Reviewing 'Alien Nation' by Peter Brimelow: Part 2

[David Atlee]

I have torn through another mind blowing section of this book the last few days en route to coming up with my second review. Part 1 mostly dealt with how the immigration wave started and who all is coming over our borders. This part goes a little more in depth and on some of the elements at the beginning of the book, how and why the immigration problem is happening, and some of the consequences. We can already see some of the consequences first hand after the Census Bureau came out today stating how income disparities between the rich and poor are larger than they’ve been since measurements were first taken 45 years ago. If you recall in my first review, over 3/4 of the immigrants that have entered this country legally and illegally since the 1965 Immigration Law have been from 3rd world countries. When you estimate the millions upon millions of those who have flooded across our borders, and the fact that these people have a much higher fertility rate than non-immigrants in the states, it can easily be assumed we are witnessing a dramatic shift from a nation of prosperous citizens to a nation of poor, unskilled immigrants.

The first section I read a couple days ago, Brimelow had labeled it as Ignoring the Flood. Brimelow’s main point was that even back in the early 90s, politicians on both sides of the isle unanimously refused to do anything or say anything regarding immigration. However, the voters had a much different take on the issue (much like today):

*In 1993, a Newsweek poll showed that fully 60% of Americans thought immigration levels were bad for the country

*A Los Angeles Times poll showed that 86% of Californians thought illegal immigration into their state was a “major” or “moderate” problem.

Moods 17 years later have not changed much at all. A New York Times poll taken back in 2007 showed that “72% of Americans want more restrictions on who can immigrate – a third of which want a moratorium on all immigration”. Unemployment was around 5% in 2007. Do you think that even more Americans are opposed to immigration with unemployment almost double that today?

Brimelow continues on explaining how immigration has turned into nothing more than a civil rights issue. Case-in-point for today: The ACLU in 2007 came out with a statement claiming that even though there are people who have been in this country illegally, they have been here for a long time and therefore they have a “fundamental right to fair and equal treatment”. How wrong that logic is. So basically what the ACLU told non-citizens is “come across the border, hide out for a while so you won’t be deported, then you will have the same right to fair and equal treatment as legal citizens”. Brimelow explained how foreigners do not have any right to immigrate to wherever they so please. And we’ve heard the cries from those in the pro-illegal immigration front that we are discriminatory towards Hispanics. Brimelow points out that immigration is “inherently discriminatory” because some are let in while others are not and there is no way around it. Well, unless you are like a modern-day liberal and believe in open borders because “we are citizens of the world”. Get back to us on that after the mushroom trip ends.

The book continues on and highlights a little-known term, “alienism”. What is that you might ask? Brimelow defines it as foreigners, or aliens, who dislike the natives and the country the natives have built. Again, this is very relevant to today’s immigration problems – Mexico specifically. (Obviously, since I am pointing out how Mexicans overall do not assimilate to American culture I am being racist). Lawrence Harrison is the Director of Cultural Change Institute at Tufts University. Here is someone who has been studying this subject just a few more days than I have. He says, “Latin American culture has a number of attitudes that help explain why it has been so slow to develop democracy, social justice and prosperity.” Jake Vigdor who is a public policy professor at Duke and UNC (very liberal schools): “What really distinguishes Mexican immigrants from other immigrants both past and present is that they don’t make a lot of progress over time.” This next example is the icing on the cake, and it is a fairly common occurrence as well. On August 29,2006, illegal immigrant supporters formed a protest at a US Post Office in LA – it was there that they took down the American flag, stomped on it, and raised a Mexican flag with signs claiming North America is a “stolen continent” http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=37688 .

So apart from the fact that immigration is causing tensions due to the clash of cultures, what are some of the economic impacts that are a result of this? One observation Brimelow makes that I find particularly interesting is his argument regarding immigration and free trade. His idea is that if you have free trade, you do not need immigration. His example was the Japanese who built factories in the Philippines instead of having Filipinos coming to Japan. This makes good sense due to the fact that some places are better suited for certain types of businesses. Also, he claims that “a popular argument for the NAFTA with Mexico was that it would help reduce the current immigration flood by providing alternative employment south of the border.” Well, we can easily say that NAFTA has been nothing but an utter failure on that end.

Another economic factor, and this was touched briefly in my first review, is regarding the skill level of immigrants. “A low point was reached in 1986 when less than 8% of over 600,000 illegal immigrants were admitted on the basis of skills.” By 1990, Brimelow pointed out that immigrants on average “earned 16.2% less than native born Americans.” (Remember the article mentioned at the top from the Census Bureau and the wealth gap). The Center for Immigration Studies has some pretty interesting factoids on the economics of immigration as well. This report was published in 2005:

*Nearly half of post-2000 arrivals (3.7 million) are estimated to be illegal aliens.

*Of adult immigrants, 31 percent have not completed high school, three-and-a-half times the rate for natives. Since 1990, immigration has increased the number of such workers by 25 percent, while increasing the supply of all other workers by 6 percent.

*The proportion of immigrant-headed households using at least one major welfare program is 29 percent, compared to 18 percent for native households.

*The poverty rate for immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) is 18.4 percent, 57 percent higher than the 11.7 percent for natives and their children. Immigrants and their minor children account for almost one in four persons living in poverty.

Those are some pretty ugly statistics. Why then do our leaders in Washington continue to allow millions of immigrants, legal and illegal, cross our borders? Is it for votes? Let’s make an observation to see if that’s the case. Brimelow points out in his book that the percentage of welfare cash benefits that went to immigrants doubled between 1970 and 1990. The Center for Immigration Studies gave us the stat of the proportion of immigrants receiving welfare benefits (see above). The USA Today ran a story back in July entitled ‘Welfare Agencies Boost Votes’. This particular article points to a study conducted by the Census Bureau showing that only 64% of those with family incomes less that $20,000 a year voted in 2008. Voting rights advocates claim that this can add millions of new voters. Well, it’s as plain as day. A very large portion of immigrants are on the bottom end of the income latter in America and they need assistance. In comes the government to help them out, and all they ask for in return is a vote.

In comes the conclusion. America is going through an incredibly fast transition period not only demographically, but socially and economically. This is why the electorate is more vocal than any time in recent history for the upcoming midterm elections. The liberals favorite counter argument to those like me is that, “You are just being racist, and are afraid that White people will become a minority.” Well considering that you can be regarded as a racist in today’s world for simply sneezing the wrong way, these type of accusations do not bother me. But I am concerned. The large demographic shifts in the past 20 years from Latin America, Mexico in particular, is causing a lot of tensions. Look no further than the illegal immigration debate – we are experiencing a clash of cultures – mainly due to Mexican immigrants refusing to assimilate into American culture (which has nothing to do with race).

We are also witnessing the overall deflation to the value of the American worker. America is being overrun by unskilled workers. Income inequalities continue to expand, and will continue to do so until our immigration woes are fixed. Unemployment will continue to be high for the younger citizens in this country as long as companies continue to hire cheap immigrant labor. And in case you’ve forgotten, we are in a huge recession with unemployment hovering around 10%. The last thing we need is an increase in supply to the labor market. More people can’t find work, and so more people turn to the government to get help (the record number of people on food stamps ring a bell?). Where does the government get the money to pay for the increase in handouts? Printing money and taxes – not exactly a recipe for any economic recovery. It is time to shut down the borders, except for the highly skilled who can actually contribute something. It is also time to crack down on businesses who willingly hire illegal immigrants. Shut off the borders, and begin deporting those who are here illegally. We don’t have the money or the resources to continue accepting millions of 3rd world immigrants. America must save itself first before it can get back to being the most charitable country the world has ever known.