N SECTION
FIRST NEGATIVE
ANSWERING THE HARMS OF IMMIGRATION
This section is designed to answer affirmatives who claim that immigration is bad. This section argues that the extent and impacts of immigration are exaggerated. The literature has been comprehensively scanned for possible harms of immigration, and evidence disproving these is contained herein. Evidence claiming that immigration actually reduces the problem (for example, job loss) is to be found in the TURNS section.
-Editor
I. Immigration is essential for America N1-2, N126-128
II. Immigration is not as large as the affirmative claims
A. Size of Immigration is exaggerated n3-17, N129-130, N141-143
B. Illegals are exaggerated
1. Not that many illegals N18-20
2. Legal or illegal status largely irrelevant N21-24
3. Not many skip out on visas N131-132
C. Data on harms is weak N25-27
III. Immigration does not hurt the economy
A. Immigrants do not hurt the economy N28-35
B. Immigrants do not hurt GNP N36
C. Immigration does not hurt incomes N37
IV. Immigration does not cause unemployment or job loss
A. Empirical data does not confirm Immigration leads to job loss N38-40, N133, N144
B. Job losses are tiny at best N41-42
C. Immigrants do not compete with US citizens for jobs N43-45
D. Immigrants are complementary to US workers already on the job N46-47
E. Immigration creates jobs N48-55
F. Immigration boosts small businesses, which create jobs N56-60
G. Immigrants take jobs US citizens will not take N61-66, N134-135
H. Lower wages are balanced by lower costs of living N67
I. Immigration does not hurt employment for other underprivileged groups N68
V. Immigration is not a drain on government benefits or social service programs
A. Immigrants do not drain social services N69-77
B. Immigrants pay more in taxes than they take in benefits N78-87, N136-137
C. Motivational factors prevent illegals from overusing government programs N88-91
D. Do not overuse Medicaid N92
E. Do not overuse Social Security N93-94
F. Use of government programs is justified when it happens N95
G. The Huddle Study is wrong N96
VI. Immigrants are not economically victimized
A. Not underpaid N97-98
B. Not trapped in bad working conditions N99
C. Not trapped in "stoop" labor N100
D. Not trapped in certain job areas N101
VII. Immigration does not threaten the national character of America
A. Immigrants become integrated into American society N102-104
B. No conflicts are caused N105
C. American national character is secure from the supposed threat of immigration N106-108
VIII. Immigration does not cause crime N109-110
IX. Immigration does not hurt housing N111
X. Immigration does not hurt the environment N112
XI. Immigration does not hurt education N113-114
XII. US immigration policy is not racist N115-116
XIII. Immigration does not hurt the balance of payments N117
XIV. Immigration system protects rights of immigrants N118-122
XV. US and Mexico are working together on immigration problems N123-125
XVI. Immigration law violations do not breed a climate of lawlessness N138-139
XVII. Alien juveniles covered by court decisions N140-141
CASE TURNS:
THE ADVANTAGES OF IMMIGRATION
These arguments can either be used as case turns (the negative shows that immigration does not cause problem X, it actually solves problem X) or as disadvantages to affirmative proposals to reduce immigration. In any case, they should be a standard part of the first negaive argumentative arsenal. Arguing some of these against the affirmative case when they may not claim one of these as a harm may work well in that it puts the burden back on them and may catrch them off guard.
-Editor
I. Immigration can solve America's problems N145
II. Immigration can lead to huge technical advances N146-156
III. Immigration can solve the budget deficit
A. Immigration generates huge tax revenues N157-162
B. Immigration reduces the budget deficit N163-164
IV. Immigration can boost the economy N165-167
V. Immigration creates many new jobs N168-171
VI. Immigration makes the US a winner in international competition N172-175
VII. Immigration saves the Social Security system N176-180
VIII. Immigration benefits agriculture N181
IX. Immigration benefits the poor in America N182
NEGATIVE SOLVENCY
WHY IMMIGRATION CONTROLS WILL NOT WORK
These arguments are both general reasons why immigration regulations cannot be effectively tightened and arguments specific to various approaches which affirmatives might advocate.
-Editor
A. General solvency arguments -- immigration control fails
1. Total numbers N183
2. No right number for admissions N184-186
3. Immigrants cannot be stopped
a. Decreasing incentives won't decrease immigration N187-189
b. US has a unique border N190
c. Can't identify them N191
d. Economic incentives guarantee they will come N192-196
4. Can't deport immigrants
a. Impossible N197-198
b. Even criminals N199-200
5. Can't arrest immigrants N216
6. Millions already in the pipeline mean increases will continue N201
7. Reducing illegals is insignificant because 80% are legal N202
8. Costs a lot to stop immigrants N203-204
9. Court proceedings can circumvent affirmative N205
10. Can't block the border N206-213
11. Can't stop immigrants in boats N214
12. On-board processing insufficient N215
13. Must punish employers too N216a
14. Can't guarantee rights
a. Tightening immigration means rights will be violated N217
b. Rights review process will fail N218
15. Staffing problems prevent solvency
a. Administrative centralization will fail N223
b. INS staff is terrible N219
c. Staff changes are costly N220
16. Legal-illegal trade off: tighten one, and the other will loosen N221
17. Quotas fail N222
B. Specific proposals fail
1. Bilingual education N223-224
2. Citizenship amendment N225
3. Education restrictions on immigrants N226
4. Medical restrictions on immigrants N27-228
5. Border sovereignty and integrity impossible to achieve N229
6. Refugee resettlement N230
7. Asylum for refugees fails
a. Does not need to be changed N231-234
b. Legitimate refugees hurt by stricter controls N235-237
c. Pre departure screening not the answer N238
d. It will not stop terrorism N240
N1 / Ben J. Wattenberg and Karl Zinsmeister, fellows at the American Enterprise Institute, April 1990, "The Case for More Immigration" Commentary in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. / p158-9 / pkk-38-VT95
A nation like ours functions best when confident, welcoming progress and growth, and demonstrating a willingness to absorb the lessons of outsiders. It wounds itself when it turns inward--excluding foreigners, protecting its markets, resisting fresh ideas and infusions. We would dilute both our own prosperity and our reason for being were we to fail to extend, and widen, our gangplank to the world.
N2 / BARBARA JORDAN CHAIR UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON IMMIGRATION REFORM, HOUSE HEARINGS ON IMMIGRATION REFORM, APRIL 14, 1994 / PKK-LN-VT95
I believe firmly that legal immigration is in the national interest of this country. The strength of the United States emanates from the very diversity brought by our strong tradition of immigration. While there is room for debate as to how many legal immigrants should be admitted and in what categories, I believe I speak for all of my colleagues on the Commission in saying we remain committed to the principle that the U. S. is and will be a country of immigration.
N3 / Ben J. Wattenberg and Karl Zinsmeister, fellows at the American Enterprise Institute, April 1990, "The Case for More Commentary in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to Immigration" the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p145 / / pkk-38-VT95
But the point is that even with illegals taken into account, the numbers of people now entering the country are not distressingly high. In fact, they are lower than what, in our judgment, a wise policy would dictate. ''
N4 / Ben J. Wattenberg and Karl Zinsmeister, fellows at the American Enterprise Institute, April 1990, "The Case for More Immigration" Commentary in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p144 / / pkk-38-VT95
The first thing to be said about current immigrant flows to this country is that in historical terms they are fairly moderate. While the actual number of foreign citizens now entering the U. S. may seem high--about 650,000 per year, counting legals, illegals, and refugees, and subtracting out-migration--it amounts all in all to an annual increase in the population of only about one-fifth of 1 percent. At the turn of the century, by contrast, when immigration was at its height, it increased the U. S. population by about ! percent per year. Furthermore, the fraction of our current population that is foreign-born is not only well below earlier U. S. peaks, it is lower than the present levels in several West European nations, and considerably below the proportions in other immigrant nations like Australia and Canada.
N5 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--Cato Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p. 49 \\ SW-VT95
There does not seem to be solid evidence for so large a supply of potential immigrants. One reason given for belief in a large supply is, as the first letter writer quoted above puts it, the assumption that immigration now is at an "incredibly high rate, " but the early part of chapter 3 refutes this assumption. There seems to be very little relevant evidence, a few scrappy pieces of which will now be mentioned. The most important conclusion implied by the review to follow is that systematic research into the topic would be exceedingly welcome.
N6 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. Winter 1991 in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Emmet Long, ed. p. 163 / / pkk-54-VT95
For years, phony inflated estimates of the stocks and flows of illegal immigrants were bandied about by opponents of immigration in order to muddy the waters. Since the 1986 Simpson Mazzoli law's amnesty we know that the numbers are actually quite modest, much lower than even the "mainstream" estimates cited in the press. So that scare no longer serves as an effective red herring for opponents of immigration.
N7 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p. 161 / / pkk-54-VT95
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)whose rhetoric I shall use as illustration--says that "[i]mmigration to the United States is at record levels. " This claim is simply false: Figure I shows the absolute numbers of legal immigrants over the decades. The recent inflow clearly is far below the inflow around the turn of the century--even though it includes the huge number of immigrants who took advantage of the 1986 amnesty; they are classified as having entered in 1989, although most of them actually arrived before 1980. Even the inclusion of illegal immigrants does not alter the fact that there is less immigration now than in the past.
N8 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p162 / / pkk-54-VT95
Another way to think about the matter: in 1910, 14. 6 percent of the population was born abroad, but in 1980 less than 6 percent of us were. Not only is the present stock of immigrants much smaller proportionally than it was earlier, but it also is a small proportion considered by itself. We tend to think of ourselves as a "nation of immigrants, " but less than one out of fifteen people now in the U. S. was born abroad, including those who arrived many years ago. Who would guess that the U. S. has a smaller share of foreign-born residents than many countries that we tend to think have closed homogeneous populations--including Great Britain, Switzerland, France, and Germany? We are a nation not of immigrants, but rather of the descendants of immigrants.
N9 / Jonathan Alter staff writer July 26, 1993 "Elitism and the Immigration Backlash" NEWSWEEK / / p. 35 VT-95
But no records are in danger of falling. The latest numbers suggest little change from the 1980s, which was the second largest decade for immigration in American history in absolute numbers (7. 3 million, not including those receiving amnesty ) but nothing special as a percentage of total population. In fact, the 1920s-hardly known as a big Ellis Island decade-experienced a proportionately higher level of immigration then the 1980s.
N10 / LARS SCHOULTZ, Prof. Political Science, Univ. of North Carolina, 1992; in WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION AND UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY, "Central America and the politicization of US immigration policy" p. 165\ -MS-VT95
But this history would have to be exaggerated significantly in order to permit the conclusion that Central America can be distinguished as a region of international migration. Costa Rica has never had a significant number of emigrants. Honduras and Nicaragua were similarly without a history of emigration until the recent outbreak of warfare, and it is only very recently--the 1970s--that any significant number of Guatemalans began to migrate. That leaves only the Salvadorans, and their migration has traditionally been highly focused: poor farmers moving across the border into Honduras.
N11 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, in The Public Interest. Winter 1991, "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Emmet Long, ed. / / p161 pkk-54-VT95
Economically speaking, more relevant than these absolute numbers is the volume of immigration as a proportion of the native population, as shown in Figure II. Between 1901 and 1910 immigrants arrived at the yearly rate of 10. 4 per thousand U. S. population, whereas between 1981 and 1987 the rate was only 2. 5 per thousand of the population. So the recent flow is less than a fourth as heavy as it was in that earlier period. Australia and Canada admit three times that many immigrants as a proportion of their populations.
N12 / Tom Morganthau staff writer August 9, 1993
"America: Still a Melting Pot?" NEWSWEEK. p. 22 VT95
Proponents of further immigration argue that the current influence argue that the current influx is actually slower than the 1900-1920 peak when considered as a percentage of the U. S. population They are right: it was 1 percent of the population then and about one third of 1 percent now.
N13 / Ellen Percy Kraly, Dept. Of Geography, Colgate U. , Robert Warren, U. S. Immigration And Naturalization Service, November 1992; Demography, "Estimates Of Long-Term Immigration To The United States: Moving U. S. Statistics Toward United Nations Concepts, " Vol. 29, No. 4 / AGL-Vt95
Official immigration statistics for the United States are reported according to the date when immigrants are granted permanent resident status. For many immigrants, adjustment to permanent residence occurs many months or years after arrival in the country. In addition, more than 100,000 persons who enter the United States each year as non immigrants remain longer than one year and subsequently depart. These migrants are not reported as immigrants in statistics published by the US Immigration and Naturalization service (INS).
N14 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p50 \\ SW-VT95
Most Mexicans do not enter the US, despite the case of entering illegally and the relatively low cost of the trip. And most who do enter illegally return home later, after a relatively short time; this phenomenon is detailed in chapter 15, and it is also evidenced by the extremely low rate of naturalization of Mexicans (and also of Canadians), as may be seen in table 3. 8. This point should be kept in mind even though the statistics concerning the number who do enter illegally arouse so much interest. If the US were as universally attractive as so many Americans think it is, one would expect to find more illegal immigrants than there are now.
N15 / MICHAEL D'ANTONIO, NEW YORK JOURNALIST, AUGUST 29, 1993; LOS ANGELES TIMES, "Apocalypse Soon; The Latest Overpopulation Alarm Has A Twist: Not Only Lives But Lifestyles Are At Stake, " Magazine; Page 18 / AGL-VT95
The available statistics do suggest that immigration is on the rise worldwide. According to the U. S. Committee for Refugees, a private, nonpartisan organization, the worldwide refugee population has climbed steadily, from fewer than 8 million in 1983 to more than 17. 5 million today. But while industrialized countries may be bracing for an onslaught, it has yet to materialize. It turns out that most of the world's refugees do not travel from one continent to the next. Instead, hungry Third World people travel to neighboring underdeveloped states in search of relief. Tom Argent, a policy analyst for the committee, says that poorer countries bear the real brunt of refugees, who migrate en masse and can seriously overburden resources. "For example, there are just over 1 million Mozambicans in Malawi, a country that itself has just 9 million people, " notes Argent. "You can imagine what a country goes through when it suddenly has 11% more people. " Considering the refugee problems already endured by smaller, poorer countries such as Malawi, Argent is not sure the time has come for Americans to be alarmed about refugee hordes. The committee, which considers itself a human-rights organization, opposes efforts to restrict legitimate applications for asylum. "In the U. S. and Europe, people talk about being overrun, " Argent says. "That's not happening now. " The State Department reports that 132,000 refugees were settled in America last year in addition to about 970,000 legal immigrants. The INS estimates that more than 1 million undocumented immigrants also arrived last year. Argent argues that these figures are not large for a country as big as the United States, but he does agree that Americans should be prepared for more immigrants.
N16 / THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC, AUGUST 21, 1993, "Immigration Debate; Melting Pot Running Over?" Pg. A20 / AGL-VT95
A number of reasons may explain the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment -- from a stagnant economy to the fear of increased domestic terrorism, such as the bombing of New York's World Trade Center. Yet the evidence -- apart from the popular perception -- suggests that immigration problems are largely overblown.
N17 / Michael Kinsley staff writer December 28, 1992
"Gatecrashers" The New Republic p. 6 VT95
Although 128 million extra people in the next six decades sounds like an awful lot, that is no greater than the population increase over the past six decades. (And it's a much smaller proportional increase).
N18 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p. 3-1 \\ SW-VT95
As the estimates concerning illegal immigration discussed earlier in this chapter show: (a) there are many fewer Mexican illegals at any one time than is popularly believed; (b) the number of illegals in the country at any time overstates the number who intend to remain permanently, especially among Mexicans; and (c) a large proportion of the illegal aliens residing permanently in the US are from countries other than Mexico. These findings imply that we could do away with the lawlessness involved in the present situation, and not increase the number of Mexicans in the US very much, if we were to allow potential immigrants to enter legally.
N19 / RICHARD SIMON, STAFF WRITER, NOVEMBER 26, 1993; LOS ANGELES TIMES, "The Great Divide: Immigration In The 1990s. One In A Series, " Part A; Page 1 / AGL-VT95
In California, the image of illegal immigrants coming across the U. S. -Mexican border dominates the immigration debate. But it is not the full picture. In reality, one-third of the nation's estimated 3 million illegal immigrants came from neither Mexico nor elsewhere in Latin America.
N20 / THE REUTER LIBRARY REPORT, NOVEMBER 5, 1993, "Most Americans Said To Want Cutback In Immigration" / AGL-VT95
The survey shows that Americans mistakenly believe that most immigrants enter the United States illegally. According to Time, 76 percent of immigrants entered legally in 1992 while only 24 percent entered illegally.
N21 / Tom Morganthau staff writer August 9, 1993
"America: Still a Melting Pot?". p. 21 VT95
You can argue then, the distinction between legal and illegal immigration is nearly meaningless. Immigrants are immigrants: how they get here is a detail.
N22 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p. 301 \\ SW-VT95
Also, illegal immigration must be the most victimless of crimes. Neither natives nor illegals are injured, even in their pocketbooks, by the illegal immigration. And one cannot make the argument that preventing illegal immigration reduces moral corruption, as one might (or might not) with prohibition and vice laws; nor can one argue that it saves people from injuring themselves, as is the case with laws against high speeds or suicide.
N23 / MICHAEL T. LEMPRAS, ATTORNEY AND FORMER EXECUTIVE COMMISSIONER OF THE INS, FEBRUARY 21, 1994; NATIONAL REVIEW, "Getting Serious About Illegal Immigration" p3 V. 46 / AGL-VT95
Most Americans believe that there should be a limit to the number of migrants, ' however labeled, that this country accepts each year. The distinction between legal and illegal migration is , important, but less so than the impact of the total number.
N24 / PR NEWSWIRE, NOVEMBER 4, 1993, " Immigration Costs California $18. 2 Billion & 914,000 Unemployed In 1992, Reports New Study; Legal Immigration Accounts For Nearly 3 / 4 Of Costs" / AGL-VT95
The just-completed study, "The Net Costs of Immigration to California" was commissioned by Carrying Capacity Network (CCN), a non- profit organization which seeks to increase understanding of the interrelated nature of environmental degradation, population growth and immigration issues. The study also found that -- -- Nearly three-fourths of the total net cost, $13. 1 billion in 1992, was due to legal and legalized immigrants. Illegal immigrants generated $5. 12 billion of the total cost.
N25 / Charles W. Hall, Steve Bates, Washington Post Staff Writers April 25, 1994, HEADLINE: Calculating The Costs of Immigration The Washington Post / / PKK-LN-VT95
All studies suffer from a lack of hard data. Variables such as the number of illegal immigrants and the rate at which they use services can't be pinned down, in part because these are people who don't want to be counted. In many cases, transient living situations also make estimating difficult, officials say. "I take all of those studies with a grain of salt, " said George Borjas, an economist at the University of California at San Diego.
N26 / ELLEN PERCY KRALY, DEPT. OF GEOGRAPHY, COLGATE U, ROBERT WARREN, U. S. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE, NOVEMBER 1992; DEMOGRAPHY, "ESTIMATES OF LONG-TERM IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES: MOVING U. S. STATISTICS TOWARD UNITED NATIONS CONCEPTS, " vol. 29, no. 41 p613-5-VT95
The absence of statistics on annual cohorts of long-term immigrants arriving in the United States presents conceptual and technical problems for both national demographic analysis and comparative research on international migration. The lack of demographic focus in current US immigration statistics could introduce biases in the analysis of the volume, pattern of geographic distribution, and regional impacts of immigration for the United States.
N27 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p277 \\ SW-VT95
There is less solid data about illegals than we would like. But it should be noted that we are not entirely without data. There is far more information on the subject than is often supposed, enough to put to rest many of the prevailing myths about illegals.
N28 / Jonathan Alter staff writer July 26, 1993 "Elitism and the Immigration Backlash". p. 36 VT95
Whatever the early adjustment pains -for the aliens themselves and for the public services they burden - immigration eventually pays off big. Having endured hardship to get here, new arrivals are essentially prescreened for moxie. In the first generation, that energy sometimes translates into a willingness to do scut work avoided by Americans - or crime. By the second and third generations immigrant families are building the small-business backbone of the nation. This isn't only about some words on the Statue of Liberty. It's about wealth creation for everyone.
N29 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 pp388-9 \\ SW-VT95
As to the "quality" of immigrants, the central economic fact now - and throughout US history - is that, in contrast to the older US population, immigrants tend to arrive in their 20s and 30s, when they are physically and mentally vigorous and in the prime of their work lives. Immigrants have about as much education as do natives, on average, and this was true even at the turn of the century. Furthermore, immigrants are disproportionally professional and technical persons, a great benefit to the US.
N30 / STEPHEN CHAPMAN, STAFF WRITER, JULY 25, 1993; CHICAGO TRIBUNE, "Immigration Myths And The Recurrent Urge To Exclude, " Pg. 3 /-LN-VT95
The problem is that the burdens of immigration - most conspicuously in schools and public hospitals - are often immediate and local, while many of the rewards are long-term and national. That's an argument for insisting that Washington provide more help to places that have to absorb lots of foreigners, but not for slamming the door.
N31 / Tom Morganthau staff writer August 9, 1993
"America: Still a Melting Pot?". p. 18 VT95
Yet the perception today is that immigration is a drag on the economy not a lift. In truth, it' s both. "The short term costs of immigration today are much higher, " says Michael Boskin, formerly chief economist to George Bush "but in the long run, immigrants are still great news for our "economy. "
N32 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p. 46 \\ SW-VT95
Another way to measure the economic "quality" of immigrants is according to earnings level, which is an indication of productive capacity as judged by the market. Within a few years in the US, the average contemporary immigrant male head of a family comes to earn more than does the average native male head of a family (e. g. Chiswick, 1979; Simon and Sullivan, forthcoming). (Of course much of this superior earnings performance, and the relatively high education level, is due to the simple fact that immigrants migrate when they are young, and education levels have been rising all over the world. As I repeat many times, it is 'hard to overestimate the importance of the age distribution among immigrants, which is the source of so many of their economic effects.
N33 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of, Business Administration, Winter 1991 '"The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest, in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Long, ed. p169 / / pkk-54-VT95
An economist always owes the reader a cost-benefit assessment for policy analysis. So I combined the most important elements pertaining to legal immigrants with a simple macroeconomic model, making reasonable assumptions where necessary. The net effect is slightly negative for the early years, but four or five years later the net effect turns positive and large. And when we tote up future costs and benefits, the rate of "investment" return from immigrants to the citizen public is about 20 percent per annum- a good return for any portfolio.
N34 / THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC, AUGUST 21, 1993, "Immigration Debate; Melting Pot Running Over?" Pg. A20 /-VT95
Though some illegal aliens no doubt are drawn to America because of generous government social services, most come to work and contribute to the economy. The jobs they find are mostly that Americans traditionally spurn. Once employed, they work hard, pay taxes and invest in housing and community businesses. Study after study suggests that illegal immigrants contribute more to the economy than they take out in social services.
N35 / MARILYN HOSKIN, Prof. Political Science, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1991, NEW IMMIGRANTS AND DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY p146 \\ VT95
-MS If immigrants in fact strengthen rather than damage an economy, those who continue to point to immigrants as the cause of economic troubles will eventually hurt their own cause. To the extent that organized labor has been quite unyielding in holding that position, it may already have hurt its image and undermined its credibility.
N36 / Melinda Liu staff writer June 21, 1993 "Immigration Crackdown: Anxious Americans Want New Restrictions and Tougher Enforcement. " U. S. News and World Report. p. 36 VT95
In fact, a hefty proportion of foreigners entering America have high levels of education and are moving directly into the nation's suburbs and professional classes. "The net effect of immigration is still that it raises the GNP, " says Harvard economist Richard Freeman co-author of the NBER report.
N37 / GEORGES VERNEZ (director of the Education and Human Resources)The San Diego Union-Tribune October 15, 1993, Pg. B-7 HEADLINE: From bonanza to headache Immigration in California has changed character (LEXIS / NEXIS) / / MS-VT95
Study after study stressed the net increase in aggregate income for the nation and California as a whole brought about by immigration and generally found little negative effects on wages or employment opportunities for the native-born, particularly in the long run, if not always in the short run. And, we have been willing and fiscally able to provide the public services they required.
N38 / ANDREW M. ISSERMAN, DIRECTOR OF THE REGIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE at WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY, MARCH 1993; URBAN STUDIES, "United States Immigration Policy and the Industrial Heartland: Laws, Origins, Settlement Patterns and Economic Consequences, " vol. 30, no. 2 p255 / /-VT95
Since immigration affects both the demand and supply of labour, the net result in terms of wages and unemployment is indeterminate theoretically. Only an empirical approach can ascertain whether the supply effect or the demand effect dominates. Despite numerous attempts and a growing literature (see Abowd and Freeman, 1991; Borjas, 1990; Borjas and Tienda, 1987; Greenwood and McDowell, 1986), satisfactory empirical research designs remain elusive. Greenwood and McDowell (1986) conclude that "almost nothing is known about the specific demand effects of immigration". Borjas (1990) concludes that "the methodological arsenal of econometrics cannot detect a single shred of evidence that immigrants have a sizable adverse impact on the earnings and employment opportunities of natives in the United States.
N39 / ROBERT WALKER AND MARK ELLIS, DEPT. OF GEOGRAPHY, FLORIDA STATE U, RICHARD BARFF, DEPT. OF GEOGRAPHY, DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, JULY 1992; ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, "Linked Migration Systems: Immigration and Internal Labor Flows in the United States, " vol. 68, no. 3 p236 /-VT95
Explanations of immigrant impacts on natives within the context of these broad labor force categories generally divide into two opposing perspectives (see Greenwood and McDowell 198(5; Borjas and Tienda 1987; Borjas 1990). One holds that immigrants take jobs from natives and depress wages by entering formal secondary or subordinate primary labor markets. This view lacks empirical support and theoretically it relies on a restrictive set of assumptions (Borjas).
N40 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p344 \\ SW-VT95
Several recent studies have tackled the matter of "displacement" empirically using a variety of approaches. No study has found across-the board unemployment caused by immigrants, either in the US as a whole or in particular areas of relatively high immigration. And effects on particular groups as surprisingly small or non-existent, even groups (such as blacks and women in California) seemingly at special risk from Mexican immigrants.
N41 / Gary Stanley Becker Professor at the University of Chicago Fellow of the Hoover Institute, February 22, 1993 "Illegal Immigration: How to Turn the Tide. "
Business Week. p. 23 VT95
Research has found that the employment prospects of native workers are only slightly reduced when immigrants enter a local labor market.
N42 / ALAN C. MILLER, RONALD J. OSTROW, and RONALD BROWNSTEIN, STAFF WRITERS, JULY 11, 1993; LOS ANGELES TIMES, "Immigration Policy Failures Invite Overhaul, " Page A1 /-LN-VT95
At the same time, immigrants are a far smaller portion of the U. S. work force than they were previously. Foreign-born workers make up 8% to 9% of employees today; they constituted 15% in the early 20th Century.
N43 / Ben J. Wattenberg and Karl Zinsmeister, fellows at the American Enterprise Institute, April 1990, "The Case for More Immigration" Commentary. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. / p148 / pkk-VT95
A fourth argument directly contradicts the third: immigrants are such zealous workers that they deprive natives of scarce jobs. Here, too, major studies by the Urban Institute and by the Rand Corporation paint a different picture. Immigration to a given area can be quite compatible with job growth, and even with wage increases. Indeed, one finds little evidence of higher unemployment or of a serious depressive effect on wages even among the most vulnerable native groups--low-skill Black workers or American-born Hispanics--when there is a rise in the proportion of immigrants in the local labor market.
N44 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p. 251 \\ SW-VT95
Taken together, the empirical studies reviewed in this chapter suggest that general immigration causes little or no unemployment at large, even in the first year or two; the same is true of low-income Hispanic immigration even among the groups most likely to be "displaced" by them. This finding emerges from studies using a variety of methods, studying various periods, and in a variety of geographical areas.
N45 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p166 / / pkk-VT95
In the shortest run, the demand for any particular sort of worker is indeed inflexible. Therefore, additional immigrants in a given occupation must to some degree lower wages and / or increase unemployment in that occupation. For example, the large recent influx of foreign physicians increases the competition that U. S. physicians face, lowering their earnings. But because immigrants come with a variety of skills, workers in most occupations feel little impact. And in the longer run, workers in most occupations are not injured at all.
N45a / MARILYN HOSKIN, Prof. Political Science, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1991, NEW IMMIGRANTS AND DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY p. 146 \\ MS-VT95
The single most startling implication of our analyses is for those who justify apprehension about immigration in economic terms. Although debate continues about the economic consequences of immigration, there is increasing acceptance of the view that rather than taking jobs from nationals, immigrants add needed elements to the work force (Borjas, 1989).
N46 / Ben J. Wattenberg and Karl Zinsmeister, fellows at the American Enterprise Institute, April 1990, "The Case for More Immigration" Commentary in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, 'ed. p148 / / pkk-VT95
Immigrants seem generally to complement rather than compete with native workers. They often fill manual or specialized jobs for which domestic workers are in short supply. They sometimes attract minimum-wage industries which would otherwise have located elsewhere. They stimulate activity in the 'service economy. They start new businesses. As anyone who has lived in a neighborhood with such businesses can attest, these enterprises are largely . original: far from driving someone else from a job, many immigrant entrepreneurs carve a narrow foothold for themselves out of the rubble of empty buildings and unserved needs.
N46a / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest . in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Emmet Long, ed. p167 / pkk-VT95
Furthermore, potential immigrants are well aware of labor market conditions in the U. S. ; and they tend not to come if there is little demand for their skills. Natives tend not to be harmed even in the Few industries--like the restaurant and hotel businesses in which immigrants concentrate because natives do not want jobs in these industries.
N47 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United . States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p167 / / pkk-54 And because 'immigrants tend to be heterogeneous in their skills, their presence does not disproportionately affect any particular industry; and of course salaries rise in the occupations that few immigrants enter. (Indeed, if immigrants were spread evenly throughout all occupations, wages would not fall in any occupation. )
N48 / Ben J. Wattenberg and Karl Zinsmeister, fellows at the American Enterprise Institute, April 1990, "The Case for More Immigration" Commentary in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p150 / / pkk-VT95
In a normal labor market new people not only "consume" jobs, they also "create" jobs through their labor and their buying. That is usually justification enough for not being overly concerned about 'job-stealing But the United States is not at present experiencing a normal labor market. The unemployment rate stands not much above 5 percent (which is near "full employment"), and the supply of young workers is shrinking (due to earlier depressed fertility).
N50 / THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, AUGUST 22, 1993, "Finding A Balance Immigration Has Costs And Benefits, " Pg. G-2 /-VT95
An Urban Institute study estimates that 74 percent of adult male immigrants hold jobs, compared with 72 percent of the general male population. The institute also found that, in a study of the 400 largest U. S. counties, "for every 100-person increase in the population of adult immigrants, the number of new jobs rose by 46. "
N51 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p. 166 \\ pkk-VT95
The explanation is that immigrants not only take jobs, but also z, create them. Their purchases increase the demand for labor, leading to new hires roughly equal in number to the immigrant workers.
N52 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, p167 Robert Emmet Long, ed. / / pkk-VT95
'At the same time, immigrants, who consume a wide variety of goods and services, increase the demand for labor across the range of occupations.
N53 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p. 223 \\ SW-VT95
The two analyses in this chapter - Harrison's, and the queue theory newly presented here - are complementary. Harrison focuses upon the exogenous consumption effect, and my analysis focuses upon the extent of additional labor-market "congestion" caused by additional competitors for jobs. Both analyses suggest that the effect upon natives' unemployment is much less than common belief has it, and native unemployment may even be lessened rather than increased due to immigrants.
N54 / Tom Morganthau staff writer August 9, 1993
"America: Still a Melting Pot?". p. 18 VT95
But in normal times, any lob loss is more than offer by the creation of new jobs from the immigrants' own work. The immigrants' new spending creates demand for housing, groceries and other necessities, and their employers invest their expanding profits in new machinery and jobs. "It is called competitive capitalism, " says Tony, a Carnival of the American Society for Training and Development, "and it works. "
N55 / ROBERT WALKER AND MARK ELLIS, DEPT. OF GEOGRAPHY, FLORIDA STATE U. , RICHARD BARFF, DEPT. OF GEOGRAPHY, DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, JULY 1992; ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, "Linked Migration Systems: Immigration and Internal Labor Flows in the United States, " vol. 68, no. 3 p236 /-VT95
An alternative perspective holds that' immigrants have either positive effects or no impacts whatsoever on the labor market experience of natives. Positive effects occur when immigrants invest skills and capital in job creation. A total absence of impact results primarily from immigrant concentration in the informal sector, or from the creation of enclave economies in which immigrants, in effect, develop ethnically based economic structures covering a wide range of jobs.
N56 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p. 72 \\ SW-VT95
He (Borjas) finds that "Immigrants are more likely to be self-employed than similarly skilled native-born workers" (1985b, abstract). This result probably would be even stronger if physicians and dentists and similar professions were deleted from the sample. Borjas's analyses suggest to him that a "major reason for this differential is that geographical enclaves of immigrants increase self-employment opportunities, particularly for immigrants who share the same national background as the residents of the enclave".
N57 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC. . CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p. 71 \\ SW-VT95
A large proportion of new jobs in the US arise in small businesses. Several studies show that firms with fewer than 20 employees, which employ about 33 percent of all working persons, create somewhere between 51 and 80 percent of the net new jobs. The data for firms with fewer than 100 employees, and those with fewer than 500 employees, show the same high propensity to create new jobs (US Small Business Administration, 1984b, p. 3). Immigrants apparently have a high propensity to start their own businesses; this seems obvious to the casual observer.
N58 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p166 / / pkk-VT95
The businesses that immigrants start are at first small, of course But surprisingly small businesses are the most' important source of new jobs. And immigrant entrepreneurs tend to succeed in a dynamic economy, because they are innovative and mobile.
N59 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p166 / / pkk-VT95
Immigrants also create jobs directly by opening new businesses. A Canadian government survey of immigrants, which should also describe U. S. experience, found that almost 5 percent-ninety-one of the 1746 males and 291 single females in its panel sample--had started businesses within their first three years in Canada. Not only did they employ themselves, but they also employed others, creating a total of 606 jobs. Thus the total of 2037 immigrants personally created roughly 30 percent as many jobs as they collectively held.
N60 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p166 / / pkk-VT95
Furthermore, these numbers surely rose rapidly after the three-year study period; after one year seventy-one self-employed immigrants had created 264 jobs, compared with the ninety-one immigrant entrepreneurs and 606 jobs observed after three years.
N61 / LOS ANGELES TIMES, AUGUST 29, 1993, "Reason Together On Immigration Policy; Reform Is Needed, But Inflammatory Rhetoric Isn't, " Part B; Page 10 /-VT95
The Times Poll respondents agreed that immigrants usually take jobs that Americans don't want. And they agreed that there should be less concern with penalizing illegal immigrants and more with protecting them from mistreatment by American employers.
N62 / Saul Landau The San Francisco Chronicle SEPTEMBER 20, 1993, Pg. B9; HEADLINE: Immigration Hysteria Is Missing the Point (LEXIS / NEXIS) / / MS-VT95
Like waves of immigrants before them, newly-arrived Asians and Hispanics desperately need work and therefore accept lower wages and live in less wholesome conditions than U. S. workers. Meanwhile, they service the more fortunate. They pick, pack and process food, clean houses, tend gardens and mind children of the middle class.
N63 / ERIC BAILEY and DAN MORAIN, TIMES STAFF WRITERS May 3, 1993, Headline: Anti- Immigration Bills Flood Legislature; Rights: Republicans See The Measures As A Way To Help The State Cut Costs. Critics See The Move As Political Opportunism And, In Some Cases, Racism. Los Angeles Times Page 3; / / pkk-VT95
Some researchers gripe that such studies fail to calculate the benefits of immigrants to the overall economy. The newcomers fill bottom-rung jobs that many legal residents reject -- maids, gardeners, janitors, farm workers, restaurant kitchen help.
N64 / Robert Walker and Mark Ellis, Dept. of Geography, Florida State University Richard Barff Dept. of Geography Dartmouth College July 1992; Economic Geography, "Linked Migration Systems: Immigration and Internal Labor Flows in the United States, " vol. 68 no. 3 / p. 241 VT95
Immigration does not necessarily affect native population movements. A lack of impact occurs when the labor markets in which immigrants and natives function are decoupled and immigrants do not generate complementary inflows of natives indirectly though investments. The most obvious situation, widely hypothesized and observed occurs when immigrants take jobs natives would otherwise leave vacant as is often the case with personal services (Piore 1979).
N65 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p167 / / pkk-VT95
Evidence for this comes from experiments conducted by the Immigration and Naturalization Service and San Diego County. In one case, 2154 illegal aliens were removed from jobs, but the California State Human Resources Agency had almost no success in filling the jobs with U. S. citizens.
N66 / RICHARD D. LAMM, former Governor of Colorado, & Gary Imhoff, 1985; THE IMMIGRATION TIME BOMB: THE FRAGMENTING OF AMERICA p140 \\ PKK- VT95
Most urban illegals do not work at such low wages or in such undesirable. jobs that Americans would not take them. In 1980, The New York Times refound to have average earnings of more than $9,000 a year while working for plastics and electronics companies, foundries, meat-packing plants, rubber products manufacturers, snack food and candy producers and the like. '' Former senator Walter D. Huddleston (Democrat-Kentucky), a leader in bringing the problem of illegal immigration to the attention of Congress, noted in a speech on the floor of the Senate in 1981 that, according to INS statistics, "almost two thirds of the illegals who were employed were working at wages over $3. 35 [the minimum Wage], and many of these held jobs paying over $7. 25 an hour. " 9 And in Houston, a Rice University study surveyed the construction industry in 1981 and found that one-third of all workers in commercial construction were illegal immigrants, making wages of between $4. 00 and $9. 50 an hour.
N67 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p167 / / pkk-VT95
Wages are admittedly pushed downward somewhat in industries and localities in which immigrants are concentrated. Barton Smith and Robert Newman of the University . of Houston found that adjusted wages are 8 percent lower in the Texas border cities in which the proportion of Mexicans is relatively high. Much of the apparent difference is accounted for by a lower cost of living in the border cities, however.
N68 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p166 / / pkk-VT95
A good-sized body of competent recent research shows that immigration does not exacerbate unemployment, even among directly competing groups; in California, for instance, immigrants have not increased unemployment among blacks and women. And the research, done by several independent scholars from a variety of angles, uses several kinds of data. For example, Stephen Moore and I systematically studied immigration's effects upon overall unemployment, by looking at the changes in unemployment in various U. S. cities that have experienced different levels of unemployment. We found that if there is displacement, it is too little to be observable.
N69 / Ben J. Wattenberg and Karl Zinsmeister, fellows at the American Enterprise Institute, April 1990, "The Case for More Immigration" Commentary in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p147 / / pkk-38 A series of recent economic studies challenge this notion. Immigrants tend to be disproportionately young, and as a result they draw very lightly on Social Security and Medicare- by far our largest social programs. Nor do they draw much more than natives on other kinds of welfare spending, like Aid to Families with Dependent Children, food stamps, and unemployment compensation. In all, immigrants actually consume smaller amounts of public funds than do natives for about their first dozen years in the U. S. After that. levels tend to equalize.
N70 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p114 \\ SW-VT95
The data from the "normal" cases - Britain, Canada, and the US suggest that immigrants use a below-average quantity of services, largely because of the "favorable" age and sex composition of the immigrant groups.
N71 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p106 \\ SW-VT95
This chapter first adduces excellent Census Bureau data to show that legal immigrants do not impose a burden upon natives by their use of welfare services such as medical care, unemployment pay, food programs, aid to dependent children, retirement payments, and schooling expenditures. Rather, immigrant families use less than their share of such services. This is due largely to the age composition of immigrant families, who typically are adults arriving in the US in the early prime of their working lives, with relatively few children.
N72 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION , 1989 p124 \\ SW-VT95
The contemporary public-coffers benefits to natives from immigrants derive overwhelmingly from the age composition of natives rather than from behavioral characteristics of immigrants; this may be seen in the importance of the Social Security effect.
N73 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p127-8 \\ SW-VT95
From the time of entry until about 12 years later, immigrants use substantially less than do native families of such public services as welfare and unemployment compensation payments, food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, and schooling for children, largely due to less use of Social Security because of the youthful age of immigrants.
N74 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p164-5 / / pkk-VT95
When programs for the elderly are included, immigrant families receive far less in public services than natives. During the first five years in the U. S. , the average immigrant family receives $1, 400 in welfare and schooling (in 1975 dollars), compared with the $2, 300 received by the average native family. The receipts gradually become equal over several decades.
N75 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p164 / / pkk-VT95
Solid evidence gives the lie to this charge. In an analysis of Census Bureau data I found that, aside from Social Security and Medicare about as much money is spent on welfare services and schooling for immigrant families as for citizens.
N76 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p339 \\ SW-VT95
Analysis of a large Census Bureau survey shows that, contrary to common belief, immigrants do not use more transfer payments and public services than do natives; rather, they use much smaller amounts in total.
N77 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p339 \\ SW-VT95
'Comparing immigrant and native families of similar education and age, there is almost no difference in usage levels. The costs of schooling are somewhat higher for immigrants after the first few years in the US, because their families are younger than native families, on average. But when we include public retirement programs - Social Security, Medicare, and the like - immigrant families on average are seen to receive much less total welfare payments and public services than do average native families.
N78 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p165 / / pkk-VT95
And Duleep's finding that the economic results of Canadian and U. S. immigration are quite similar, despite the different admissions systems, adds weight to the conclusion that U. S. immigrants pay much more in taxes than they receive in benefits.
N79 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p167 / / pkk-VT95
If immigrants paid relatively little in taxes they might still burden natives, despite using fewer welfare services. But data on family earnings, which allow us to estimate tax payments, show that this is not at all the case.
N80 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p124 \\ SW-VT95
Some opponents of immigration (and even some friends of immigration) have said, roughly, "Yes, the United States received much larger numbers of immigrants, relative to the number of natives, in the past than it does now, and absorbed them successfully. But the conditions were different then. There was no program of social welfare and public support that attracted immigrants and that was costly for natives to pay for. " In fact, the argument actually points in exactly the opposite direction, because the contemporary structure of social services and taxes - which involves larger amounts of support to the needy, and therefore larger burdens upon the taxpayers, than in the past - implies that the public coffer is on balance a net beneficiary from immigrants rather than a net contributor to them.
N81 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p125 \\ SW-VT95
About illegals: chapter 15 shows that illegals use practically no welfare services, while about three-quarters pay Social Security and income taxes. This means that illegals contribute heavily to natives in this regard; the native population is "exploiting" the illegals in this fashion, rather than the opposite.
N82 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p7 \\ SW-VT95
Immigrants do burden natives through increased demand for schools and hospitals, and also through the use of public production capital by government workers, though to a considerable extent immigrants finance their share of the facilities through the pay-as-you-go bond system used by most localities. These arc exceedingly complex issues, and the interested reader can struggle with them in chapter 7. I conclude that these negative effects upon natives arc relatively small compared to the positive tax-and transfer public-coffers effect, as well as compared to the productivity effect.
N83 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p289 \\ SW-VT95
The other studies cited by* the Select Commission also corroborate the previous findings of North and Houstoun about the proportions of illegals that pay taxes: 77 percent of illegal workers in their sample paid Social Security taxes, and 73 percent had federal income tax withheld. The proportions are likely to have risen since then as a smaller proportion of illegals have worked in agriculture.
N84 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p165 / / pkk-VT95
As to illegal immigrants and welfare, FAIR typically says that "[t]axpayers are hurt by having to pay more for social services. " Ironically, several surveys--for example, one by Sidney Weintraub and Gilberto Cardenas of the University of Texas' show that illegals are even heavier net contributors to the public coffers than legal immigrants; many illegals are in the U. S. only temporarily and are therefore without families, and they are often afraid to apply for services for fear of being apprehended. IIlegals do, . however, pay taxes.
N85 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Emmet Long, ed. p164 \\ pkk-VT95
The main real cost that immigration imposes on natives is the extra capital needed for additional schools and hospitals. But this cost turns out to be small relative to benefits, in considerable part because we finance such construction with bond issues, so that we operate largely on a pay-as-you-go basis. Immigrants therefore pay much of their share.
N86 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p168 / / pkk-VT95
Immigrants pay more than their share of taxes. Within three to five years, immigrant-family earnings reach and pass those of the average American family. The tax and welfare data together indicate that, on balance, an immigrant family enriches natives by contributing an average of $1, 300 or more per year (in 1975 dollars) to the public coffers during its stay in the U. S. Evaluating the future stream of these contributions as one would a dam or harbor, the present value of an immigrant family--discounted at the risk-free interest rate of 3 percent--adds up to almost two years' earnings for a native family head. This means that the economic activities of an average immigrant family reduce the taxes of a native head of household enough to advance his or her possible date of retirement by two years.
N87 / Charles W. Hall, Steve Bates, Washington Post Staff Writers April 25, 1994, HEADLINE: Calculating The Costs of Immigration The Washington Post / / PKK-LN-VT95
Jeffrey S. Passel, an Urban Institute researcher who has closely studied immigration issues, said most studies understate the taxes paid by immigrants and ignore their economic contributions as they adapt. Similar studies, Passel said, would show many groups, including middle-class families with schoolchildren, take more in government services than they pay in local taxes. "I have two children in the Arlington schools, and I'm quite sure my property taxes don't pay for their education, " Passel said.
N88 / MERCEDES OLIVERA, STAFF WRITER, JANUARY 2, 1994; THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, "Immigrant-Bashing Decried; Conference Will Seek Policy To Counteract Feared Trend, " Pg. 26A /-VT95
Most national studies show that most undocumented immigrants fear public disclosure and therefore seldom use social services. But 60 percent of the Gallup respondents believe that immigrants often end up on welfare, but only 41 percent of the California Latinos said so.
N89 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p168 / / pkk-VT95
Curiously, contemporary welfare-state policies render immigration more beneficial to natives than it was in earlier times when welfare was mainly voluntary. There are two main reasons why today's immigrants make net contributions to the public coffers. First, far from being tired, huddled masses, immigrants tend to come when they are young, strong, and vibrant, at the start of their work lives. For example, perhaps 46 percent of immigrants are in the prime labor-force ages of twenty to thirty-nine, compared with perhaps 26 percent of natives. And only 4 percent of immigrants are aged sixty or over, compared with about 15 percent of natives. Second, many immigrants are well educated and have well-paying skills that produce hefty tax contributions.
N90 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p105 \\ SW-VT95
It is frequently said that immigrants to the US burden taxpayers by heavy use of welfare services. A 1986 poll showed that "47 percent of Americans felt that most immigrants wind up on welfare" (CBS / New York Times, 14 July 1986, p, 1). Often this charge is laid against illegal immigrants, as in the quotations above, in which case the charge seems especially grave because the illegals arc not "entitled" to the services they receive, unlike legal immigrants. Both logic and compelling empirical evidence, shown in chapter 15, demonstrate irrefutably that this charge against the illegals is preposterous; even if they should wish to do so, the illegals could not take much advantage of welfare services because of fear of being apprehended.
N91 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p289 \\ SW-VT95
There is general agreement among studies of the proportions of illegals using services and paying taxes, as conveniently summarized by the Select Commission (1981, Staff Report, pp. 549-51): very small proportions of illegals receive free public services. The data collected by North and Houstoun may be considered as representative (see table 15. 1). There arc two persuasive explanations of the observed low use of public facilities. First, the immigrants typically are young adults who need relatively little health care. Second, illegals are afraid of being apprehended if they apply at government offices.
N92 / Charles W. Hall, Steve Bates, Washington Post Staff Writers April 25, 1994, HEADLINE: Calculating The Costs of Immigration The Washington Post / / PKK-LN-VT95
One study, by the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, attempted to make national estimates of the needs of illegal immigrants for 13 government services. That study determined that 14. 8 percent of all illegal immigrants would need Medicaid, compared with 9. 5 percent of the general population. But the study also concluded that only half of those in need -- -or 7. 4 percent of all illegal immigrants -- -would actually get Medicaid, which for them is limited to prenatal and emergency care. If that rate is accurate, about $ 20 million in Medicaid money in 1993 would have been received by illegal immigrants in the Washington area, out of a total Medicaid expenditure of $ 1. 3 billion. That is based on a review of INS data suggesting an area population of 70,000 illegal immigrants.
N93 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p168 / / pkk-VT95
In the public sphere this means that immigrants immediately lessen the Social Security burden upon native workers. (The same ' holds for the defense burden, of course. ) And if there is a single factor currently complicating the government's economic policies, it is the size of Social Security payments and other assistance to the aged.
N94 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 pp. 126-7 \\ SW-VT95
As to whether US natives must pay the piper for this benefit from immigrants when the young immigrants get older and themselves receive Social Security - the answer is "no" for two reasons discussed earlier. First, the impact of this year's immigrants on Social Security say 30 years from now properly has little weight in the overall assessment, because a dollar to be received or paid out 30 years from now is worth much less now when discounted at even a modest rate. Second and more important is the mechanism analyzed above with a simple three-generation model. By the time the immigrant workers retire and collect Social Security, they typically have raised children who arc then contributing taxes to Social Security and thereby balancing out the parents' receipts, just as is the case with native families. In this way there is a one-time benefit to natives because the immigrants arrive without a generation of elderly parents who might receive Social Security.
N95 / DEBORAH POTTER, ANCHOR, PETE ANTONACCI, GOVERNOR CHILES' AIDE; JEANNE BUTTERFIELD, AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION; IRA MEHLMAN, FEDERATION FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION REFORM, DECEMBER 30, 1993; CNN, Inside Politics, "Florida's Gov. Chiles Sues Feds Over Illegal Immigrants, " Transcript #
494-1 /-VT95
JEANNE BUTTERFIELD, American Immigration Lawyers Association: The services that are in fact provided though are very limited. I think if you look at it, its education for minors, its a very limited form of welfare assistance - women, infants and children, again for the benefit of minor children. And certain emergency medical services.
N96 / SACRAMENTO BEE, BEE STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES, NOVEMBER 6, 1993; "Immigrants' Cost Estimated, " Pg. B3 /-VT95
Huddle's national study was criticized by other researchers and immigrant rights advocates as exaggerated.
N97 / Gary Stanley Becker Professor at the University of Chicago Fellow of the Hoover Institute, February 22, 1993 "Illegal Immigration: How to Turn the Tide. "
Business Week. p. 23 VT95
For example, those households and small companies that do not pay
Social Security and unemployment compensation taxes for legal immigrants are forced by the competition for labor to pay higher wages than if those taxes were paid.
N98 / Gary Stanley Becker Professor at the University of Chicago Fellow of the Hoover Institute, February 22, 1993 "Illegal Immigration: How to Turn the Tide. "
Business Week. p. 23 VT95
In a study of apprehended illegal workers, economist Barry R. Chiswick of the University of Illinois at Chicago found that their average pay was in fact well above the minimum wage.
N99 / Gary Stanley Becker Professor at the University of Chicago Fellow of the Hoover Institute, February 22, 1993 "Illegal Immigration: How to Turn the Tide. "
Business Week. p. 23 VT95
And although some legal workers are afraid to complain about bad treatment - because they may be deported- there isn't room for extensive exploitation in the highly competitive labor markets where most illegals find jobs.
N100 / RICHARD D. LAMM, former Governor of Colorado, & Gary Imhoff, 1985; THE IMMIGRATION TIME BOMB: THE FRAGMENTING OF AMERICA p44 \\ PPK-VT95
Even today most stoop laborers in this country are U. S- citizens, and US growers can hire American workers if they provide them with decent housing and working conditions.
N101 / RICHARD D. LAMM, former Governor of Colorado, & Gary Imhoff, 1985; THE IMMIGRATION TIME BOMB: THE FRAGMENTING OF AMERICA pp162-3 \\ PPK-VT95
In every occupation in the United States, a majority of the workers are U. S. citizens. You can't name a single occupation in which they aren't, " Briggs pointed out from his study of U. S. Census Bureau data.
N102 / STEPHEN CHAPMAN, STAFF WRITER, JULY 25, 1993; CHICAGO TRIBUNE, "Immigration Myths And The Recurrent Urge To Exclude, " Pg. 3 /-LN-VT95
Recent immigrants are often accused of a mulish refusal to assimilate. In fact, while assimilation takes time for immigrants, it's automatic for their kids. Two-thirds of Hispanics born here speak no Spanish or speak it less fluently than English.
N103 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p162 / / pkk-VT95
Furthermore, the absorption of immigrants is much easier now than it was in earlier times. One has only to read the history of the Pilgrims in Plymouth Colony to realize the enormity of the immediate burden that each new load of immigrants represented. But it is the essence of an advanced society that it can more easily handle material problems than can technically primitive societies. With every year it becomes easier for us to make the material adjustments that an increase in population requires. That is, immigrant assimilation becomes ever less of an economic problem-- all the more reason that the proportion of immigrants now seems relatively small, compared with what it was in the past.
N104 / Ben J. Wattenberg and Karl Zinsmeister, fellows at the American Enterprise Institute, April 1990, "The Case for More Immigration" Commentary in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p. 149 \\ pkk-VT95
But there are many grounds for reassurance. Data from California, for instance, show that somewhere between a quarter and a third of all Hispanics marry "Anglos"; us-vs. -them politics becomes much harder to sustain when it is difficult to tell the sides apart. Moreover, the powerful forces of Americanization are far from dead. More than 90 percent of U. S. -born Hispanics are now entirely fluent in English, and more than half of that group speaks only English. Young Hispanics aged twenty-one to twenty-five who are either native-born or have been in the country for more than ten years have reading scores comparable to the allU. S. average.
N105 / William Stanley, (Assistant Prof. of Political Science, University New Mexico) 1993 "'Blessing or Menace? The security Implications of Central American Migration'" International Migration and Security (edited by Myron Weiner) p. 230 / / MS-VT95
In this regard, the mass movements or Central Americans during the 1970s and 1980s stand out as an exception: despite their large scale, they have generally not triggered communal conflict and have seldom led to conflicts in poor communities over scarce economic resources.
N106 / Michael Kinsley staff writer December 28, 1992
"Gatecrashers" The New Republic p. 6 VT95
In other countries concern about diluting the nation's ethnic stock even has a certain validity.
Such concerns gave no validity in America. In fact, they are un-American. If applied in earlier times, when they were raised with equal passion, they would have excluded the ancestors of many who make the ethnic / cultural preservation argument today. The anti-immigration literature seems to regard this point as some kind of cheap shot. But I cannot see why.
N107 / Ben J. Wattenberg and Karl Zinsmeister, fellows at the American Enterprise Institute, April 1990, "The Case for More Immigration" Commentary in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p. 150 / / pkk-VT95
International pollsters tell' us that Americans are more patriotic, more willing to fight and die for their nation, and prouder of their heritage than residents of other industrial countries, even the most homogeneous ones. Our common ground derives from the surpassing power of deeply held principle. The democratic and individualistic values associated with that principle have proved and continue to prove assimilable by immigrants.
N108 / Ben J. Wattenberg and Karl Zinsmeister, fellows at the American Enterprise Institute, April 1990, "The Case for More Immigration" Commentary in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p. 150 / / pkk-VT95
When it comes, finally, to a sense of shared national values, in the United States this has almost never been based on common blood but rather on specific traits and attitudes, both real and idealized. And the simple fact is that those traits and attitudes self-reliance, a disciplined work ethic, strong family attachments, religiosity, an inclination toward entrepreneurship, a stress on education, independence of mind, an appreciation of individual liberty--are often notably prominent among immigrants to this country. It is no accident: in some large measure, alter all, they come to America because they admire what America stands for.
N109 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p104 \\ SW-VT95
-Two frequent negative allegations - that immigrants are more disposed to crime, and that they have large numbers of children which are a burden upon the native community - have no basis in fact.
N110 / STEPHEN CHAPMAN, STAFF WRITER, JULY 25, 1993; CHICAGO TRIBUNE, "Immigration Myths And The Recurrent Urge To Exclude, " Pg. 3 /-LN-VT95
Rising crime is also supposed to be the fault of foreigners - as when some Hispanics took part in last year's Los Angeles riots. But those Hispanics had plenty of patriotic natives to keep them company. Economist Stephen Moore of the congressional Joint Economic Committee notes that urban crime rates don't rise with the influx of the immigrants. The 10 cities with the lowest rate of violent crime have almost exactly the same percentage of foreigners (13. 7) as the 10 cities with the highest rate (13. 3).
N111 / Daniel Gross staff writer May, 1993 HEADLINE: NEW YORK'S OVERCROWDING IS GETTING WORSE American Demographics Pg. 23 / / pkk-VT95
Will population pressure precipitate a building boom in middle-and low-income housing? "The demand is there, " says Harvey Gordon, a project director for the planning department. "With the mortgage rates as low as they are, all the groundwork is there. " But there are obstacles, including existing buildings. "If you're going to build something in New York City, you're going to be tearing something down, " says Frank Vardy, a city planning official. Add to that the high cost of labor, scarcity of land, and maze of zoning laws, and building new homes becomes a complicated and expensive proposition.
N112 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p343 \\ SW-VT95
Immigrants are frequently said to cause a natural resource squeeze for natives. Much of that proposition is demonstrably bunkum. The water and food ingested in the US have been improving in past decades by every reasonable measure of quantity and purity, though the fact is too little known. The air in the US also has been getting less polluted. And over the long run, natural resources have been getting less scarce rather than more scarce, as indicated by the trends in the fundamental economic measure of cost. Additional people do increase resource demand and prices in the short run. But in the longer run, when the system has had a chance to find new sources and substitutes, the result is that resources are typically more available and cheaper than if the temporary shortages had never arisen.
N113 / Ben J. Wattenberg and Karl Zinsmeister, fellows at the American Enterprise Institute, April 1990, "The Case for More Immigration" Commentary in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p. 156 / / pkk-VT95
Another advantage would flow from the fact that most immigrants have already had their educations completed elsewhere. In terms of the costs of schooling alone, even the relatively small number of professional and technical-occupation immigrants we currently accept are worth an estimated several billion dollars annually. Raising the average educational level of future immigrant cohorts would swell this figure dramatically.
N114 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p38 \\ SW-VT95
A common belief is that immigrants are poor in the sense of not having much all-important human capital in the form of education. For example, W. Fogel (1978) writes: "Hundreds of thousands of people - most of them poor - are now immigrating to the United States. " This is wrong. "Contemporary immigrants have a bi-modal educational and occupational distribution relative to natives. As table 3. 1 shows, there is a disproportion of natives in the lowest education category. But there is also a disproportion - much more important both numerically and economically than the low education disproportion - in the highest educational categories.
N115 / RICHARD D. LAMM, former Governor of Colorado, & Gary Imhoff, 1985; THE IMMIGRATION TIME BOMB: THE FRAGMENTING OF AMERICA pp. 21-2 \\ PKK-VT95
Immigration law in this country was once racist; that cannot be denied. It openly and deliberately favored migrants from western European countries, discriminated against migrants from southern Europe and Africa, and excluded all migrants from the Asian Triangle. But that racism has been -- belatedly, to be sure -- ended. Immigration law is now blind to race, creed, color, and nation of origin. Country ceilings on legal immigration exist only to ensure that there is a mixture in our migrant stream, that no one country or group of countries will again dominate the stream to the exclusion of others. No one is favored and no one is excluded because of country of origin or race. And no one proposing any reforms in immigration law wants to change that policy or has supported any change that would, even inadvertently, affect it.
N116 / Tom Morganthau staff writer August 9, 1993
"America: Still a Melting Pot?". p. 22 VT95
Owing party to a further liberalization of the law in 1990 and partly to the IRCA amnesty, the United States now accepts more immigrants than all other industrialized nation combined. (Upwards of 80 percent are persons of color: so much for the myth that U. S. policy is racist).
N117 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p162 \\ SW-VT95
The simple fact is that some people will wring their hands when the dollar goes up, and some will wring their hands when it goes down. But the level of the dollar will not depend upon the presence of immigrants or their remittances; it will depend upon monetary and productivity variables in the US and in other countries. The balance of payments simply is not an important issue with respect to immigrants, nor are remittances generally.
N118 / EVELYN HERNANDEZ, STAFF WRITER, FEBRUARY 27, 1994; NEWSDAY, (Queens And Brooklyn Edition, ) "The New New Yorkers; Living In The USA; What Rights Do Immigrants Have?" Pg. 4 /-VT95
Although you are an undocumented immigrant, you nevertheless have certain rights under the U. S. Constitution, including the right to refuse to let an immigration agent into your home, unless the agent has a valid warrant signed by a judge. You may refuse to sign any document. You also have the right to remain silent and to speak to an attorney. Undocumented immigrants are entitled to various city and state services.
N119 / Los Angeles Times April 30, 1994 HEADLINE: BORDER PATROL STOP BASED SOLELY ON ETHNIC APPEARANCE IS ILLEGAL, COURT RULES / PKK-LN-VT95
A federal appeals panel has found that the U. S. Border Patrol committed a "bad-faith, egregious constitutional violation" in stopping a car along a San Diego freeway solely because its occupants looked Latino. The U. S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a long-standing law holding that a car cannot be stopped merely because of its occupants' ethnic appearance.
N120 / LEONEL SANCHEZ, STAFF WRITER, AUGUST 26, 1993; THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, "Flaw Seen In Enlarging Border Patrol Plan Needs Independent Probers, Activists Warn, " Ed. B-3;Pg. 5, 10, 11 /-VT95
William Beal, deputy chief of the Border Patrol here, said the agency is satisfied with the way complaints against agents are handled and does not believe there is a need for a review board. He said the Office of Inspector General and the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department investigate complaints against agents. "The Civil Rights Division is not composed of the Border Patrol, " said Beal. "If that is not a civilian board, I don't know what is. " The Border Patrol averages about one complaint of mistreatment or abuse for every 6, 300 arrests, he said. Most of the complaints turn out to be unsubstantiated, he added.
N121 / LARS SCHOULTZ, Prof. Political Science, Univ. of North Carolina, 1992; in WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION AND UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY, "Central America and the politicization of US immigration policy" p176 \\ MS-VT95
There is little room for politics, domestic or foreign, in the issuance of immigrant visas to non refugees from Central America. Despite the intense U. S. foreign policy interest in the region during the 1980s, and despite the fact that during this decade the region contained five countries with very different foreign policy concerns for the United States, universalism was (and remains) the rule. Nearly all applications for immigrant visas from Central America are processed in the same way. They are subjected to the same tests and obliged to meet the same requirements. If one looks only at the process of issuing immigrant visas for evidence of the impact of U. S. foreign policy on immigration policy, then the only possible conclusion is that there is none.
N122 / LARS SCHOULTZ, Prof. Political Science, Univ. of North Carolina, 1992; in WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION AND UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY, "Central America and 'the politicization of US immigration policy" p. 180 \\ MS-VT95
No doubt foreign policy is occasionally injected into the day-to-day consular processing of non immigrant visas in Central America, but probably only very occasionally and over the opposition of consular officials, who regularly oppose all interference, whatever its source.
N123 / LEONEL SANCHEZ Staff Writer May 11, 1994, HEADLINE: Mexico given say on border fences The San Diego Union-Tribune / / PKK-LN-VT95
In a sharp departure from the past, the United States will consult with Mexico before it builds any more fences along the border.
N124 / LEONEL SANCHEZ Staff Writer May 11, 1994, HEADLINE: Mexico given say on border fences The San Diego Union-Tribune / / PKK-LN-VT95
In an April memo to Border Patrol sector chiefs along the U. S. Southwest border, INS Commissioner Doris Meissner announced a new policy that aims to "further promote" diplomatic relations with Mexico. Meissner directed the chiefs to contact Mexican officials nearest them and elicit their views on proposed barrier projects. They will also be required to solicit opinions and garner support from local communities north of the border affected by the project.
N125 / LEONEL SANCHEZ Staff Writer May 11, 1994, HEADLINE: Mexico given say on border fences The San Diego Union-Tribune / / PKK-LN-VT95
INS officials stressed that Mexico's recommendations are not binding. "This is not about us giving up something, " said Duke Austin, spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washington. "It's about us forging a spirit of cooperation with Mexico on a very sensitive issue. "
N126 / THE NATIONAL JOURNAL, MARCH 13, 1993, "Immigrants and the American City, " Vol. 25, No. 11; Pg. 655 /-LN-VT95
Economics consultant Thomas Muller examines the political and economic history of American immigration and argues that immigrants should be a sign of vigor, not an omen of decline. He contends that newcomers have lessened -- not intensified -- the social problems in urban America. "It is not only through their willingness to perform undesirable tasks that immigrants contribute to urban economies; they also bring -- or develop in the United States -- badly needed skills, " Muller writes.
N127 / THE NATIONAL JOURNAL, MARCH 13, 1993, "Immigrants and the American City, " Vol. 25, No. 11; Pg. 655 /-LN-VT95
Despite a growing hostility within some quarters toward newcomers, the United States will continue to be a magnet for immigrants. " Immigration laws that tap their youth and ambition without creating internal dissension, " Muller writes, "will harness the human resources America needs to sustain its vitality into the third millennium. "
N128 / Julian Simon Professor of Business, University of Maryland 1990 "Don't Close Our Borders" February 7, 1984 in Population Matters: People. Resources. Environment, and Immigration / / pkk-16 p266 VT95
The central economic fact now--as it has been throughout U. S. history-is that, in contrast to the rapidly aging U. S. population, immigrants tend to arrive in their 20s and 30s, when they are physically and mentally vigorous and in the prime of their work life. On average, they have about as much education as do natives, and did so even at the turn of the century. Immigrants also tend to be unusually self-reliant and innovative: they have the courage and the belief in themselves that is necessary for the awesome challenge of changing one's culture and language.
N129 / THE PLAIN DEALER, MARCH 12, 1993, "An Open Door For Jet-Set Terror?" Pg. 44B /-LN-VT95
As well, the INS says that as best it can determine, only 2% of those issued limited visas fail to leave by the time they expire. An INS spokesman said that last year 21 million people entered this country on non-immigrant visas, issued to business persons and students as well as tourists. But since the INS system for documenting the departure of aliens depends on the cooperation of airlines and visitors in returning entry forms, the agency's estimate may well be flawed.
N / 130 Julian Simon Professor of Business, University of Maryland 1990 "Immigrants Are Paying Customers" Scripps-Howard, June 28, 1968 Population Matters: People, Resources, Environment, and Immigration , p. 270 / / VT95
In these days of frightening news stories about our being overwhelmed by floods of illegal aliens, the reader is likely to cast a doubting eye on these data. But despite the impression left by these scare stories, the overwhelming bulk of immigrants are legal. According to a recent study released by the National Academy of Science, net illegal immigration may even be zero now. Hence there is no reason to doubt that the picture I have drawn is representative.
N131 Julian Simon Professor of Business, University of Maryland 1990 "Let Some 'illegals' Come Temporarily to the U. S. " Christian Science Monitor August 22, 1985 Population Matters: People, Resources. Environment, and Immigration p. 299 / / pkk-16' / / VT95
Unions worry that illegals or guest workers would displace poor Americans from jobs. But research suggests that the effect on unemployment would not be large, although there would be some wage depression. -And much of the job displacement for citizens is mitigated because they find other jobs. Just as permanent immigrants do, temporary workers create new jobs elsewhere in the economy; hence eventually there is no job loss'
N132 Julian Simon Professor of Business, University of Maryland 1990 "'The Case for Immigration'" Inquiry May 1983 Population Matters: People, Resources, Environment, and Immigration / / pkk-16p283 VT95
One reason is that conditions here and tend not to come if their skills are in small demand.
N133 Julian Simon Professor of Business, University of Maryland 1990 "The Case for Immigration" Inquiry May 1983 Population Matters: People. Resources. Environment, and Immigration / / pkk-16 p283 VT95
Economic theory tells us that there must be some unemployment caused in some industries. But it does not tell us whether the effect will be huge or trivial; for that we need empirical research. No research has shown noticeable unemployment caused by immigrants, either in the United States as a whole or in particular areas of high immigration.
N134 Julian Simon Professor of Business, University of Maryland 1990 "The Case for Immigration" Inquiry May 1983 Population Matters: People. Resources. Environment, and Immigration / pkk-16 p283 VT95
Even in the few industries where immigrants concentrate, such as the restaurant and hotel industries, they do little harm to native workers. According to various studies, few natives want those jobs, because the work is hard and the pay is low.
N 135 Julian Simon Professor of Business, University of Maryland 1990 "Immigration Does not Displace Natives From Jobs" New York Times August 2, 1984 Population Matters: People, resources, Environment, and Immigration / / pkk-16 N135 p276'' VT95
''The Immigration and Naturalization Service conducted two mass, forcible removals of illegal immigrants from jobs in California. Later checks on the illegals' jobs showed a low rate of substitution of natives for the illegals.
N136 / DAVID BACON, STAFF WRITER, MARCH 26, 1993; SACRAMENTO BEE, "State Blames Immigrants In Hard Times, " Pg. B9 /-LN-VT95
Ironically, studies over the last eight years have repeatedly shown that some 90 percent of immigrants in California hold jobs, and 80 percent actually hold two jobs. A recent study in Los Angeles documented that overall, the taxes paid by immigrants outweigh many times over the benefits they receive.
N137 Julian Simon Professor of Business, University of Maryland 1990 "Adding Up the Costs of Our New Immigrants" Wall Street Journal February 26, 1981 in population Matters: People, Resources, Environment, and Immigration / / pkk-16 p. 274 VT95
So through taxes, immigrants pay enough "rent" on public facilities so that natives feel no extra burden.
N138 Julian Simon Professor of Business, University of Maryland 1990, "Do Aliens Make us Scofflaws?"" The Washington Times August 14, 1984 Population Matters: People, Resources, Environment, and Immigration p. 300 VT95
Disregard of the law certainly is bad and destructive. But any fair-minded person would have to agree that the 55 mile-per-hour speed limit and especially the present structure of income tax laws, breed incomparably more lawlessness than does illegal immigration.
N139 / Julian Simon Professor of Business, University of Maryland 1990 "Do Aliens Make us Scofflaws?" The Washington Times August 14, 1984 . Population Matters;: People, Resources, . Environment, and Immigration p301 / pkk-VT95
One cannot make the argument that preventing illegal immigration reduces moral corruption, as one might with anti-prostitution or anti pornography laws, or that it saves people from injuring themselves, as is the case with laws against suicide. '
N140 / XINHUA NEWS AGENCY, MARCH 23, 1993, "U. S. Supreme Court Says Government May Detain Alien Children" /-LN-VT95
The U. S. Government arrests thousands of alien juveniles each year and as many as 70 percent of them unaccompanied. In 1990 alone, the immigration and naturalization service arrested more than 8, 500 juveniles. Four child immigrants filed a lawsuit in 1985 against the U. S. Government, accusing it of detaining some children for years under substandard facilities with little chance for education or recreation, the lawsuit said. Today's court decision reversed a federal appeals court finding that the government's practice is 'unconstitutional. '
N141 / XINHUA NEWS AGENCY, MARCH 23, 1993, "U. S. Supreme Court Says Government May Detain Alien Children" /-LN-VT95
U. S. Supreme court ruled today the government may temporarily detain refugee children if there is no adult relative or legal guardian to take them in the united states. The court voted 7-2 to allow the government to detain refugee children pending deportation hearings as long as the conditions of confinement are 'decent and humane. ' the hearing can take months. 'where a juvenile has no available parent, close relative or legal guardian, where the government does not intend to punish the child, and where the conditions of governmental custody are decent and humane, such custody surely does not violate the constitution, ' Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the court.
N141A / Julian Simon Professor of Business, University of Maryland 1990 "Don't Close Our Borders" February 7, 1984 in population. Matters: People. Resources. Environment. and Immigration / / pkk-16 p. 266
Or consider this. In 1910, 14. 6 percent of the population was foreign-born. In 1970 only 4. 7 percent had been born abroad, or less than 1 person in 20, including those who had come many years ago. Amazingly, this "country of immigrants, " as the politicians often put it, has a smaller share of foreign-borns than more "homogeneous" countries like Great Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Australia and Canada.
N142 / Julian Simon Professor of Business, University of Maryland 1990 "Don't Close Our Borders" February 7, 1984 in Population Matters: People. Resources. Environment. and Immigration p. 264-5 / / VT95
Furthermore, the number of illegals in the country overstates the number of Mexicans who intend to remain permanently, leaving perhaps 1. 3 million Mexican illegals--certainly not a large number by any economic test, and far less than the scare figures promulgated earlier.
N143 / Julian Simon Professor of Business, University of Maryland 1990 "Don't Close Our Borders" February 7, 1984 in Population Matters: People. Resources. Environment. and Immigration / / pkk-p265 VT95
And the following also could be said: This June, a National Research Council study lowered the estimate to zero--yes, zero. That is, on the basis of the most recent and best evidence, no net illegal immigration has occurred since 1977: The council says there are 2 million to 4 million illegal aliens, a far cry from INS's inflammatory estimates of 12 million or more.
N144 / PATRICK LEE, STAFF WRITER, AUGUST 13, 1993; LOS ANGELES TIMES, "News Analysis; Studies Challenge View That Immigrants Harm Economy, " Page A1 /-VT95
Moreover, a number of studies -- from Princeton University, RAND, the Urban Institute and elsewhere -- find little evidence to support the argument that immigrants take jobs from native-born workers in general, although there are exceptions in specific occupations. Studies also fail to support the notion that immigrants lower wages for native-born workers.
N145 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, pp. 159-160 ed. / / VT95
Increased immigration presents the United States with an opportunity to realize many national goals with a single stroke. It is a safe and sure path--open to no other nation--to achieve all of these benefits: 1) a sharply increased rate of technological ad- vance, spurred by the addition of top scientific talent from all over the world; 2) satisfaction of business's demand for the labor that the baby-bust generation makes scarce; 3) reduction . of the burden that retirees impose upon the ever-shrinking cohort of citizens of labor-force age, who must support the ''Social Security System; 4) rising tax revenues--resulting from the increase in the proportion of workers to retirees--that will provide the only painless way of shrinking and perhaps even eliminating the federal deficit; 5) improvement in our competitive position vis-a-vis Japan, Europe, and the rest of the world; 6) a boost to our image abroad, stemming from immigrants' connections with their relatives back home, and from the remittances that they send back to them; and 7) not least, the opportunity given to additional people to enjoy the blessings of life in the United States.
N146 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 \\ SW-p184-85 VT95
All that the US need do to sharply increase the rate of advance in its technology and its industrial productivity is relax its barriers against the immigration of skilled creators of knowledge. It could simply" give permanent-resident visas to those foreign students who. come to the US to study. Many foreign students already find ways to remain under the present rules - about half among the students of engineering and science (Servan-Schreiber and Simon, 1987), a group that those writers argue persuasively is crucial to present progress. But even more foreign graduates would remain if allowed to, and they could push up the rate of progress even further.
N147 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 \\ SW-p. 185 VT95
Just why knowledge Workers produce so much more when they arc located in the US than in poor countries is exceedingly hard to state clearly. It must be some combination of the reward structure, the resources available to work with, the colleagues (which is a self-reinforcing matter), closeness to the center of scientific activities, and so on. But the fact that the difference is great is indubitable.
N148 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 \\ SW-p165 VT95
Knowledge stems from human minds. Minds matter economically as much as, or more than, mouths or hands. In the long run, the most important economic effect of immigrants is their contribution to our stock of useful knowledge. And this contribution is large enough in the long run to dominate all the other benefits and costs of immigration. :
N149 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. / / pkk-54 p172 Furthermore, if young foreigners knew that they could remain in the United States after completing their education here, more would choose to study here. This would provide multiple benefits to the United States. Given assurance that they could remain, these students could pay more realistic tuition rates than are now charged, which would benefit U. S. universities. And these increased rates would enable universities to expand their programs to serve both foreign and native students better. Best of all would be the increased number of highly competent scientific and managerial workers who would be part of the American work force.
N150 \\ Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. / / pkk-54 p173 VT95
And the best way for the U. S. to boost its rate of technological advance, and to raise its standard of living, is simply to take in more immigrants. To that end, I would suggest that the number of visas be increased by half a million per year for three years. If no major problems arise with that total (and there is no reason to expect a problem, since even another one or two million immigrants a year would still give us an admissions rate lower than we successfully coped with in earlier times, when assimilation was more difficult), then we should boost the number by another half million, and so on, until unexpected problems arise.
N151 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 \\ SW- p342 VT95
Some of the productivity increase comes from immigrants working in US industries and laboratories that are at the forefront of world technique. American citizens benefit along with others from a contribution to world productivity in, say, genetic engineering that immigrants would not be able to accomplish in their home countries. Also, the presence of more immigrants means that there are more working persons who will think up productivity-enhancing ideas.
N152 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United. States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. / / pkk-54 p172 VT95
In addition, a larger number of students requires a larger number of professors. And a larger number of openings for professors, especially in such fields as engineering and science, would attract more of the world's best scientists from abroad. This would enhance the process that has brought so many foreigners who subsequently won Nobel prizes to the U. S. --to the advantage as well as the honor of this country.
N153 \\ Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. / / pkk-54 p169 VT95
Most important in the long run is the boost that immigrants give to productivity. Though hard to pin down statistically, the beneficial impact of immigration upon productivity is likely to dwarf all other effects after these additional workers and con- sumers have been in the country a few years. Some of the productivity increase comes from immigrants working in industries and laboratories that are at the forefront of world technology. We benefit along with others from the contribution to world productivity in, say, genetic engineering that immigrants could not make in their home countries. More immigrants mean more workers, who will think up productivity-enhancing ideas. As Soichiro Honda (of motorcycle and auto fame) said: "Where 100 people think, there are 100 powers; if 1,000 people think, there are 1,000 powers.
N154 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, p171 Robert Emmet Long, ed. / / pkk-54 VT95
Specifically, we must go further to increase the benefits that accrue to the United States from the inflow of highly educated people with 'high productive potential -- especially people with technical skills
N155 / Ben J. Wattenberg and Karl Zinsmeister, fellows at the American Enterprise Institute, April 1990, "The Case for More Immigration" Commentary in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, p. 158 Robert Emmet Long, ed. / / VT95
Moreover, there are compensations for our diversity in the form of our unmatched dynamism and our capacity for successful synthesis. Adaptability is our strong suit, something we are better at than any other people. This is in some significant measure thanks to our immigrant tradition. Our more recent immigrants have made America the first truly universal nation in history. We now come from everywhere.
N156 / Ben J. Wattenberg and Karl Zinsmeister, fellows at the American Enterprise Institute, April 1990, "The Case for More Immigration" Commentary in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, p 153 Robert Emmet Long, ed. / / pkk-38 VT95
Immigration then, can bring us significant numbers of bold creators and skilled workers. It can diminish whatever labor shortages may be coming our way. Immigration can keep America from aging precipitously and fill in the demographic holes that may harm our pension and health-care systems. Immigration can energize whole communities with a new entrepreneurial spirit, keeping us robust and growing as a nation. At a time when the idea of competitiveness has become a national fixation, it can bolster our competitiveness and help us retain our position as the common denominator of the international trade web. And as most Americans continue to believe that we have a mission to foster liberty and the love of liberty throughout the world, immigration can help us fulfill that mission through successful example.
N157 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p. 296 \\ SW-VT95
On balance, then, the conclusion is quite the opposite of what is commonly supposed: natives exploit illegal immigrants through the public coffers by taking much more from the illegals in taxes than is spent on them in public expenditures. .
N158 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p. 117 \\ SW-VT95
Immigrants tend to pay quantities of taxes that exceed the costs of the public services they use.
N159 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p292 \\ SW-VT95
Let us begin our quantitative assessment by clearing up a frequent confusion. Though with respect to all the public coffers taken together the balance of illegal immigrants is positive, the picture may well be different with respect to a particular local or state jurisdiction
N160 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p128 \\ SW-VT95
' That is, immigrants contribute more to the public coffers than they take from them. When looked at by natives as an investment, similar to such social capital as dams and roads, an immigrant family is an excellent investment worth somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000 in 1975 dollars, even calculated with relatively high rates for the social cost of capital. (This is to be compared with mean yearly native family earnings of about $11,000 in that year. )
N161 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p106 \\ SW-VT95
The chapter then adduces other good data on the earnings and tax payments of immigrants which show that the average immigrant family pays more taxes than does the average native family.
N162 / Julian Simon Professor of Business, University of Maryland 1990 Population Matters: PeopIe Resources Environment and Immigration p263 \\ VT95
Curiously, the rise of the welfare role earlier of the state makes immigrants even more valuable to natives than in times; this is not commonly understood even by economists who generally favor immigration. The explanation is that immigrants contribute more taxes that pay for welfare services than they use of such services, and hence the net positive balance for natives is larger when welfare costs are \ higher.
N163 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, p168 Robert Emmet Long, ed. / / VT95
Immigration--and the resulting increase in tax pay-ments by immigrants--provides the only way to reduce the federal budget deficit without making painful cuts in valued services.
N164 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION _1989 p106 \\ SW-VT95
The two sets of data, covering welfare use and taxes, are then combined in order to arrive at a combined estimate of the effect of immigrants upon natives through the public coffers. This combined welfare-and-tax result shows that immigrants yield a benefit to natives of sizable magnitude.
N165 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p206 \\ SW-VT95
Therefore, given the lack of negative effect in the short and intermediate run, and the positive effect after decades, it is fair to conclude that the longer-run effect on the standard of living of natives from adding people especially immigrants - is positive, based on the empirical evidence.
N166 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 pp. 103-4 \\ SW-VT95
Almost without exception the behavioral characteristics of immigrants are conducive to economic advancement for the community as well as for the immigrants themselves. Compared to natives of the same sex and age, immigrants work harder. save more, have a higher propensity to start new business, and are more likely to innovated.
888 / ERIC BAILEY and DAN MORAIN, TIMES STAFF WRITERS May 3, 1993, Headline: Anti- Immigration Bills Flood Legislature; Rights: Republicans See The Measures As A Way To Help The State Cut Costs. Critics See The Move As Political Opportunism And, In Some Cases, Racism. Los Angeles Times Page 3; / / pkk-VT95
of illegal immigrants, or even if they are a problem. Liberals cite statistics that illegal immigrants benefit the economy and point to Los Angeles research showing they were contributing $4. 3 billion in federal, state and local taxes, four times more than they were using in county public services.
N168 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p251 \\ SW-VT95
When there is no constraint upon immigration, immigrants improve the situation of native workers by smoothing out employment over the business cycle. This is especially true of temporary (including illegal) immigrants, because they go and come in response to the job situation.
N169 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 p344 \\ SW-VT95
In short, immigrants not only take jobs, they make jobs. They create new jobs indirectly with their spending. They also create new jobs directly with the businesses which they are more likely than natives to start.
N170 / PATRICK LEE, STAFF WRITER, AUGUST 13, 1993; LOS ANGELES TIMES, "News Analysis; Studies Challenge View That Immigrants Harm Economy, " Page A1 /-VT95
One study by the Urban Institute found that foreign immigrants, legal and illegal, helped create more jobs in urban areas than the native population did. The reason, the author said, may have to do with the drive and motivation that prompts people to immigrate in the first place.
N171 / PATRICK LEE, STAFF WRITER, AUGUST 13, 1993; LOS ANGELES TIMES, "News Analysis; Studies Challenge View That Immigrants Harm Economy, " Page A1 /-VT95
In all, the findings confirm the traditional belief that immigration over the long term is a positive force that helps drive the state and nation's growth. "The studies that looked for displacement (of American workers) generally don't find it, " said Jeff Passel, director of the program for research on immigration policy at the Urban Institute in Washington. "They find that immigrants complement native workers rather than substitute for native workers. "
N172 / Gene Koretz staff writer August 9 1993 "The Upside of America's Population Upsurge" Business Week p. 20 VT95
Why is the U. S. the odd man out in the industrial world? Haub notes that the U. S. fertility rate, which had dipped below the population-replacement level of 2. 1 children per woman in the 1970s, has moved back close to that level. By contrast the fertility rate averages only 1. 5 to 1. 6 in Japan and Europe.
N173 / Gene Koretz staff writer August 9 1993 "The Upside of America's Population Upsurge" Business Week p. 20 VT95
But the more liberal U. S. policy could turn out to be pore advantageous in the long run.
For one thing, other industrial nations must cope with static or declining labor forces. By 2025, for example, Japan will lose 122 million people age 15 to 64, Germany 4. 5 million, and Italy 4 million. But the U. S. will actually add some 38 million.
N174 / RONALD BROWNSTEIN and RICHARD SIMON, TIMES STAFF WRITERS, NOVEMBER 14, 1993; LOS ANGELES TIMES, "HOSPITALITY TURNS INTO HOSTILITY; CALIFORNIA HAS A LONG HISTORY OF WELCOMING NEWCOMERS FOR THEIR CHEAP LABOR -- UNTIL TIMES TURN ROUGH. THE CURRENT BACKLASH IS ALSO FUELED BY THE SCOPE AND NATURE OF THE IMMIGRATION, " Part A; Page 1; Column 1 /-VT95
Advocates for immigrants argue that the debate typically overlooks a major point: the benefits to consumers of inexpensive immigrant labor. "We're going to keep having immigrants come because there is a market for their labor, " said Arturo Vargas of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. "Every time we go to a salad bar we're willing to pay $2. 99 a pound for that produce picked by an agricultural worker. In the garment district, we're willing to pay the low prices. "
N175 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p173 / / VT 95 That's why immigration safely, cheaply, and surely provides the U. S. with perhaps the greatest opportunity that a country has ever had to surpass its political rivals.
N176 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION)N 1989 p127 \\ SW-VT95
Immigrants are not a complete cure for the Social Security problem, simply because the numbers of immigrants that might conceivably be allowed by any likely US policy are limited. But the extent to which immigrants can be at least a partial remedy is easily underestimated. One reason that Social Security taxes per worker are as high as they now are is that - contrary to the impression that the anti-immigration lobby tries to leave - the country has admitted very few immigrants in recent decades, far less as a proportion of the population than in the decades around the turn of the century (see chapter 3). If additional immigrants to the extent of a quarter of our labor force had been admitted, say, the Social Security tax per worker would be almost a quarter lower than it now is.
N177 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC . CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 pp. 124-5 \\ SW-VT95
That is, more immigrants mean a lighter rather than a heavier burden upon natives because immigrants are, as we have seen, net contributors to the system due to their age and family composition. And this contribution is greater than it was a century ago, say, because fewer services were then being provided that the immigrants helped to pay for. So - perhaps ironically - the very phenomenon that causes many natives to object to immigration turns out, upon investigation, to be a strong argument for increased immigration.
N178 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p168 / VT95
Being predominantly youthful adults, immigrants mitigate this looming problem of more retired natives being supported by fewer workers. Indeed, immigration is the only practical way to alleviate the burden of increasing dependency that native workers would otherwise feel.
N179 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. / p168 / VT95
Because immigrants arrive in the early prime of their work lives, they ward off a major looming threat to U. S. economic well-being. This threat is the graying of the population, which means that each working native has , m increasing burden of retired dependents to support. In 1900, there were five and one-half people aged twenty-five to fifty-four for each person aged sixty and above, whereas the Census Bureau projects that in the year 2000 the ratio will shrink to two and one-half to one--resulting in a burden that will be more than twice as heavy on workers.
N180 / JULIAN L. SIMON [Fellow--CATO Institute] THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF IMMIGRATION 1989 pp. 339-340 \\ SW-VT95
The costs of Social Security dominate the entire system of transfers and taxes. Natives get a windfall from immigrants through the Social Security mechanism. By the time the immigrant couple retires and collects, the couple typically has raised children who are then contributing Social Security taxes and thereby balancing out the parents' receipts, just as is the case with typical native families. In this way there is a one-time benefit to natives because the immigrants normally do not arrive accompanied by a generation of elderly parents who might receive Social Security. Admitting additional immigrants may be the only painless way for the US to case the trade-off between Social Security benefits and taxes that now cramps the nation's economic policies.
N181 / PETER H. KING, STAFF WRITER, FEBRUARY 9, 1994; LOS ANGELES TIMES, "On California: Immigration Versus The Immigrants, " Part A, Page 3 /-VT95
There are many Californians who regard illegal immigration -- and what's illegal one decade might well be legal the next -- not as a crime, but as a deal, a transaction. It's not perfect. It's not clean. But almost everyone benefits. For the people from down south, it's an opportunity to pull themselves up, to dream. For us, it's a source of cheap labor, of workers who will take on jobs that from all appearances no one else wants. Standard political terminology becomes inadequate. Advocates of undocumented workers should hardly be described as bleeding heart liberals, because the case can be made that the whole setup creates an underclass of powerless peons. Conversely, bedrock conservatives, it seems, should regard this labor pool as a commodity, a perfect exhibit of free market forces, of supply meeting demand. Certainly the farmers understand this. Let the border be truly sealed, and the screams of immigrant-bashers would be drowned out by the clamor from well-connected growers in need of seasonal pickers.
N182 / Ben J. Wattenberg and Karl Zinsmeister, fellows at the American Enterprise Institute, April 1990, "The Case for More Immigration" Commentary in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. / p151 / VT95
'The most immediate beneficiaries of immigrant enterprise, moreover, are often the very individuals who are assumed to be their competitors--the poor. Ghetto stores are perhaps the clear- ' est example. In vast stretches of low-income inner cities all across America, the most striking fact of life, aside from the staggering crime incidence, is the under provision of basic services. In Washington, D. C. , for instance, in the large poor neighborhood east of the Anacostia River, home to a significant portion of the city's population, there are only a handful of decent sit-down restaurants and grocery stores. Block after block passes unpunctuated by commercial operations. To obtain even the simplest of goods and services often requires a long bus ride.
N183 / Julian L. Simon, Teacher of Business Administration, Winter 1991 "The Case for Greatly Increased Immigration" The Public Interest. in The Reference Shelf: Immigration to the United States, Robert Emmet Long, ed. p. 160 . / pkk-54 VT95
The most important issue is the total number of immigrants allowed into the United States. It is important to keep our eyes fixed on this issue, because it tends to get obscured in emotional discussions of the desirability of reuniting families, the plight of refugees, the geographic origin and racial composition of our immigrant population, the needs of particular industries, the illegality of some immigration, and so on.
N184 / RICHARD D. LAMM, former Governor of Colorado, & Gary Imhoff, 1985; THE IMMIGRATION TIME BOMB: THE FRAGMENTING OF AMERICA p. 199 VT95-PKK \\ VT95
I've left the most important question about a comprehensive ceiling for last: What number should we choose as the ceiling, and how should we go about choosing it? No number is magic; no number is the "right" one; and there's not even one right method for choosing a number.
N185 / Tom Morganthau [staff writer] August 9, 1993. "America: Still A Melting Pot?" . P. 22. / / PKK-VT95
Still, Congress took no notice of this question when it voted to increase immigration in 1990--and given the wide disparity of current views, picking the "right" number of future Americans is ultimately a combination of taste and guesswork.
N186 / RICHARD D. LAMM, former Governor of Colorado, & Gary Imhoff, 1985; THE IMMIGRATION TIME BOMB: THE FRAGMENTING OF AMERICA p. 196-7 PKK \\ VT95
Advocates of higher immigration levels may also attempt to set the immigration ceiling as a percentage of our total population. If social assimilation of new immigrants were the only consideration, this could have a superficial appeal: If the country can easily absorb two or -three new immigrants a year for every thousand people in our population, why not use that percentage as a ceiling? The answer, of course, is that. social! assimilation isn't the only consideration. Setting immigration as a percentage of our population would mean that immigration would grow larger and larger as our population grew, when for environmental and resource reasons it should become smaller
N187 / JOHN M. BRODER, (TIMES STAFF WRITER) Los Angeles Times September 7, 1993, A; Page 1; HEADLINE: IMMIGRATION DELICATE ISSUE FOR CLINTON (LEXIS / NEXIS) / / MS-VT95
Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration, Refugee & Citizenship Forum, is critical of both Clinton and Wilson, who he believes are guilty of fanning anti-immigrant flames. His group advocates an open immigration policy as the best way to serve U. S. economic and moral interests. Sharry said that Wilson is wrong to believe that if the nation simply ended what Wilson calls the "perverse incentives" to immigrants -- free health care, education and welfare -- that the inflow would halt.
N188 / Jonathan Alter [staff writer] July 26, 1993 "Elitism and the Immigration Backlash. ". P. 36. / / PKK-VT95
Unfortunately, when the subject cuts as deep as immigration, logic tends to get deported. Consider the absurdity of the Mexican situation. Securing a 2,000 mile border is nearly impossible, no matter how much the government beefs up the Border Patrol. Once rebuffed, the Mexicans just come back and try again the next day. By some calculations, they now make up roughly five sixths of all illegal immigrants.
N189 / Marcos Breton, Bee Staff Writer March 20, 1994 HEADLINE: LEGAL RESTRICTIONS FAIL TO DISCOURAGE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Sacramento Bee / / PKK-LN-VT95
For one thing, the restrictions haven't discouraged the influx of immigrants. Most people on both sides of the immigration debate say it is just about impossible to completely seal off the country from undocumented immigration.
N190 / LARS SCHOULTZ, Prof. Political Science, Univ. of North Carolina, 1992; in WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION AND UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY, "Central America and the politicization of US immigration policy"' p. 184 \\ MSVT95
The, U. S Mexican border is unique. "There is no other frontier in the world quite like it, " writes Gene Lyons. "It is as if Algeria were to border directly upon the South of France or West Germany upon Zaire. To enter Mexico overland from the United States is to travel in a matter of a few miles, the vast differences between those who have and those who have not. This border separating rich from poor is nearly two thousand miles long and. without many natural obstacles other than intense heat in the summer.
N191 / Bill Turque [staff writer] August 9, 1993. "Why Our Borders Are Out Of Control". p. 25. / / PKK-VT95
"Who's the illegal alien?" asks one U. S. Customs official in Miami, "He's the guy with the briefcase sitting next to you on the plane, or the cute blond au pair girl who runs off to California two weeks after she arrives here. Once you're here, you're here, basically for as long as you feel like. And all the Border Patrol agents in the world can't stop it. "
N192 / David Schrieberg, Bee Mexico City Bureau May 31, 1993, HEADLINE: RISING IMMIGRANT TIDE UNLIKELY TO EBB Sacramento Bee Pg. A1 / / pkk-VT95
"History has shown us that economic-inspired migratory flows are almost impossible to stop, " Mexico's assistant foreign secretary, Andres Rozental Gutman, said in a recent speech in San Francisco. " Immigration from Mexico to the United States will continue to exist for some time. . . . We must face facts. "
N193 / David Schrieberg, Bee Mexico City Bureau May 31, 1993, HEADLINE: RISING IMMIGRANT TIDE UNLIKELY TO EBB Sacramento Bee Pg. A1 / / pkk-VT95
Ultimately, the experts all express in formal language what undocumented immigrants say simply: As long as millions of Mexicans can't find jobs at home, they will look for them with their feet.
N194 / Rep. John Conyers, (Representative from Michigan. Chair Committee on Government Operations) August 4, 1993 "'The Immigration and Naturalization Service: Overwhelmed and unprepared for the future. " House Report 103-21 6, Second Report by the Committee on Government Operations p. 8 VTT95-MS-VT95
. As Mr. Wray of the General / accounting Office testified: As long as political unfit and economic hardships persist throughout the world, people will continue to need the United States.
N195 / MARILYN GEEWAX, EDITORIAL WRITER, JULY 9, 1993; THE ATLANTA JOURNAL AND CONSTITUTION, "Immigration: Build Bridges, Not Walls, " Page A11 /-LN-VT95
The United States, Germany, France - it doesn't matter which industrialized country, the problem is the same: Poor people want in and they are going to find ways around border guards. A study by the United Nations Population Fund says migration is accelerating and becoming "the human crisis of our age. " Poverty, wars and overcrowding are pressuring unprecedented numbers of people to move to richer, more stable countries.
N196 / Bill Turque [staff writer] August 9, 1993. "Why Our Borders Are Out Of Control". p. 25. / / PKK-VT95
But history suggests that those who truly yearn to come to America and stay will find a way to do it.
N197 / JOHN SWENSON ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UNITED STATES CATHOLIC CONFERENCE OFFICE OF MIGRATION AND REFUGEE SERVICES May 17, 1994, CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY / / PKK-LN-VT95
USCC / MRS has pressed hard for a policy that will allow the Haitian boat people to present their case. We are encouraged that this will now happen. We must note however that the refugee standard in the 1980 Refugee Act is a fairly demanding one which requires that the asylum seeker have a well founded fear of persecution upon return. Some number of the boat people are not going to meet this standard. Haiti is a place now in which violence is becoming increasingly general and random. It is not a place to which anyone should be forcibly returned.
N198 / James Popkin and Dorian Friedman [staff writers] June 21, 1993. "return to Sender- Please: Illegal Aliens Easily Scam the Nations Lame Deportation System. " U. S. News and World Report. P. 32. / / PKK-VT95
Deporting an illegal immigrant--even one with a long criminal record--hardly guarantees he'll stay away. INS agents deported felon Guo Liang Chi to China in August 1988; Guo, linked to last weeks smuggling of Chinese boat people, sneaked back through Mexico in 1989, reportedly using false papers-- a common practice.
N199 / Luis J. Rodriguez, staff writer, May 11, 1994, HEADLINE: EXPORTING TROUBLE TO LATIN AMERICA Sacramento Bee / / PKK-LN-VT95
There are no simple solutions, and the "solutions" being implemented may only aggravate injustice. Simply to rid ourselves of "gangs" by deporting them to countries with fewer resources, less knowledge of the dynamics of U. S. social relations, and often less justice, is no solution.
N200 / Luis J. Rodriguez, staff writer, May 11, 1994, HEADLINE: EXPORTING TROUBLE TO LATIN AMERICA Sacramento Bee / / PKK-LN-VT95
To be sure, there are legal grounds for detaining and possibly deporting some of these teenagers. But because many of them lack legal representation or have no knowledge of their rights, they are sent to countries they know little about simply because they were caught dressed like gang-bangers and without proper documentation. Most of these kids had been in the United States since childhood, even infancy.
N201 / Daniel A. Stein executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, May 29, 1993, HEADLINE: Drowning in the Labor Pool The New York Times Page 19; / / pkk-VT95
The backlog of applicants for family-based immigration visas numbers 3. 4 million. Fifty seven percent of all new immigrants enter the labor force, so even if we stopped accepting new immigration applications there are more than 1. 9 million new workers in the pipeline waiting to enter our labor market. What's dismaying is that each time we admit a new immigrant, we expand the pool of relatives eligible to join the queue.
N202 / ALAN C. MILLER, RONALD J. OSTROW, and RONALD BROWNSTEIN, STAFF WRITERS, JULY 11, 1993; LOS ANGELES TIMES, "Immigration Policy Failures Invite Overhaul, " Page A1 /-LN-VT95
At least some of the anti-immigrant sentiment appears to be based on fundamental misconceptions. In a recent New York Times / CBS Poll, 68% of the respondents said that "most of the people who have moved to the United States in the last few years are here illegally. " Immigration experts say that 75% to 80% of the new arrivals are in the country legally. Many immigrant rights advocates say that racism is a factor. If the preponderance of newcomers were European instead of Latino and Asian, they say, the outcry would be muffled. In California, Gov. Pete Wilson's Administration projects that the state population will double in the next half-century to 60 million, if current trends continue, and a Latino majority will emerge in the year 2040.
N203 / S. LYNNE WALKER, COPLEY NEWS SERVICE, JULY 30, 1993; THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, "Limiting Immigration Could Be Costly To U. S. " Pg. A-2 /-LN-VT95
But the costs of limiting immigration to the United States could be high.
N204 / Roberto Suro, Staff Writer May 5, 1994, HEADLINE: Stopping Illegal Immigrants: New Tactic Has Weak Points; Border-Crossers Find Paths of Less Resistance The Washington Post / / PKK-LN-VT95
Administration opponents are already pushing for a much bigger effort. During his El Paso visit Wilson said, "Congress cannot say to the Border Patrol: Do it on the cheap, do it with too few people, without the resources you require. " But some within the INS are already worrying about where this policy leads. A senior official who asked not to be identified said, "After you clamp down in El Paso and San Diego, you have to do Nogales and then the next place and the next. You'll just keep adding resources like you're escalating a military operation without knowing what it will take to win. "
N205 / Stephen R. McDonald staff writer April 7, 1993 HEADLINE: COMPARING BORDER PATROL TO NAZIS IS SIMPLY UNFAIR, NOT TRUE THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC / / PKK-LN-VT95
One tactic these advocates have adopted is to discredit the enforcer of immigration laws by publishing unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct, civil-rights abuses or human-rights abuses. These allegations are often based on half truths misrepresentations, innuendoes and even lies. Once published, the allegations could be used as a basis for a court injunction limiting enforcement action. By undermining public and political support for the Border Patrol, the advocates for uncontrolled immigration apparently believe that they can nullify immigration laws without lobbying for a change in the law, thereby bypassing Congress.
N206 / JAMES M. ZIMMERMAN is an international trade attorney based in San Diego and a member of the board of directors for the World Trade Association of San Diego. March 22, 1994, HEADLINE: Don't place much faith in a fence at the border The San Diego Union-Tribune / / PKK-LN-VT95
Unfortunately, few politicos -- such as Duncan Hunter -- understand that blocking the border is an anachronistic and astronomically expensive method of dealing with a problem that is far more complex than putting up a wall. Even the Communist regime of former East Germany realized that barbed wire and concrete do not control people.
N207 / PATRICK J. McDONNELL, (TIMES STAFF WRITER) Los Angeles Times September 22, 1993, A; Page 1; Column 1; Foreign Desk HEADLINE: NEW URBAN FLIGHT -- TO EL NORTE; MORE CITY DWELLERS ARE LEAVING MEXICO FOR THE U. S. IMMIGRATION HAS GONE ON FOR SO LONG, MANY PLAN TO STAY PERMANENTLY, LURED BY FAMILY TIES AS WELL AS JOBS. (LEXIS / NEXIS) / / MS-VT95
In fact, many scholars contend that emigration is so much a part of the Mexican-U. S. experience -- and in particular of the California economy -- that the flow is unlikely to abate soon. That is true, these experts say, despite the prospects for more border guards, better frontier barriers and the long-term outlook for an economic recovery in Mexico that a free trade agreement with the United States is expected to inspire.
N208 / The San Diego Union-Tribune September 30, 1993, 11; Pg. B-12:1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11; B-14:2, 3, 6, 7 HEADLINE: Misnamed and futile Blockade solves no immigration problems (LEXIS / NEXIS) / / MS-VT95
A blockade is a strategic barrier between hostile combatants. The U. S. -Mexico border is not a hostile border. The name of this experimental action is divisive, conjuring up the wrong image for the growing relationship between the United States and Mexico.
N209 / MARCUS STERN, COPLEY NEWS SERVICE, JULY 30, 1993; THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, "Boxer Urges National Guard Use At Border, " Pg. A-3 /-LN-VT95
The idea of deploying military forces along the Southwest border has been raised repeatedly in the past. But it has never been seriously considered because of an agreement between the United States and Mexico not to militarize the border and because of tight restrictions in the United States on using the military in civilian law-enforcement efforts. Using the Guard, which is part-time duty, raises other potential problems, including questions about how Guard members would operate without the training, Spanish-language proficiency and border enforcement experience required of Border Patrol agents.
N210 / Melinda Liu [staff writer] June 21, 1993 "Immigration Crackdown: Anxious Americans Want New Restrictions and Tougher Enforcement. " US News and World Report. p. 35. / / PKK-VT95
Consequently, momentum is building on Capitol Hill to beef up the Border Patrol and improve sanctions against employers who hire undocumented workers, a system almost everyone admits doesn't work.
N211 / MARILYN HOSKIN, Prof. Political Science, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1991, NEW IMMIGRANTS AND DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY p. 26 \\ MS-VT95
The United States, for example, has lived its image as a nation of immigrants for more than 200 years. Despite the large and fairly frequent obstacles presented by nationalism, economic decline, racial conflict, and foreign policy issues, the United States has never been able to sustain a closed door policy toward immigrants (LeMay, 1987).
N212 / LEONEL SANCHEZ, STAFF WRITER, AUGUST 26, 1993; THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, "Flaw Seen In Enlarging Border Patrol Plan Needs Independent Probers, Activists Warn, " Ed. B-3;Pg. 5, 10, 11 /-VT95
A group of immigration and civil rights activists yesterday warned that a widely praised federal plan to add agents to the Border Patrol is flawed unless it includes an independent board to investigate alleged abuses. Such a board is needed at a time when the country's strong anti- immigration mood appears to be shielding the Border Patrol from criticism and closer scrutiny, said members of the San Diego Coalition for Border Patrol Accountability during a news conference.
N213 / David Clark Scott, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor March 15, 1994, HEADLINE: Mexico Unhappy With US Border Policy / PKK-LN-VT95
Mexican politicians were incensed by the Feb. 3 announcement of what is seen as the ''militarization'' of the Mexico-US border. The US unveiled a two-year plan to spend $ 540 million to set up high-power stadium lights, add 1, 010 Border Patrol agents, and build steel walls as part of a program to curb the flow of illegal migrants. ''What bothered us, given our NAFTA relationship, is that we hoped that before adopting these methods, the US government would have consulted with us, '' said Mexico's Foreign Minister Manuel Tello at a recent meeting with international reporters.
N214 / Brian Duffy [staff writer] June 21, 1993 "Coming to America" US News And World Report. p. 28. / / PKK-VT95
The oceans are too vast, however to catch most of the smuggling ships. The U. S. Coast Guard district in Long Beach, Calif. , for instance, is required to monitor a stretch offshore from the Mexican border north to Oregon. "We're beefing up our patrols, " says the Coast Guard's Gus Oviedo. "But if we run into them, we run into them. "
N215 / JOHN SWENSON ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UNITED STATES CATHOLIC CONFERENCE OFFICE OF MIGRATION AND REFUGEE SERVICES May 17, 1994, CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY / / PKK-LN-VT95
We note that the Administration intends, in the first instance, to implement screening of interdicted boat people on board ships; probably on larger vessels rather than coast guard cutters. Even for a fairly short period of time, it may prove very difficult to implement a full and fair screening program on shipboard. On board screening by the previous Administration was problematic at best. With the best of goodwill, such a program could be quickly overwhelmed by numbers.
N216 / Bill Turque [staff writer] August 9, 1993. "Why Our Borders Are Out Of Control". p. 25. / / PKK-VT95
Once an immigrant is inside the United States, proving legality is easy. The law allows any of 17 different kinds of identification to be presented to employers. Street hustlers in major cities offer packages complete with social-security card and driver's license for as little as $500. The documents are often crude frauds but usually satisfy employers uninterested in looking too closely.
N216A / Gary Stanley Becker [Prof. U. of Chicago, Fellow-Hoover Institute] February 22, 1993 "Illegal Immigration: How to Turn the Tide. " Business Week. p. 23. / / PKK-VT95
Entry cannot be reduced without effective punishment of either illegal aliens or their companies. Employers will not stop hiring illegal aliens on their own, because they do not believe they are doing anything wrong. The 1986 U. S. Immigration Control & Reform Act includes penalties for companies that hire illegal aliens, but households and very small businesses have seldom been penalized. Even though domestic help is believed to account for a considerable fraction of all off-the-books workers.
N217 / William Stanley [Prof. Political Science, U. New Mexico] 1993. "Blessing or Menace? The Security Implications of Central American Immigration. " INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND SECURITY. p. 244. / / MS-VT95
Some of the most restrictive and inhumane policies of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service seem to have resulted from narrowly defined efforts to prevent the political asylum process from being abused.
N218 / Maria Puente USA TODAY September 30, 1993, Pg. 10A HEADLINE: Immigration 'issue of the 90s' / Critics cite border influx, rights abuses (LEXIS / NEXIS) / / MS-VT95
The Border Patrol and its parent agency, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, strongly oppose such outside interference, claiming it would violate the agencies rights to due process. They also noted that only a handful of abuse cases were reported out of 1. 2 million arrests last year.
N219 / Rep. John Conyers, (Representative from Michigan. Chair Committee on Government Operations) August 4, 1993 "The Immigration and Naturalization Service: Overwhelmed and unprepared for the future." House Report 103-216, Second Report by the Committee on Government Operations p. 13 / VT95-MS VT95
Second, there are serious concerns about the adequacy of efforts to select personnel and to insure their honest and appropriate behavior once hired. The IG shared his concerns about the special vulnerability of INS employees to corruption: . . . the opportunities for corruption are tremendous. INS employees guard access to the United States. INS employees also have the ability to get and sell another precious commodity: the documentation that will allow an alien to stay in the United States and to get work. The corruption threat to the Department, cannot be overemphasized. A border crossing card sells for $325 on the average; a temporary resident permit sells for about $2, 300; and a Green Card sells for an average of $5, 600 . When you have a mix that includes low paid employees [he had noticed that INS has 'lower average grades than the bulk of the Department's], easy money in big sums, and low risks, you have an extraordinarily volatile and risky situation
N220 / The San Diego Union-Tribune September 30, 1993, 11; Pg. B-12:1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11; B-14:2, 3, 6, 7 HEADLINE: Misnamed and futile Blockade solves no immigration problems (LEXIS / NEXIS) / / MS-VT95
Still, a huge increase in Border Patrol staffing is not a practical long-term solution for illegal immigration. It would be too costly year after year, decade after decade.
N221 / THE SEATTLE TIMES, July 30, 1993, "Tide Of Immigrants Deserves Lawful Process, " Pg. B4 /-LN-VT95
Clinton makes the correct point that stemming the flow of illegal aliens allows legal immigration to continue. America can only continue to open its doors to a million or so legal immigrants a year if illegal immigration does not swamp the country's support systems. That's true as far as it goes, but the compassion gap in the current proposals does not consider the desperation of those who arrive after the most arduous journeys.
N222 / CHRISTOPHER MITCHELL, Prof. Politics, New York University, 1992; in WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION AND UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY, "Introduction" p. 15~L MS-VT95
First, neither worldwide nor per: country limits on immigrant visas proved able to stop undocumented migration, largely by Latin American and Caribbean people entering the United States.
N223 / RICHARD D. LAMM, former Governor of Colorado, & Gary Imhoff, 1985; THE IMMIGRATION TIME BOMB: THE FRAGMENTING OF AMERICA p 99 / / -PK VT95
Official federal government policies that encourage bilingual and bicultural education delay the assimilation of new immigrants. Of course, such was not the intent of the federal educational bureaucrats who designed bilingual programs or of the members of Congress who voted for them, but that is the result.
N223A / Christopher Mitchell, Prof. Politics, NY university, 1992; in WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION AND UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY, "Implications for understanding and for policy choice" p. 297 / / MDS VT95
One device that might be suggested in this connection has unfortunately not worked well in a partial experiment: the creation of an "immigration czar, " an official specifically charged with high-level policy coordination. The Refugee Act of 1980 created a US coordinator for Refugees with ambassadorial rank, but that office has not been able to broaden its legislative mandate and harmonize the many distance lines of US policy toward politically motivated migrants. This probably results from the "fit" between particularistic congressional interests in immigration and the fragmentation of administrative authority in the Executive. Unlike the situation in trade policy, where a special trade representative has often succeeded in integrating US government actions, members of Congress and their staffs have few incentives to cede authority to a bureaucrative deus ex machina in the immigration field.
N224 / LINDA CHAVEZ, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, 1992; in IMMIGRATION, LANGUAGE, AND ETHNICITY, "Commentary" pp. 298-9~ / -MS VT95
Some Hispanic leaders have suggested that the solution is to move to a model similar to the Canadian one, in which Spanish would become a second officially recognized language in the United States. I will not comment on the wisdom of Canada's policy, but it is clearly not appropriate to the American experience. For more than two hundred years the United States has welcomed immigrants with the intention of integrating them into its society. The acquisition of a common language has been a vital element in that process. Certainly the social benefits of being able to communicate with each other in a common language are apparent. Chiswick and Miller have shown that the economic rewards are great as well.
N225 / Virginia I. Postrel, (editor of Reason)The San Francisco Examiner September 15, 1993, Pg. A-19 HEADLINE: Why Wilson is wrong about immigration controls (LEXIS / NEXIS) / / MS-VT95
Wilson wants to change the U. S. Constitution to deny citizenship to children born here if their parents are illegal immigrants. The proposal is murky: Does it apply if one parent is legal? What if the mother is here on a tourist visa? What happens if one of these non -citizens marries a citizen and has children? Will those children be citizens, or shall we apply the old "one drop" rule that governed race in the Jim Crow South? What shall we do about the new underclass of uneducated non -citizens?
N226 / ERIC LICHTBLAU, STAFF WRITER, FEBRUARY 25, 1994; LOS ANGELES TIMES, " Rohrbacher Has New Ploy; Government: Congressman To Step Up Drive Against Illegal Immigration By Asking Congress To Cut Off Certain Types Of Aid To Undocumented Schoolchildren, " Part B; Page 1 /-VT95
In addition, he said, the idea of denying educational aid to illegal immigrants would fuel discrimination against children who "do not look like 'typical Americans' " and would violate a 1982 Supreme Court ruling that mandates public education for all children.
N227 / Cristina Lopez staff writer May 17, 1993, HEADLINE: Health care: Include illegal immigrants USA TODAY Pg. 13A / / pkk-VT95
Denying care to some may result in discriminatory treatment for individuals fitting certain racial / ethnic stereotypes who have a right to care. We cannot afford to ask providers to select who is eligible for services and who isn't; experience demonstrates they will make too many mistakes, and the most vulnerable - ethnic minorities, the poor and homeless - will bear the consequences.
N228 / DAVID LAUTER and JOHN BRODER, STAFF WRITERS, AUGUST 13, 1993; LOS ANGELES TIMES, "Clinton Differs With Wilson Ideas On Immigration; Policy: President Says He 'sympathizes' With Governor But That He Favors A 'Different Tack. ' However, He Reveals That Administration Is Looking At The Use Of Id Cards, " Page A1 /-VT95
In addition, Clinton said, he disagrees with Wilson's suggestions to shut off emergency medical treatment for illegal immigrants. Such a policy, he suggested, would create more problems than it solves. He noted, for example, that "it is probably very much in everyone else's interest" to provide medical care to treat people who have communicable diseases.
N229 / Virginia I. Postrel, (editor of Reason)The San Francisco Examiner September 15, 1993, Pg. A-19 HEADLINE: Why Wilson is wrong about immigration controls (LEXIS / NEXIS) / / MS-VT95
The advocates of "controlling our borders" misunderstand the history and meaning of those borders. American sovereignty is defined not by the protection of the borders but by the recognition and protection of the natural rights of the people within those borders.
N230 / RICHARD D. LAMM, former Governor of Colorado, & Gary Imhoff, 1985; THE IMMIGRATION TIME BOMB: THE FRAGMENTING OF AMERICA p. 161 PKK \\ VT95
Most immigrants who are admitted as refugees will need a lot of welfare services; when the United States admits them, it is generally expected that they will be in desperate need or they wouldn't have qualified as refugees. Refugees require intensive education, medical care, and monetary support for the first several years that they are in this country. In recent years, legally admitted refugees have been supported by social services that cost, on average, well over twice the average annual income of American.
N231 / RICHARD D. LAMM, former Governor of Colorado, & Gary Imhoff, 1985; THE IMMIGRATION TIME BOMB: THE FRAGMENTING OF AMERICA p. 190 \\ VT95
We have to recognize, therefore, that we cannot solve the world refugee problem, or any substantial part of it, through immigration to the United States, and that we may actually increase refugee flows if we try to do so. We have to be clear-eyed and realistic about this.
N231A / DAVID CROSLAND, WASHINGTON LAWYER, WAS GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE INS, AUGUST 8, 1993; THE WASHINGTON POST, "Don't Fence In America, " PAGE C7 /-VT95
Maybe our national immigration problems are not the fault of INS but the result of a patchwork quilt of immigration laws that reflect our historical fears and pressures. We live in an open society. Part of our strength is the sharing of the democratic process with foreign nationals who visit. Most leave when they are supposed to. Most comply with the system. Some do not. We should not dramatically change the asylum process because of the sins of a few, nor should we blame INS employees for a system reflecting our open society and created by an elected, representative Congress.
N232 / RICHARD D. LAMM, former Governor of Colorado, & Gary Imhoff, 1985; THE IMMIGRATION TIME BOMB: THE FRAGMENTING OF AMERICA p. 162 VT95
Resettling refugees in developed countries is a very poor solution to refugee problems because of its high cost and because of the political and personal difficulties involved in the movement of tens of thousands of people. Those whose first concern is for the welfare of the largest number of refugees, those actually involved in helping massive groups of refugees, know that most refugees must be repatriated to their home countries or resettled in neighboring developing countries--they try to keep resettlement in the developing countries to a minimum.
N232A / David LaGesse, Washington Bureau of The Dallas Morning News, March 3, 1994, / / PKK-LN-VT95
"Refugee situations often develop in a crisis atmosphere, " said Wendy Young, an analyst with the immigration program at Catholic Charities in Washington. Most legal immigrants coming to America join family members already here, and lowering legal limits will only encourage them to cross the border illegally, she said.
N233 / David Kaut, States News Service, April 28, 1994 HEADLINE: ROHRBACHER SAYS CONGRESS ALMOST SPARKED NEW TIDAL WAVE OF ILLEGALS HEAD IMMIGRATION: SCOTCHED PROPOSAL WOULD HAVE EASED PERMANENT RESIDENCY STEP FOR QUALIFIED FOREIGNERS States News Service / PKK-LN-VT95
Supporters noted that the change would only have affected those foreigners who already were likely qualified, as relatives or workers, for immigration under the existing rules. They also said that the forced trip offers minimal deterrent and point to the current number of illegals coming in as proof.
N234 / WAYNE A. CORNELIUS, Director Center for U. S. -Mexican Studies University of California San Diego April 24, 1993 HEADLINE: Medical care isn't the magnet drawing immigrants to U. S. The San Diego Union-Tribune / / PKK-LN-VT95
The second most frequently given reason for migration is to join close relatives already settled in California, thereby reunifying families.
N235 / JAMES J. HAGGERTY Chairman. , Immigration and Nationality Law Committee, Assn. of the Bar of the City of New York May 15, 1993, HEADLINE: Don't Make Asylum Seekers Hysteria Victims The New York Times / / PKK-LN-VT95
What the Simpson and McCollum bills ignore is that asylum seekers often cannot obtain travel documents. It is preposterous to expect those who are being persecuted by their governments to ask for a passport to flee their countries. The proposed legislation would remove refugee protection.
N236 / JAMES J. HAGGERTY Chairman. , Immigration and Nationality Law Committee, Assn. of the Bar of the City of New York May 15, 1993, HEADLINE: Don't Make Asylum Seekers Hysteria Victims The New York Times / / PKK-LN-VT95
To change a law that does not need changing, Senator Alan Simpson and Representative Bill McCollum have introduced bills to turn back asylum applicants arriving at airports who lack travel documents. These bills would preclude women and children from Bosnia who have been victims of rape, torture and ethnic cleansing from seeking refuge in the United States. They would have life-and-death consequences for a Somali refugee who managed to escape from prison where he was being held without trial and repeatedly tortured.
N237 / Arthur C. Helton The Nation October 18, 1993 Vol. 257 ; No. 12 ; Pg. 428; ISSN: 0027-8378 HEADLINE: Closing the golden door: anti- immigration laws. (LEXIS / NEXIS) / / MS-VT95
The likely losers in this swirl of debate and demagogy are refugees from political repression with a well-founded fear of persecution if they are turned away from U. S. shores. They are the ones whom a tightening of asylum criteria and procedures will hit hardest because they often flee their home countries in irregular or unauthorized ways. They may have no travel documents or even identification papers. Indeed, if they had been able to obtain a passport or permission to leave their home countries, why would they need protection here? Such sojourners include asylum seekers from Afghanistan, China, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iran, Iraq and Sudan, who have fled torture, execution or arbitrary detention.
N238 / Rep. John Conyers, (Representative from Michigan. Chair Committee on Government Operations) August 4, 1993 "The Immigration and Naturalization Service: Overwhelmed and unprepared for the future. " House Report 103-216, Second Report by the Committee on Government Operations p. 25 / VT95-MS-VT95
Mr. Wilson forcefully argued, on behalf of the American Bar Association, against several proposals currently pending in Congress: It is the view of the American Bar Association that it is not appropriate for the reform of the Immigration Service to adopt those proposals now pending before Congress which would allow officials either to make foreign determinations of asylum or for officials of the Customs Service or the Immigration Service to make on-the-spot decision regarding exclusion as these individuals arrive at ports of entry. A legitimate refugee is one who has a well-founded fear of persecution in his or her country of origin due to a political opinion, nationality, religion, social group membership, or race. These individuals arrive in great stress; most of them speak no English; they have no knowledge of the law and may not even have knowledge of their right to political asylum. • Those officers who would be dealing with these cases do not have the knowledge of the law or of the quickly changing political situations in the countries from which these individuals come--which require a great deal of sophistication with regard to the current conditions-which may justify flight from those countries.
N239 / JOHN FARMER, COLUMNIST FOR THE STAR LEDGER, JUNE 27, 1993; THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE, "It Was Only A Matter Of Time Before U. S. Became Target Of Muslim Terrorists, " Pg. 4 /-LN-VT95
It was only a matter of time until America's enemies in the Islamic world struck here. The Cold War's conclusion merely advanced the timetable. The attacks will raise the visibility of U. S. relations with the Muslim world and heat up the debate about how to deal with terrorism. The risk is that the answers will oversimplify the problem and the relationships. There will be calls for an immigration crackdown. But though some tightening of visa programs is needed, a major crackdown is unnecessary and would do violence to this country's traditions and to its hope for more influence and better relations in the Arab world. U. S. security forces, judging from this past week's mass arrest of bomb plotters in New York, seem up to the task of keeping tabs on troublemakers.
N240 / L. PAUL BREMER III, FORMER AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR COUNTER TERRORISM IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF RONALD REAGAN AND NOW THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF KISSINGER ASSOCIATES IN NEW YORK, JULY 4, 1993; THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE, "Under The Newest Gun Of Terrorism . . . " Pg. 1 /-LN-VT95
There are three reasons why the new terrorism will be difficult for America to combat. First, Americans cannot believe that anybody really hates us. We prefer to think that such hatred is the result of ""misunderstanding. '' If only we could sit down and talk to the other guy, he would understand and love us. Yet these new religious terrorists hate us precisely because they do understand us. It is no coincidence that many of the most radical leaders of the Iranian revolutions were educated in the United States. Most of the people arrested in the New York incidents live there. As in the 1970s, a clear conceptual understanding of the nature of the threat will be the first step to developing an effective strategy. Second, it is logical for these groups to attack American targets in America itself. Bombing the World Trade Center or Wall Street delivers a much stronger message about their hatred of America then an attack on an American building overseas. Yet we cannot turn America into an armed camp with watchtowers on every corner and security checks in every public garage. Finally, these groups appear to be more spontaneous and less organized than the groups we have faced before. In New York, both terrorist groups seem to have coalesced without a clear organizational structure (although they were no doubt inspired, if not directed, by Sheik Abdul Rahman. ) On the one hand, this is good news because both outfits were remarkably amateurish. But their religious fanaticism and the fragmented nature of such groups makes them more difficult to penetrate and pre-empt.