THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume X, Issue # 189, August 1, 2008
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
SAYING NO TO UNLIMITED IMMIGRATION
By Jim Camp
AMERICAN POLITICS, THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, & THE IMMIGRATION ISSUE: SIMILARITY OF THE RIVAL
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES' POSITIONS ON THE ISSUE OF IMMIGRATION -- BOTH MAJOR-PARTY CANDIDATES
EMBRACING IMMIGRATION POLICY POSITIONS THAT RUN COUNTER TO THE VIEWS & CONCERNS OF THE VAST MAJORITY
OF AMERICANS -- WHAT THE AMERICAN VOTERS SHOULD DEMAND OF A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, AS REGARDS THE
ISSUE OF IMMIGRATION
FULL STORY:
As a negotiation coach, it is natural for me to view the election campaigns conducted by the two rival candidates for
U.S. President, along with the varying and competing groups of voters, as a negotiation involving multiple agendas,
adversaries, and intense decision-making.
That is why it strikes me as disturbing that both presidential candidates have similar positions on immigration,
positions that run contrary to the views of the vast majority of voters in both of America's major political parties.
Other than the war in Iraq and concerns about the economy, the issue of immigration -- both legal and illegal -- and
the need to bring immigration reform into our society are likely to emerge as a deciding factor in the election.
In a new book by Political Science scholar Dr. Joseph H. Boyett, Won’t Get Fooled Again, the author warns:
“We’ve used up our stupid quotient. It is time to get it right.”
He adds that voters should “treat every person who presents himself or herself to you as a potential leader with the
utmost suspicion.” This is particularly true in a political campaign in which --
“. . . many people are working hard right now to orchestrate
your choice of leaders. They are employing sophisticated
psychological techniques.”
A healthy level of caution is critical to every successful negotiation. After all, negotiation is 100% emotional, until a
decision is reached. You will find yourself in a very good position in this election negotiation, if you say no until a
vision is created that allows you to say yes. The object is not just to get the deal done, but often to know when to
walk away from a bad deal, so, for goodness sake, embrace only a good deal.
The June 30, 2008, results of a Rasmussen telephone survey concerning Americans' views on immigration are
instructive. Fully 63% of voters view gaining control of the border as a high priority, a result that bears out earlier
surveys. Moreover, 32% of those surveyed identified themselves as “angry” about the immigration issue.
Why then does neither Senator John Sidney McCain III nor Senator Barack Hussein Obama, Jr., show any indication
of wanting to take action consistent with the views and concerns of the vast majority of Americans?
My view is that immigration is seen quite differently by national politicians fighting to govern the nation. Even though
a majority feels strongly that immigration is a great threat, our candidates keep quiet. Why? They want the vote of those
who sponsor and support illegal immigration. They are quiet because they don’t want to attack illegal immigration and
lose votes.
Consider, however, the massive outcry against the most recent effort by Congress to grant amnesty to the estimated
twelve million illegal immigrants, the massive outcry that derailed the legislation. Congress was forced to back off
because “the consent of the governed” is critical to re-election!
Voters paying attention to this issue know that, since 2000, an estimated 10 to 12 million immigrants have arrived,
representing the highest seven-year period of immigration in U.S. history! If immigration was to continue at this rate, the
nation’s population would increase from 301 million today to 468 million in 2060, a 56% increase!
One in eight U.S. residents is now an illegal or legal resident
Research on the impact this is having on the U.S. economy reveals that, each year, American state governments are
spending between $11 and $22 billion of the taxpayers' money on welfare to illegal immigrants. Of this, $2.2 billion a
year is spent on food assistance programs, such as food stamps and free school lunches.
An estimated $2.5 billion a year is spent on Medicaid. The demands on American hospitals have forced some to close
emergency rooms, as illegal immigrants crowd them and the law requires their care, despite their inability to pay for it.
Approximately $12 billion is spent on primary and secondary school education for children that are here illegally, many
of whom cannot speak English.
It costs Americans $3 million a day to incarcerate illegal aliens, and 30% of all federal prison inmates are illegal
immigrants. The crime rates of illegal immigrants are estimated to be two-and-a-half times higher than native-born
Americans for crimes that include illicit drugs, rape, and murder.
Native-born Americans are losing an estimated $200 billion in wages that have been driven down by the influx of illegal
immigrants. This particularly hurts minorities and the young seeking parttime or fulltime employment.
Meanwhile, over the past five years, illegal aliens sent home to their countries of origin remittances estimated to be
between $25 and $45 billion.
We are at a critical moment in our nation’s history, a time when a moratorium on virtually all immigration is needed. We
had such a moratorium in the past, one following the vast immigration of the late 1800s and early 1900s. At that time,
America needed immigrants to help build the nation’s infrastructure and participate in its industrial growth. Today, major
U.S. domestic industries, such as automobile manufacturing, are on the brink of declaring bankruptcy.
What America needs now is a period of stabilization, a period in which to reduce through deportation the current
population of twelve million illegal immigrants and to slow the entry of legal immigrants. If we do not do this, we risk so
overburdening our economy, our schools, and our health care and criminal justice systems that grievous harm will be
done to present and future generations of Americans.
Failing to stem the tide of immigration is to literally import poverty. As a share of the U.S. population, one in eight
residents is now an illegal or legal immigrant. It is the highest level in 80 years.
Voters need to pay close attention to the immigration policies of the two major-party candidates seeking to become the
next President of the United States. There is simply no excuse for an unsecured southern border. There is no excuse for
the profligate granting of visas to people whose presence in the nation cannot be tracked.
In the 1960s, President Lyndon Baines Johnson said, “The days of unlimited immigration are past.” He was right. The
next President and the next Congress must close the borders and must reduce the number of legal immigrants until
assimilation and integration of those already here can be achieved.
It is a negotiation in which the voters must loudly say “No!”
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
United States Immigration, Assimilation, & National Security Policy:
Immigration into the U.S.A., Legal & Illegal Aliens,
& U.S. Border Control
American Politics & Political Competition:
Elections, PACs, & Political Parties
American Government & the U.S. Presidency:
Presidential Politics & National Leadership
The American Political System:
Politics & Government in the U.S.A.
Jim Camp is Chief Executive Officer of The Jim Camp Group and the author of two best selling books on negotiation --
No: The Only Negotiating System You Need for Work and Home (Crown Publishing Group, 2007) and Start
with No: The Negotiating Tools That the Pros Don't want You to Know (Crown Publishing Group, 2002). His
Internet website is www.startwithno.com.
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity