Republicans always ask, "Why do Hispanics and immigrants always vote Democrat?" They're often baffled that even though they share so many of the same values they seem to be single-issue voters on immigration. Why is that? Imagine you are an immigrant. You're here legally and you do your part in voting. But you have a lot of friends and relatives who are not here legally. You don't resent them for it, of course, because they're family. And you know what it's like to get through the immigration process yourself. Your friends and family here illegaly are not breaking any laws other than being here.
Now, it's time to vote. You have one candidate saying that your friends and family are criminals for breaking the law! In fact, they should be deported back to their home countries, torn from their families, reduced to their former life of poverty. And then you have another candidate saying, "Yeah, I'm gonna NOT do that. You're friends and fam are alright with me! ;)"
Hmm... Let's see... Who would you vote for?
Doesn't take a genius to figure it out. See, Republicans, this message is for you. And this is coming from someone who votes Republican. I can't stand the Democrats and what they stand for, and despite their lip-service to immigrants, they've done little until now to help the situation.
True Conservatism
As a conservative, you don't trust government. Government is too big, has too much power, spends too much money, it's inept and passes too much regulation. So why are you pushing for government to have more power over immigration, get bigger, spend more money, and pass more regulation? Ever considered that the government is actually the source of the problem and not the lack of it?
The problem with
immigration is over-regulation. Deregulate it, and you fix the problem.
But most Republicans think the solution is more regulation. This is
why Republicans need to stand with immigration reform. Not to pander
for votes, but because this is the small-government solution.
A Free Labor Market
Illegal immigration is a natural response to the free market and needless regulation. Our immigration laws are set up so that bureaucrats decide who needs workers and who doesn't. Often they don't acknowledge industries that do need workers because of jobs that Americans can technically do, but don't regardless. So those jobs are actually in need of immigrants, but immigration law does not acknowledge that need because of the way it's worded, so it keeps unskilled immigrants out. Bureaucrats don't understand that it's not their job to decide who can work where. The free market takes care of it. This is why our economy is largely held afloat by illegal immigrants.
Why don't they just get in line like everyone else?
How many of you even know what that line looks like? Or how many year or even decades it would take to get through it. You try navigating through our immense and non-nonsensical immigration law sometime. Reason.com made this cartoon showing just how hard it is. Have fun.
It's no wonder people come here illegally. As you can see the door is not even open to a lot of people, for silly bureaucratic reasons. That's why they
come here illegally. What's the point in keeping them out? By making
legal immigration so difficult, we've created a larger "black market"
of people coming here by more degrading means. Under the current reform
being proposed, illegals have to wait 13 years to
get citizenship! And people call that amnesty? This is government
bureaucracy at it's worst. Making legal immigration even more difficult
isn't going to solve the problem, it's going to make it worse.
When I say the door is closed, I mean our immigration law is set up to not allow unskilled workers in, even when we have many industries that are in need of unskilled workers. We benefit from this illegal hiring because it keeps the costs of many goods and services illegal immigrants provide down for us. I remember seeing a report on the news about a small town that kicked out all their illegals. The town pretty much shut down after they did that. They actually begged them to come back.
But I'll have to learn Spanish! Why don't they learn English like they're supposed to!?
Whining about people not learning English shows bias and racism in the minds of Hispanics. Now, I know conservatives are not racist. I am a conservative and a minority. But you have to understand that that's how people see you when you whine about stupid stuff like that. You say you don't wanna sound racist? Too late. Illegals don't learn English because they come here uneducated and don't even know their own language well.
(And if you're worried about having to learn Spanish everywhere, don't. Most children of immigrants don't even speak their native language. So by the second generation, immigrants are speaking English.)
Immigrants are stealing our jobs!
Yeah, I just really wanted to pick grapes in California, but that darn illegal took mai job! And my buddy reeeeally would've mowed lawns for a living if it weren't for those stupid illegal aliens!
The notion that they steal jobs is ignorant of how the free market works. Dennis Michael Lynch says that we don't need low-skilled immigrants. Nonsense! If it weren't for low-skilled immigrants, especially illegals, we'd all suffer. It's true *some* Americans seek those low-skilled jobs, but there are not nearly enough to fill the void. Our immigration laws interfere with the free exchange of employers and willing employees.
They're gonna ruin the economy! They don't pay taxes and drive up the cost of welfare!
Most of the other arguments against immigration aren't actually specific to immigration. You could make the same arguments against new people being born, or people moving from one city to another. They're arguments against welfare.
Most illegals do pay taxes and they can't take advantage of state benefits. Alex Nowrasteh writes,
But don't they cause more crimes?
That's not what the stats show. There is a very tiny percentage of illegals that are here who criminals. Statistically, a greater percentage of actual citizens commit crimes than illegals. Obviously, those people should not be allowed in. But when our law is set up to not let so many people in who have committed no crime, it's difficult to find and figure out who the people are who we really need to keep out.
Wouldn't a fence and a strong, secure border solve the problem?
Does outlawing guns stop gun crimes? Do we really need a fence to keep us safe? And just when are we "safe" enough? This talk of building a fence makes us sound like Communists. This is not what free countries do. We already have laws against people committing crimes, and if they come here and do that they'll be arrested and thrown in jail. Isn't that better than kicking them out and having them commit a crime somewhere else where they may not even be thrown in jail?
Kirsten Powers said,
I agree. Don't you realize how bad and, frankly Communist it sounds to harp about building a fence? And before you try to attack me for agreeing with a Democrat, remember that's a logical fallacy: and ad hominem/personal attack. It's the actual argument that matters.
What does the Bible say?
Isn't it interesting how Conservative Christians have a biblical basis for most political positions, but none for opposing illegal immigration? Maybe that's because the Bible contains numerous passages outlining the duty of the faithful to treat aliens with charity. Don't believe me?
Bill King wrote for the Houston Chronicle,
The Human Factor
Understand how cruel and inhumane it would be to send a lot of these people back or tell them they can't come. A lot of these immigrants are fleeing oppressive socialist governments. They came from places where they're living off rice and beans. I'm not kidding. They often don't have any access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Cubans are fleeing from Castro, whom to call crazy and evil would be an understatement. Castro will arrest and sometimes execute anyone who dissents against the government and sometimes Christians. I personally have a friend from Cuba who would be executed immediately if her family ever went back. Our immigration law says that Cubans who come by sea have to be sent back, but if they come by land they are given protection. WTH kinda law is that? This is how stupid our immigration law is. Why on earth would you oppose immigration reform? Many people already have to wait up to 38 years to get their citizenship under the law we have now. The proposed "amnesty" is almost the same as the law we already have. Real people are suffering because of these silly, anti-free market laws.
Republicans are coming across as hypocrites. You want fewer laws all the time and consider our new health care law unjust and understand the less gun regulation is good, and you're right! So how is it that when it comes to immigration, Republicans are all of a sudden say, "MORE LAWS! ENFORCE THEM AT ALL COSTS!"? Right, because the laws we already have are doing wonders...There should be free trade in labor as well as goods and services. This is why we need immigration reform.
A Free Labor Market
Illegal immigration is a natural response to the free market and needless regulation. Our immigration laws are set up so that bureaucrats decide who needs workers and who doesn't. Often they don't acknowledge industries that do need workers because of jobs that Americans can technically do, but don't regardless. So those jobs are actually in need of immigrants, but immigration law does not acknowledge that need because of the way it's worded, so it keeps unskilled immigrants out. Bureaucrats don't understand that it's not their job to decide who can work where. The free market takes care of it. This is why our economy is largely held afloat by illegal immigrants.
Why don't they just get in line like everyone else?
How many of you even know what that line looks like? Or how many year or even decades it would take to get through it. You try navigating through our immense and non-nonsensical immigration law sometime. Reason.com made this cartoon showing just how hard it is. Have fun.
When I say the door is closed, I mean our immigration law is set up to not allow unskilled workers in, even when we have many industries that are in need of unskilled workers. We benefit from this illegal hiring because it keeps the costs of many goods and services illegal immigrants provide down for us. I remember seeing a report on the news about a small town that kicked out all their illegals. The town pretty much shut down after they did that. They actually begged them to come back.
But I'll have to learn Spanish! Why don't they learn English like they're supposed to!?
Whining about people not learning English shows bias and racism in the minds of Hispanics. Now, I know conservatives are not racist. I am a conservative and a minority. But you have to understand that that's how people see you when you whine about stupid stuff like that. You say you don't wanna sound racist? Too late. Illegals don't learn English because they come here uneducated and don't even know their own language well.
(And if you're worried about having to learn Spanish everywhere, don't. Most children of immigrants don't even speak their native language. So by the second generation, immigrants are speaking English.)
Immigrants are stealing our jobs!
Yeah, I just really wanted to pick grapes in California, but that darn illegal took mai job! And my buddy reeeeally would've mowed lawns for a living if it weren't for those stupid illegal aliens!
The notion that they steal jobs is ignorant of how the free market works. Dennis Michael Lynch says that we don't need low-skilled immigrants. Nonsense! If it weren't for low-skilled immigrants, especially illegals, we'd all suffer. It's true *some* Americans seek those low-skilled jobs, but there are not nearly enough to fill the void. Our immigration laws interfere with the free exchange of employers and willing employees.
They're gonna ruin the economy! They don't pay taxes and drive up the cost of welfare!
Most of the other arguments against immigration aren't actually specific to immigration. You could make the same arguments against new people being born, or people moving from one city to another. They're arguments against welfare.
Most illegals do pay taxes and they can't take advantage of state benefits. Alex Nowrasteh writes,
A recent study in the journal Health Affairs shows that in 2009, immigrants paid $13.8 billion more into Medicare Part A than they received in benefits. Noncitizens were responsible for $10.1 billion of that $13.8 billion surplus. By contrast, native-born Americans drew $30.9 billion more from the system than they contributed.It seems us legal citizens are more of a burden than illegals are.
But don't they cause more crimes?
That's not what the stats show. There is a very tiny percentage of illegals that are here who criminals. Statistically, a greater percentage of actual citizens commit crimes than illegals. Obviously, those people should not be allowed in. But when our law is set up to not let so many people in who have committed no crime, it's difficult to find and figure out who the people are who we really need to keep out.
Wouldn't a fence and a strong, secure border solve the problem?
Does outlawing guns stop gun crimes? Do we really need a fence to keep us safe? And just when are we "safe" enough? This talk of building a fence makes us sound like Communists. This is not what free countries do. We already have laws against people committing crimes, and if they come here and do that they'll be arrested and thrown in jail. Isn't that better than kicking them out and having them commit a crime somewhere else where they may not even be thrown in jail?
Kirsten Powers said,
there will never be a point where the border will be certified as being safe as Republicans want to be because there are so many Republicans who don't want these people coming into the country. So, I just think it sets up an impossible barrier to entry for immigrants... I also don't really want to live in a country that has a fence around it
What does the Bible say?
Isn't it interesting how Conservative Christians have a biblical basis for most political positions, but none for opposing illegal immigration? Maybe that's because the Bible contains numerous passages outlining the duty of the faithful to treat aliens with charity. Don't believe me?
Bill King wrote for the Houston Chronicle,
A FEW months ago I was in church listening to our pastor’s sermon. He was describing a feast where the prophets had sent out word for all the people of Israel to come together. Interestingly, the invitation to the feast specially included all of the “aliens living among you.”Now, it's important to remember that we are not ancient Israel, nor are we subject to their laws. But we can certainly glean some principles from them.
When I got home I got an electronic version of the Bible and did a search for the word “alien.” To my surprise, the search turned up dozens of references. It seems that the issue of immigration has been on people’s minds for some time.
A copy of the passages can be found at http://www.billkinghouston.com/scripture. Most are in the Old Testament and while the message varies, the underlying theme is an admonishment to treat aliens living in your land with tolerance and charity. Frequently, they are grouped with widows and orphans, and the passages charge us with an affirmative duty to see to their well being. In many of these passages, originally written to the Israelites, they are reminded that they will do these things because they once lived in the land of Egypt.
There are two passages that I found particularly compelling. First is Exodus 12:49: “The same law applies to the native-born and to the alien living among you.”
The Human Factor
Understand how cruel and inhumane it would be to send a lot of these people back or tell them they can't come. A lot of these immigrants are fleeing oppressive socialist governments. They came from places where they're living off rice and beans. I'm not kidding. They often don't have any access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Cubans are fleeing from Castro, whom to call crazy and evil would be an understatement. Castro will arrest and sometimes execute anyone who dissents against the government and sometimes Christians. I personally have a friend from Cuba who would be executed immediately if her family ever went back. Our immigration law says that Cubans who come by sea have to be sent back, but if they come by land they are given protection. WTH kinda law is that? This is how stupid our immigration law is. Why on earth would you oppose immigration reform? Many people already have to wait up to 38 years to get their citizenship under the law we have now. The proposed "amnesty" is almost the same as the law we already have. Real people are suffering because of these silly, anti-free market laws.
Republicans are coming across as hypocrites. You want fewer laws all the time and consider our new health care law unjust and understand the less gun regulation is good, and you're right! So how is it that when it comes to immigration, Republicans are all of a sudden say, "MORE LAWS! ENFORCE THEM AT ALL COSTS!"? Right, because the laws we already have are doing wonders...There should be free trade in labor as well as goods and services. This is why we need immigration reform.
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