I am still digesting Bush's proposal and considering what it might mean in my state and city. I haven't reached a conclusion, but my friend Kiril has begun a discussion. I left a few points in his comments, so I won't regurgitate them here. Do read his and Misha's postings. Misha points to Michelle Malkin's take on this issue. I find her straw man argument/ condesending comparisons unhelpful and her pandering to racial bias appalling. Malkin concludes with:
"What's next: survivors' benefits for the families of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers?"
Malkin equates an undocumented worker crushed in the bowels of the WTC with those who murdered them for cheap effect. This sort of hot button rhetoric prevents a realistic discussion of the issue, drives the Left's populist movement and people like me from the Right.
A solution will be expensive, but let's put it in perspective, shall we? Americans spent almost $7 billion at the movies and another $6 billion on candy last year. Let's get real before millions of us get dead.
Smash has a good plan, he also has a comprehensive list of blog opinion on the topic.
Lileks adds to the debate from a new perspective...vacation in Arizona...he's right too...deportation ain't gonna happen.
Posted by feste at January 8, 2004 11:27 AM | TrackBackThanks for stopping by and helping to constructively further the debate.
I agree that we have the resources, as a nation, to work something out.
It's the national will to do so that seems to be a problem.
I guess my anger over this issue stems from the fact that we are rewarding people for breaking the law, and aren't doing enough to stop illegal entry, and make being here illegally unpallatable, or to encourage legal immigration.
My Father came here legally, in the 50's, from Macedonia, and survived, as a Green Card carrier all his life, to raise a family and make a living as a College Gardener from 1953 to 1969.
Immigrants recognize the rewards of living in America, and becoming a citizen, or leagal resident.
Too many illegals see the rewards they reap without citizenship, and decide why bother.
That has to change.
Posted by: Kiril at January 8, 2004 09:37 PMYes, there ought to be more done about this. That there are millions of criminals running loose in the country, with clearly hostile intent towards our laws and standards, is unsustainable for very long. The massive public subsidy to foreigners of this type would once have been considered to fit the definition of treason by almost everyone. These are facts, and if the facts are pro-xenophobic, that's what they are. If the pro-diversity says that one is anti-diversity for telling the truth on such points, let them get new definitions.
Posted by: john s bolton at April 6, 2004 02:38 AM