The nation is gripped by events whose outcomes remain entirely uncertain. During these times, it is likely difficult for many Americans to recall what fixated the national media before its current obsession with what not to call the coronavirus outbreak that originated in China.
It is, however, important to remain active and informed citizens, vigilant in the face of what may be a massive undertaking at all levels of government. That means being informed about how we got here, and understanding where those in positions of power want to take us.
For the mass immigration lobby, the outbreak of the coronavirus seems only to present, at least so far, a new messaging challenge.
Last month, they told us the United States was running out of people, and the economy was creating jobs at such a rapid rate that employers were unable to fill open positions because of an acute “labor shortage.” Then-Acting White House Chief of Staff, who has now been replaced by Mark Meadows, said the United States was “desperate” for more immigrants in order to grow the economy. We pointed out the absurdity of such claims but media outlets like The New York Times have no problem peddling absurdities as long as they can quote an “expert,” like “noted demographer William H. Frey” to give them a sheen of legitimacy.
Now that the U.S. economy has taken such a dramatic downturn, their new position is the only thing that can save us is more immigration, much more. They argue we have to suspend enforcement actions against those in the U.S. illegally – even those who have committed heinous crimes – and grant blanket amnesty to every illegal alien, or else we succumb to the coronavirus and have only nativism to blame.
On Monday, the Cato Institute published an op-ed in USA Today arguing that the way to defeat the coronavirus was to increase the number of H-1B guest workers available to tech employers. The agriculture industry says our food supply is in jeopardy if they don’t get a new supply of overworked and underpaid foreign workers. Landscapers are demanding more seasonal guest workers and Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf is happy to comply.
Just yesterday the Washington Monthly said it is imperative to pass an amnesty for 12 million illegal aliens, falsely stating that those in the country illegally have no access to health care and implying hospitals make treatment decisions based on an individual’s immigration status.
It is dispiriting to see that lobbying for immigration increases goes on unimpeded in the midst of a pandemic, even as the economy heads into a tailspin and hundreds of thousands, perhaps soon-to-be millions, of Americans are out of work and without incomes – but it is not surprising.
This is what happened after the 1986 amnesty signed by President Reagan, after the American people were promised Congress would never again kowtow to the demands of criminal employers. It happened in 1996, when President Clinton reneged on his promise to implement the recommendations of the Jordan Commission. It happened after 9/11, when President Bush failed to secure the nation’s borders and effectively enforce laws against illegal immigration, but once again capitulated to employer demands for cheaper labor and supported the McCain-Kennedy legislation in 2006-2007. It happened in 2013, when President Obama backed the Gang of Eight amnesty bill, which would have also massively increased legal immigration and guest worker admissions when American workers were still suffering the effects of the Great Recession – effects which have only recently begun to subside.
The calls for more immigration are ramping up because those who are making them expect they will get much of what they want, which is as much as Congress can get away with giving them. Senator Lindsey Graham was hoping to get an expansion of the EB-5 program that sells green cards to wealthy foreign nationals (mostly Chinese) into an emergency bill designed to aid distressed Americans. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the architect of the Gang of Eight bill who has spent his entire congressional career pushing for immigration increases and the undermining of worksite enforcement had the audacity to say that any coronavirus emergency legislation must put “workers first.” If after 46 years in political office Schumer has changed his stripes and wants to put workers first, we'll happily work with him. But who really believes he means it?
It’s far too soon to make any prediction about how all of this is going to play out. One thing that is certain is the U.S, and therefore the world’s, economy has taken an enormous hit. We’re finding out just how fragile the whole system is, and about to learn just how resilient are the American people.
One thing many of us do hope for is that this will lead a to genuine reform of our political institutions and the implementation of economic policies that are in the best interest of us, the American people, with an eye to preserving a future for our posterity.
For far too long our leaders have told us that America is not an actual place, it is only an ideal, and the American people only matter in as much as they live up to, or fail to live up to, the ideals put forth by politicians.
The discontent with our national leaders isn’t a passing fancy and it won’t dissipate once Donald J. Trump exits the political stage. It’s the fault of our so-called betters that we’re in this mess, and it’s our fault, too, because we kept hoping they really did know better how to govern us, even when they made it clear they had nothing but contempt for us.
We were constantly told that it was “un-American” to demand that opportunities to prosper should be extended first and foremost to our fellow citizens, and that we were foolish to believe there could be a limit to anything. We were told that the only way forward was to grow our GDP at 3%, forever! And the only way to achieve that was: more immigration!
That’s what the experts in D.C. are now telling us is the way out of this current crisis. The fundamentals of our economy are strong. We only have to grow our way back to normal, and in order to do so we must boost immigration across the board while rejecting such antiquated notions as the rule of law.
We mustn’t let them get away with it yet again.
Stay strong and count your blessings. We will be here, fighting for you.
