Real Conservatives Chime In On Immigration Solutions
More and more often I find myself agreeing with the The Sutherland Institute and their policy positions. This new essay takes me even further down that road.
Kudos to these authentic conservatives for a stance on immigration that actually makes sense. It is so refreshing to see self proclaimed conservatives move beyond the standard “I oppose illegal immigration because it is illegal” argument. Nearly all of the ills presented in this standard anti immigrant argument would be alleviated if the immigrants were made legal and permitted to work within our system as natural citizens do.
I haven’t read the whole essay yet but am curious how far down the immigration road Sutherland is willing to go. Are they also arguing for open borders? It is hard to justify support for making illegal immigrants legal while also arguing in favor of closing the border to others who would come here to make better lives for themselves if they could immigrate legally. I’ll report further after I’ve read the whole essay.
2 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
I’ve read the whole thing. They don’t come out and support open borders. In fact, they specifically steer clear of federal issues other than to say that the feds have immigration messed up. They focus on discussing what Utah should do given the realities of federal governance and actual people. But Sutherland pleads for Utahns to welcome and work to assimilate all immigrants, legal or not.
Much of the first part of the essay is an argument against the enforcement-first approach to immigration. Pages 15-18 detail Sutherland’s seven-point plan for what Utah should do.
Comment by Reach Upward — May 7, 2008 @ 11:53 am
I have to agree with the idea that keeping ‘em out summarily is not going to work, nor is it really humane, I do not think. Yes, it’s wrong for people to come here illegally when thousands of people wait in line and jump thru the hoops to get here legally. But the reality is, we NEED this nomadic group of immigrant workers. Our lettuce and other produce would skyrocket in price, otherwise. Should be willing to pay $3.00 for a head of lettuce in order to insure that a “legal american” has the job instead of someone who has come here illegally? I respect anyone who really takes that position.
What I do not find particularly respect-worthy are those who bury their heads in the sand and say that illegal immigrants are the scourge of this country and continue to enjoy their $1.00 lettuces and $1.50/lb fruits. (Not to stereotype. I know immigrant workers aren’t just farm laborers. But I’m using it as an illustrative example.)
Comment by nosurfgirl — May 25, 2008 @ 10:22 am