Arizona, Congress, and the Immigration Mess

Published on May 11, 2010 in Michael Scaperlanda. 1 Comment

In an essay, posted on Public Discourse this morning, I weigh in on the immigration law recently enacted in Arizona, putting that problematic law in the context of a quarter century of failure by the federal government to stem the tide of illegal immigration. Recognizing the dignity of every human being and the duty of the state to protect the common good of its citizens, I then offer a three-pronged solution to our current immigration mess.

1 Response to “Arizona, Congress, and the Immigration Mess”

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David
May 11, 2010 at 8:44 am

I cannot speak to international law. But I cannot believe that Vattel was speaking of something less than mass starvation or genocide. America already has the most generous legal immigration policy and attitude towards that policy. But even opening that window by a reasonable percentage isn’t what you and others are after. Ultimately a path to citizenship alters what the southwest will look like forever. It’s a permanent demographic shift to the tune of some 13 million persons (conservatively).

This isn’t humanitarian relief, it’s social engineering.

Saying that it really stinks to live in Mexico and central America so that means we have to let anyone in need of a job cross the border doesn’t qualify under such humanitarian principles. Moreover, we do not have a migratory population, we have a dislocated population. Watching the rallies, seeing the Mexican flag waved and the calls for reclaiming of Aztlán speak of a movement of persons more interested in socio-political disruption than in humanitarian relief.

And with them comes the organized crime of which Arizona finally had it’s fill. Or perhaps you’d like to come out to live in California where the one-two punch of federally mandated services and public service unions are breaking the state? Or in LA or San Diego where authorities refuse to even enforce the most basic vagrancy laws allowing whole camps to be setup in parks and the most vile sorts of crime (child slavery, particularly girls as young as 10 being kidnapped and forced into prostitution).

I’m neither defending nor condemning Arizona’s law. I’ve seen more rhetoric than fact about it and I’m convinced that how its implemented is probably 90% of it’s impact whereas its text a mere 10%.

But this continued insistence that there is an obligation to raise the crime rate, destroy communities and depress the wages of the working poor in America so that a few Mexicans (sure there are illegal Russians and Chinese and Brazilians, but we’re talking about wage inequities in a very narrow region as the source of the vast majority of the problem) can live better than their economic system can sustain is preposterous.

This is about political demographics and economic interests. Businesses want cheep labor (and to depress the labor costs of other sectors) and both political parties are desperate for a long term increase that a sustained support from Hispanics would provide.