Census Bureau has not released the

number of immigrants for fiscal 1997, most analysts believe that at

least 1 million legal and between 300,000 to 500,000 illegal immigrants

are entering the U.S. each year. This is about four times the number

who came to America annually during the 1950s and 1960s.

Even this does not put the issue in perspective, however. The crux of

the problem is the cumulative impact. At present rates of immigration,

the U.S. population will increase by up to 200 million persons in the

next 50 to 60 years. Even if all immigration were halted today--and few

persons are suggesting such a draconian policy--we will still add up to

80 million people due to the children and grandchildren from the wave

of immigrants that have entered the U.S. since 1970.

So what? Isn't this unending supply of cheap, compliant, hardworking

labor good for America...

... middle of paper ...

...impossible task of building a school every day.

Although poll after poll indicates that most American would like to see

immigration cut back to traditional levels (about 250,000 a year),

present immigration policy has been determined by a coalition of

businesses who benefit from a limitless supply of cheap labor,

immigration lawyers, immigrant lobbies and naive do-gooders who think

that bringing in 1 million of the world's 4 billion poor will somehow

reduce world poverty.

Americans, like most people, tend to live for the moment, with little

thought for the future. The hundreds of billions of dollars that are

being expended to correct the Y2K computer problem were totally

unnecessary with just a modicum of forethought. What can a nation do

when it discovers it is overpopulated? Ask China and India.

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