Spring Break
Address Our National Problems, First Cut Immigration
Yeh Ling-ling
Issue date: 10/6/05 Section: Opinion
The United States is overwhelmed by Hurricane Katrina, which created hundreds of thousands of refugees. Meanwhile, oil prices have skyrocketed, with no end in sight. Although some immigrants are assets, is it wise to continue to allow millions of foreign-born people to enter this country yearly who need jobs, require social services and consume energy?
Immigration advocates claim that illegal aliens take jobs that "Americans won't do." The truth of the matter is that many low-skilled unemployed Americans fear job competition: Those in Texas are reportedly worried about the influx of evacuees coming from New Orleans! In addition, the U.S. still has millions of unemployed and underemployed low-skilled Americans and able-bodied welfare recipients. Why not give them incentives to take those jobs?
Open-border promoters also claim that immigration is needed to boost the economy. Last December, Barron's reported that the underground economy in this country was fueled largely by "the nation's swelling ranks of low-wage illegal immigrants" and would "soon pass $1 trillion." Furthermore, most low-skilled legal and illegal immigrant workers have low incomes. Even if they pay taxes, the revenues they generate are not sufficient to offset the cost of educating their children -- at an average of over $7000 per child per year -- let alone the cost of other infrastructure.
Senators Kennedy, Kerry and other American leaders must understand that our homeland cannot be secure as long as our own borders remain porous. Last year alone, according to Time Magazine, 3 million illegal immigrants entered the United States, even though Al Qaeda has reportedly recruited smugglers south of our border to help with its operations. This May, scores of illegal immigrants were arrested working at sensitive sites such as petrochemical refineries, nuclear plants and air-cargo facilities.
Furthermore, well over a quarter of our federal prison inmates are illegal aliens who committed crimes here. The notoriously violent El Salvadoran gang, MS13, is spreading its activities and killing Americans in many states at an alarming rate. Murders, rapes, and robberies committed throughout the U.S. by foreign-born criminals are reported every week in the news. Tucson-sector border patrol agents alone have been assaulted at least 195 times since last October.
Immigration advocates claim that illegal aliens take jobs that "Americans won't do." The truth of the matter is that many low-skilled unemployed Americans fear job competition: Those in Texas are reportedly worried about the influx of evacuees coming from New Orleans! In addition, the U.S. still has millions of unemployed and underemployed low-skilled Americans and able-bodied welfare recipients. Why not give them incentives to take those jobs?
Open-border promoters also claim that immigration is needed to boost the economy. Last December, Barron's reported that the underground economy in this country was fueled largely by "the nation's swelling ranks of low-wage illegal immigrants" and would "soon pass $1 trillion." Furthermore, most low-skilled legal and illegal immigrant workers have low incomes. Even if they pay taxes, the revenues they generate are not sufficient to offset the cost of educating their children -- at an average of over $7000 per child per year -- let alone the cost of other infrastructure.
Senators Kennedy, Kerry and other American leaders must understand that our homeland cannot be secure as long as our own borders remain porous. Last year alone, according to Time Magazine, 3 million illegal immigrants entered the United States, even though Al Qaeda has reportedly recruited smugglers south of our border to help with its operations. This May, scores of illegal immigrants were arrested working at sensitive sites such as petrochemical refineries, nuclear plants and air-cargo facilities.
Furthermore, well over a quarter of our federal prison inmates are illegal aliens who committed crimes here. The notoriously violent El Salvadoran gang, MS13, is spreading its activities and killing Americans in many states at an alarming rate. Murders, rapes, and robberies committed throughout the U.S. by foreign-born criminals are reported every week in the news. Tucson-sector border patrol agents alone have been assaulted at least 195 times since last October.