February 09, 2006

Immigration Obsession

Immigration is a thread I thought would run through CPAC. It was noticable at last year's conference and with the Minuteman Project its shadow on conservatism has grown bigger.

There are conservatives like the Minuteman Project's Chris Simcox and Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) who passionately call for sealing the border to illegal immigrants. Hayworth wants "enforcement first." Simcox is "tired of waiting for Mexico to solve its [economic] problem." His goal is to "force an orderly queue into our country."

Then we have the long-time conservative warrior Phyllis Schlafly worrying that a guest worker program will "build[s] a subserviant underclass who won't assimilate." Think the Muslim suburbs surounding French cities. She rejects the notion that immigrant labor is really needed. "There is no job American's won't do." Highly skilled workers like engineers aren't needed because "there is no labor shortage." Employers just want cheap labor.

What company wouldn't want to keep their labors costs as low as they can? What Schlafly fails to mention is low labor costs get passed along to consumers. We'll pay a lot more for produce with a reduced labor pool. Wal-Mart can't offer consumers low prices if they have to pay workers more in wages.

The strident "seal the borders" advocates fail to say how many immigrants they want. Does sealing the borders mean an America closed off to immigrants? Listening to Schlafly she only wants immigrants who want to be "100% American." What does that mean? Would someone be rejected if they don't learn english fast enough or well enough? Would someone fail the Schlafly standard if they continue to dress in the same manner they did in their previous country?

Let me be clear, illegal immigrants flout the law. That cannot be accepted. Guest worker programs may not benefit the nation economically or socially. Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies made some good points. The tone of those like Schlafly borders on nativist, yet they don't stand out and say it. That's a complete rejection of America's history and harmful to her future.

UPDATE: Ryan Sager covered Rep. Tom Tancredo's (R-CO) speech. Sager challenges the political as well as the economic effects of Tancredo's "seal the borders" ideas.