Thread: Albany Times Union: Immigration as a plus

Immigration as a plus
First published: Sunday, March 2, 2008
Albany Times Union

From time to time, readers will send us clippings from other newspapers that they hope we will take note of on this page. More often than not, the contributions are political in nature, or else address topics that have been exhaustively debated elsewhere, and therefore unusable. But there are exceptions. The other day, a loyal reader called our attention to a recent editorial in the New York Sun that puts the immigration debate in proper perspective.

There is a timely peg to this, and not just because immigration reform is a major topic in this year's presidential campaign. It is also timely because of Microsoft's $44.6 billion battle for Yahoo, as a way to compete with Google. That struggle has finally focused on some powerful executives and innovators who were not as widely known as, say, Bill Gates, but whose success stories are finally getting the attention they deserve.

Here's a rundown, courtesy of the Sun: Yahoo was co-founded by Jerry Yang, whose family immigrated from Taiwan when he was 10. He now serves as Yahoo's chief executive officer. Google was co-founded by Sergey Brin, who came to the United States in 1979 at age 6. And the former chairman and chief executive officer of Intel is Andrew Grove, who arrived here in the 1950s from Hungary. As the Sun wryly observes, without these giants, the main industry in Silicon Valley today would likely still be avocado farming.

Of course, the proponents of immigration reform will be quick to point out that these immigrants came here legally, and their quarrel is with illegal immigrants only. But there's another side to that argument. For one thing, many immigrants who come here, legally or not, may also bring their children along, or have children here, who could grow up to make huge contributions to American society.

For another, an overreaction will make it that much harder for deserving people to come here. As RPI President Shirley Jackson points out, universities are finding it more difficult to accommodate deserving students because of tighter visa regulations in this post-9/11 era. That denies America access to tomorrow's best and brightest.

Meanwhile, those students who do manage to come here to study may well find it ever more difficult to stay and become naturalized citizens -- unlike the days when Messrs. Yang, Brin and Grove came here with their families in search of the American dream.

No one doubts how much these visionaries have contributed to America's economy, and the world's. But unless the next president can get Congress to adopt a sensible policy on immigration, rather than one based on fear, the visionaries of tomorrow will make their contributions elsewhere. That's the real problem, not immigration. ISSUE:Immigration reform remains a major campaign issue.THE STAKES: A one-sided view is a disservice to the nation.
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/st ... e=3/2/2008

The following quotes stick out like a thumb in the eye of Americans:

many immigrants who come here, legally or not, may also bring their children along, or have children here, who could grow up to make huge contributions to American society.

and

universities are finding it more difficult to accommodate deserving students because of tighter visa regulations in this post-9/11 era. That denies America access to tomorrow's best and brightest.

Last time I looked around I saw American parent's beaming with pride over their OWN bright and gifted children and expectant that America would be enriched and strengthened by their accomplishments. Since when do we need to import our intelligence and prosperity? What a laughable suggestion and what a pitifully un-American opinion for an editorial! A more appropriate spin would have been to tout the opportunity provided these giants of technology because they came here legally. Another point that appears to be getting overlooked by the writer is that so long as we solicit the world's "best and brightest" to come here, their countries lose the very ones who might have strengthened or reformed their own country one day. Doesn't that keep us in the role of policeman and rescuer to the world by default?

THE STAKES: A one-sided view is a disservice to the nation.

I wholeheartedly agree!