It's very difficult for me to get into debates about immigration. It's a very important issue to me and I get quite emotional when I think Americans are okay with violating individual rights. It also makes me quite mad at our government and the fact that they've been able to divert the blame from them and onto poor immigrants seeking a better life for themselves and their families.
This past week, there was a heated exchange on my Facebook page with someone I respect. After settling down a bit, I wrote the following response to him and I hope it encourages him to rethink some of his opinions on the matter. I've edited a few things to protect his identity.
Hi, [friend]! Glad to hear from you! =)
About the "hating on immigrants" comment...it's an expression. I didn't say you hate immigrants, literally. To "hate on" something is to criticize it. It's slang in pop culture. I didn't mean to imply that you wish all immigrants were dead, as in you hate them. I do not believe you think that. My apologies for the confusion.
"They are lawbreaking looters to me and I want them all gone. Nationality is not the issue, it’s those coming here just to suck off the productive that are the issue."
This is an example of my use of "hating on" immigrants. All immigrants are not law-breaking looters. That's factually inaccurate and a really bad stereotype to promote. I suggest you read Racism by Ayn Rand in The Virtue of Selfishness. That essay really helped me rethink some bad thinking on my part. Her take on why stereotypes are harmful is really good. We must judge individuals on their merits, not by groups we put them in. http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/racism.html
[Someone I know] immigrated to [the USA] illegally back in the 70s because he HAD to to survive. Once here, he started a family and worked hard as a janitor. He paid all of his taxes, like many illegal immigrants, by using a false social security number. That means he will never receive credit for those benefits he paid, such as social security checks in retirement. Essentially, he helped prop up our social security system. (I can't help but wonder if social security wouldn't have already gone bust by now if it weren't for all the immigrants propping it up. ???)
Anyway, he learned English and [worked his way up in the company where he started as a janitor.] His children speak English (and speak no Spanish to their detriment) and are highly educated. [One of his adult children is now] in the process of getting a PhD.
In the 80s, he was finally able to go through the process of becoming legal, which he did. He, his wife and his two children are as American as you and I. They all pay taxes, they are all productive members of society and none have ever been on welfare.
They are not alone. If you watch the documentary I linked to [Wetback by National Geographic], you will see the same hopes and dreams of the other immigrants. Watching one of them read a Spanish to English dictionary on a bus nearly brought tears to my eyes, thinking about all the white Americans who claim that they refuse to learn English. It's just not true.
"As a landowner I believe I have the total right to choose who can and can't be on my property, and to me a country has the same rights."
You do have the right to choose about your property, but not the property of others. And the country is not some collective group of public property. You can't have both. And what a slippery slope to go down! You have no claim what others do on their property as long as they're not violating your property rights.
The US govt has an obligation to protect our rights, but that is all. They do not have the right to keep employers from hiring who they see fit and they do not have the right to keep men from accepting employment, which is what the immigration laws in this country precisely do.
"Still, I am willing to let many move here, but not at my expense. Since there are numerical limits, I only want to take the best. The doctors, engineers, etc."
Why are there numerical limits? Have you been in a plane lately? America has plenty of room and resources for all. Especially if the government would quit throttling the growth of the economy. That's the beauty of capitalism...it will expand as much as we want it to.
There are plenty of jobs for these people too, otherwise they wouldn't be coming. (As evidenced by the reversal of the flow from the US to Mexico in 2008 when our economy tanked and there were no jobs for them.)
"I am 53 and have worked so hard and saved so hard to be able to retire on my terms. The more illegal’s here, the less I get to keep of my productive effort."
To the former, I understand and I have too! That's why I want to fight the real enemy...our awful government. I refuse to take an unprincipled and pragmatic approach to this. I refuse to blame hard-working individuals for the awful welfare state that more American citizens, by far, use. (And without any immigrants, we'd be going bankrupt anyway!)
To the latter, that's just factually untrue and I contend that you'd have even less for retirement had it not been for immigrants working low-paying jobs. Immigrants make staying in hotels (vacations and business trips) more affordable, they make the foods we eat more affordable, they make the electronics we buy more affordable, they make the food we eat at restaurants more affordable. If all of those things cost me more, my life would not be nearly as productive, happy or successful as it is today.
I hope you will think on these things more, read that essay and check out that documentary. Even if you still disagree after all of that, at least you'll know you explored all sides of the issue and tried to give capitalism the chance it deserves.