Actually, the Numbers Show That We Need More Immigration, Not Less

[refugee 169]

 

By any reasonable metric, “mass” immigration is a myth. The reality is that America desperately needs to pick up the pace of immigration for its economic health.

• Share on Facebook
• Post on Twitter
• Mail

Image

A naturalization ceremony in Los Angeles in December. CreditLucy Nicholson/Reuters

By Shikha Dalmia

Ms. Dalmia is a senior analyst at Reason Foundation, a writer at Reason magazine and a columnist at The Week.

• Jan. 15, 2019

President Trump has shut down the government to get money for a border wall that he says will stop illegal immigration. But the fact of the matter is that that’s not all he wants to stop. During the three-day shutdown last January, he demanded a 40 percent reduction in legal immigration, arguing that America has been swamped by immigrants.

“There’s a limit to how many people a nation can responsibly absorb into their societies, ” he has declared.

He is not alone in invoking this boogeyman. That America is being overwhelmed by a flood of immigrants has become conventional wisdom across the political spectrum, presented in books from, on the right, Reihan Salam of National Review, the son of Bangladeshi immigrants; in the center, Francis Fukuyama of Stanford, whose mother immigrated from Japan; and on the left, Jefferson Cowie of Vanderbilt University, who actually counsels his fellow progressives not to fear more immigration.

But by any reasonable metric, the idea that America is experiencing mass immigration is a myth. The reality is that we desperately need to pick up the pace of immigration to maintain our work force and economic health.

 

 

 

 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=newssearch&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi6us7AyP_fAhXDN30KHXUIDzsQzPwBegQIARAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2019%2F01%2F15%2Fopinion%2Ftrump-immigration-myth.html&psig=AOvVaw2fQBg8XCbKFgbVnFe89dAe&ust=1548183875033875

[Boiler 43,430]

So we can forget all about Global Warming.

 

Good to know.

[millefleur 5,035]

I think the reality is the vast majority of people are not against immigration or immigrants. The main concern of most people, from what I gather, is illegal immigration. I'm not a fan of Trump myself but I can remember a time when Democrats also used to be concerned about illegal immigration. Seems like that has changed now.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

@refugee - We have just over 1 million legal immigrants per year now.  We have more immigrants than any other nation by far; 4 times that of Germany, the #2 most-migrated-to country in the world.  Something like 47 million immigrants overall.  (Not counting the fact that technically, all of us come from immigrants). Almost 15% of our nation are immigrants from other nations in our lifetime.  How can you say this site, or this country, is anti-immigrant???

 

And as for sustainability... why do we need more?  More people equals less open land, less trees, more global warming, right?  Less food per person, which drives up the cost of food.  The US population is growing at a rate of 56 million per year.  Throw in another 1 million for legal immigrants.  For how long do you think we can support this growth rate?  Why do we need to “pick up the pace of immigration for our economic health”??  What will those 1 million immigrants do for the country that the 56 million aren’t able to do?

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

4 minutes ago, millefleur said:

I think the reality is the vast majority of people are not against immigration or immigrants. The main concern of most people, from what I gather, is illegal immigration. I'm not a fan of Trump myself but I can remember a time when Democrats also used to be concerned about illegal immigration. Seems like that has changed now.

The ONLY reason democrats are so pro-illegal immigration today is because Trump has spoken out against it.  Period.

No one has ever presented a logical argument in support of continued illegal immigration.  Only emotional ones.

[Boiler 43,430]

Seems population increase is about 1.5%, half immigration half native.

 

 

[millefleur 5,035]

15 minutes ago, ALFKAD said:

The ONLY reason democrats are so pro-illegal immigration today is because Trump has spoken out against it.  Period.

No one has ever presented a logical argument in support of continued illegal immigration.  Only emotional ones. 

Yes, I agree that this is exactly why the rhetoric has shifted. It's frustrating and it's actually causing people to be more divided.

 

It seems to me folks on VJ seem opinionated about illegal immigration because most of us here have had to go through the red tape and jump through all the hoops that involve legal immigration, not to mention the countless fees and interviews and medical exams. I would actually like to live in a world where most Americans were as knowledgeable about the immigration process/laws as the people of VJ are. I actually see that VJ is an extremely diverse place, especially in the upper forums where Africa and Asia are both hugely represented among VJ members.

 

It's definitely frustrating when I have to be concerned about my family members getting approved for a B1/B2 in Russia because thanks to people overstaying and basically illegally immigrating on tourist visas, there is higher scrutiny placed on them and thus a higher chance of rejection. Not to mention, USCIS itself basically says "immigration/visas to the US are a privilege, not a right." This was also the case under Obama, but it seems like now the Democrats have to backtrack on that merely because of Trump. Not a fan of the shutdown and all the general nonsense going on in government right now, but a logical debate about illegal immigration would be highly welcomed.

[Mr&Mrs G. 903]

26 minutes ago, ALFKAD said:

The ONLY reason democrats are so pro-illegal immigration today is because Trump has spoken out against it.  Period.

No one has ever presented a logical argument in support of continued illegal immigration.  Only emotional ones.

Bernie Sanders said today that President Trump was a racist so that must count as a logical argument 

[jg121783 3,907]

21 minutes ago, millefleur said:

I think the reality is the vast majority of people are not against immigration or immigrants. The main concern of most people, from what I gather, is illegal immigration. I'm not a fan of Trump myself but I can remember a time when Democrats also used to be concerned about illegal immigration. Seems like that has changed now.

Exactly. It really bothers me how some on the left try to lump legal immigrants in with illegal aliens (not immigrants). Let's compare the two groups. Legal immigrants undergo background checks and health screenings. Illegal aliens do not. Legal immigrants (or their petitioner) pay thousands of dollars and wait a year or longer to come to the US and comply with all immigration laws. Illegal aliens do not. Legal immigrants are barred from receiving government assistance and must demonstrate financial independence (or have a petitioner who can demonstrate means to support them). Illegal aliens can get all the welfare they want. When you look at crime statistics and compare illegal aliens, legal immigrants and US citizens illegal aliens commit the most crime per capita and legal immigrants commit the least crime with US citizens being in the middle. Once you cut through the leftist red herring of lumping legal immigration with illegal immigration it is clear we can support legal immigration while opposing illegal immigration. And to be honest we need reforms to our legal immigration system to make the process more streamlined for legal immigrants while doing what is necessary for national security and public health.

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,315]

2 hours ago, ALFKAD said:

The ONLY reason democrats are so pro-illegal immigration today is because Trump has spoken out against it.  Period.

No one has ever presented a logical argument in support of continued illegal immigration.  Only emotional ones.

They are going after the Hispanic vote plain and simple, because if they lost the black vote as a block  voting 90 % democrats the party would be gone and in the history books. Its reasonable to assume as more blacks move away from the economic oppression of segregation they will also move away from the illusion that the democratic party helps them as a whole. 

[spookyturtle 9,465]

3 hours ago, jg121783 said:

Exactly. It really bothers me how some on the left try to lump legal immigrants in with illegal aliens (not immigrants). Let's compare the two groups. Legal immigrants undergo background checks and health screenings. Illegal aliens do not. Legal immigrants (or their petitioner) pay thousands of dollars and wait a year or longer to come to the US and comply with all immigration laws. Illegal aliens do not. Legal immigrants are barred from receiving government assistance and must demonstrate financial independence (or have a petitioner who can demonstrate means to support them). Illegal aliens can get all the welfare they want. When you look at crime statistics and compare illegal aliens, legal immigrants and US citizens illegal aliens commit the most crime per capita and legal immigrants commit the least crime with US citizens being in the middle. Once you cut through the leftist red herring of lumping legal immigration with illegal immigration it is clear we can support legal immigration while opposing illegal immigration. And to be honest we need reforms to our legal immigration system to make the process more streamlined for legal immigrants while doing what is necessary for national security and public health.

You should drop the word left from your vocabulary. 

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,315]

1 hour ago, spookyturtle said:

You should drop the word left from your vocabulary. 

I agree MDL is so much neater

[Steeleballz 7,550]

1 hour ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

I agree MDL is so much neater

 

   They are all pretty cool terms, unless people get to the point where they can't string a few sentences together without referring to them. Very few of life's problems really boil down to MDL vs MDR. 

[NikLR 13,220]

MDL?

Material Design Lite?

Mountain Dew League?

Memory Descriptor List?

Multi-District Litigation?

Method Detection Limit?

 

 

[millefleur 5,035]

1 hour ago, NikLR said:

MDL?

Material Design Lite?

Mountain Dew League?

Memory Descriptor List?

Multi-District Litigation?

Method Detection Limit?

  

 

I think the CEHST subforum on VJ is the only one with even more confusing acronyms than the upper forums. 😁