Why illegal immigration is bad for both liberty and prosperity

By Seth Grossman, Executive Director

1. ?Immigration ?reform? began in 1965 when liberal Democrats like President Lyndon Johnson and Senator Ted Kennedy changed the existing law to allow 170,000 legal immigrants each year, mostly from Asian, African, and Latin American countries that were poor because of their anti-liberty, anti-American, and big government cultures.? Most Americans strongly opposed this new law, but both Republicans and Democrats in Congress promised the new law would have very little effect on the demographics of our country.? But the next 20 years proved that the American people were right, and our political elite was wrong.?? The new law completely changed the face of America?and brought in 3 million illegal immigrants by 1986.

1. In 1986, liberal Democrats like Senator Ted Kennedy, and Republican President Ronald Reagan passed a ?compromise? immigration ?reform? law to ?fix? the problem of illegal immigrants.?? More than 4 million ?long term? illegal immigrants were made legal, legal immigration was again increased for poor anti-liberty, anti-American, big government countries, and ??tough? new enforcement provisions were adopted to stop new illegal immigrants from coming in.

1. In the 1994 Democrat President Clinton and a Democrat Congress granted a second amnesty that legalized 578,000 illegal immigrants.??? Between 1997 and 2000, Democrat Clinton and a clueless Republican Congress agreed to four more amnesties that legalized 2.4 million illegal immigrants (and new Democrat voters) from Haiti, Mexico, ?and Central America. ????For the first time in our history, America was unable to teach English, and assimilate this massive number of legal immigrants into our American culture of liberty.

1. During the 1990?s, big corporations in the hotel, restaurant, farming, and meatpacking industries blatantly ignored the new law and continued to recruit and hire illegal immigrants.?? They used their political clout to block enforcement of the new law.??? During the past 18 years, Republican President George Bush, and Democrat Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, with the approval of both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, ordered federal immigration officers not to enforce immigration laws in those industries.? Later, the feds stopped almost all enforcement of immigration laws away from the border.??? They also directly and indirectly blocked state and local law enforcement officials from enforcing immigration laws.

1. It is impossible to stop people from illegally getting into our country through thousands of miles of borders and coastline.??? However, it is easy to identify and arrest illegal immigrants when they get ?here.?? Nothing is more stupid than spending more money to increase security at the borders, while doing NOTHING ?to enforce immigration laws inside our country.?? Think of how more people would rob banks, if? police announced that while security at banks was being increased, any bank robbers who made it out of the bank after the robbery would no longer be arrested?and would be allowed to keep all their stolen money!

1. Our refusal to enforce immigration laws also makes it impossible to enforce laws for foreign visitors. ?Any terrorist who visits our country with a short term 30 or 90 day visa (permit) can now stay as long as he or she wants, since no federal, state, or local law enforcement official is allowed to inspect his or her papers.

1. Illegal immigrants can?t be stopped, questioned, or arrested, unless they are caught committing other crimes.?? American citizens caught driving without ?licenses ?are told to ?promptly get a valid license, or face a stiffer penalties.?? Illegal immigrants caught driving without licenses are routinely let go after paying a small fine, and continue driving without licenses.

1. It is hard to measure the true costs of illegal immigration because they are hidden in the price of almost everything we buy–and because few government officials or academics want us to know.???? We do know that less than half of illegal immigrant income is paid ?on the books?, that most illegals report very low incomes, and much of that is offset by big tax refunds for ?Earned Income Credits? for? real and phony dependents living out of the country.??? Yet illegal immigrants and their American born children get free schooling, free breakfasts and lunches, food stamps, health care, electricity, cell phones, subsidized housing, etc. that cost far more than what they pay in taxes.??? Much of this cost is paid for in higher health insurance, tax, and utility bills.?? The Federation for American Immigration Reform? (F.A.I.R.) study of 2010 found that the NJ state and local governments spend $3.5 billion each year just on education, health care, and prisons for illegal immigrants.? See http://www.fairus.org/DocServer/state-cost/New_Jersey_state_cost_illegal_immigration.pdf. and http://www.fairus.org/publications/the-costs-of-illegal-immigration-to-new-jerseyites-2007?A=SearchResult&SearchID=4695023&ObjectID=5123256&ObjectType=35.? ??See also ?http://www.immigrationcounters.com/

1. Cheap, unskilled, and unregulated foreign labor has reduced job opportunities, wages, and benefits for everyone else.??? Most labor union leaders support illegal immigration so their members depend on their unions, and a few government subsidized union companies for good jobs and benefits, rather than hundreds of competing businesses in a free market.? ?These union leaders don?t tell their members that everyone could make more money without paying union dues if they didn?t have to compete with illegal immigrant labor.??? Union leaders also don?t tell their members that ?the days of sweetheart government contracts are coming to an end, since the public can no longer afford the high taxes and borrowing to pay for them.

1. Recent surveys by even left-wing organizations confirm that the children and grandchildren of today?s immigrants from Mexico and other poor countries are not assimilating and moving up the economic ladder as did children and grandchildren of previous generations of immigrants.???? This research shows that immigration from these countries is creating a new permanent ?rainbow underclass? that is expanding and doubling the size of the permanent ??underclass? ?of ?unskilled, uneducated, poor blacks in crime-ridden inner cities caused by Democratic President Johnson?s ?War on Poverty? during the 1960?s.?? This is hurting jobs, prosperity, and the quality of life for all Americans.

1. The arrival of some 20 million illegal immigrants to America is like having the entire population of Australia move to the United States.?? This is on top of the roughly 18 million immigrants who moved to America legally during the past 18 years.??? Roughly 75% of all illegal immigrants are from Spanish speaking Mexico and Central America.?? Roughly 9% of the population of Mexico is now living illegally in the United States.?? The Pew Hispanic Study recently reported that? illegal immigrants identify with the Democrat Party and would vote for Democrat candidates by an 8 to 1 ratio if they could vote.?? Progressives and Democrats are using illegal immigrants as an occupation army of voters to guarantee them permanent voting majorities, and permanent, political control of the U.S.

1. ?John Boehner, the leader of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives said he wants Congress to pass another immigration ?reform? bill that would legalize another 20 million illegal immigrants, mostly from Mexico, Central America and Haiti.

1. ?Our local Republican Congressman, Frank LoBiondo usually has something to say about every public issue and gets his name in the paper and on TV every week.

This immigration ?reform? law can completely destroy the whole character and culture of America.?? But Congressman Frank LoBiondo has not said one word publicly about this legislation during the past two months.

Why not contact Congressman Frank LoBiondo today and find out which side he is on.?? Then let us know!

You can email him through his website at:? https://lobiondo.house.gov/contact-me.?? Or call him at: (202) 225-6572 in Washington, D.C. or? (609) 625-5008 in Mays Landing.