The Cost of Illegal Immigration
It's an old debate. Defenders of illegal immigration, a point of view I find hard to get my mind around, talk about how much illegal workers contribute to the U.S. through income and payroll tax withholding. And they don't receive Social Security retirement, of course, so their contributions are an important support to the system. They also maintain that illegals by-and-large take jobs that Americans don't want, and without illegal workers employers would have to pay more to fill the same jobs. Maybe, maybe not; it's hard to prove either way.
Those who oppose illegal immigration usually acknowledge that there may be some truth in these claims regarding the financial benefits. However, they also point out that illegals consume costly government benefits, take jobs that Americans would take in many cases, and constitute a criminal underclass in our society that often engages in a variety of forms of sometimes violent crime. They also point to the obvious insecurity of failing to control our borders, a fundamental responsibility of a sovereign government.
These two paragraphs are a very brief summary of the debate. Those who focus on only one or two points of either side of the argument, without reference to countervailing arguments, are dishonest.
Enter the New York Times. In an article today, which purports to be a news report, the NYT addressed only the Social Security contributions of illegal workers. It includes no consideration of the cost of health, welfare, and education benefits received by illegals; no reference to the overall warping of the economy; no discussion of the criminal activities of illegals, sometimes in violent gangs; no concern for the significant security issues inherent in an uncontrolled border; no recognition of the simple fact that illegally crossing our border is a crime; and no criticism of the government for failing in one of its most basic responsibilities.
The article can't be defended by saying that, after all, it's only about the positive contributions of illegal immigrants to Social Security. That would be akin to publishing a long article about the Titanic, an engineering miracle of its time, without pointing out that it sank.
The New York Times has proved, once again, that it's little more than a mouthpiece for far-left causes. When it makes a fool of itself over silly matters like the membership of the Augusta National Golf Club, we can all laugh. But illegal immigration isn't funny--it's dangerously criminal, and we should hold the NYT accountable for promoting it.
Those who oppose illegal immigration usually acknowledge that there may be some truth in these claims regarding the financial benefits. However, they also point out that illegals consume costly government benefits, take jobs that Americans would take in many cases, and constitute a criminal underclass in our society that often engages in a variety of forms of sometimes violent crime. They also point to the obvious insecurity of failing to control our borders, a fundamental responsibility of a sovereign government.
These two paragraphs are a very brief summary of the debate. Those who focus on only one or two points of either side of the argument, without reference to countervailing arguments, are dishonest.
Enter the New York Times. In an article today, which purports to be a news report, the NYT addressed only the Social Security contributions of illegal workers. It includes no consideration of the cost of health, welfare, and education benefits received by illegals; no reference to the overall warping of the economy; no discussion of the criminal activities of illegals, sometimes in violent gangs; no concern for the significant security issues inherent in an uncontrolled border; no recognition of the simple fact that illegally crossing our border is a crime; and no criticism of the government for failing in one of its most basic responsibilities.
The article can't be defended by saying that, after all, it's only about the positive contributions of illegal immigrants to Social Security. That would be akin to publishing a long article about the Titanic, an engineering miracle of its time, without pointing out that it sank.
The New York Times has proved, once again, that it's little more than a mouthpiece for far-left causes. When it makes a fool of itself over silly matters like the membership of the Augusta National Golf Club, we can all laugh. But illegal immigration isn't funny--it's dangerously criminal, and we should hold the NYT accountable for promoting it.
2 Comments:
You've got that right, Tom. It is dangerous. I'm trying to remember but I think that illegals account for 50% of the violent crime in Los Angeles. It's definitely a HUGE number! So we could get rid of that huge amount simply by not having them. Can you imagine?
If businesses are willing to hire illegal aliens, how about being willing to hire homeless people so they don't have to be at the end of exit ramps, walking next to my car to ask me for money?
Tom wrote, "They also maintain that illegals by-and-large take jobs that Americans don't want, and without illegal workers employers would have to pay more to fill the same jobs. Maybe, maybe not; it's hard to prove either way."
You can't be serious. Do you really think average Americans would be lining up to pick strawberries at less than minimum wage?
Post a Comment
<< Home