Thread: U.S. needs moratorium on virtually all immigration

Guest opinion: U.S. needs moratorium on virtually all immigration
JIM CAMP

The July 30 release of a report by the Center for Immigration Studies reveals that "a significant decline in the number of less-educated Hispanic immigrations" has occurred and "There is good evidence that recent immigration enforcement efforts are a key factor causing the decline."
Americans have been asking for more serious enforcement of immigration laws for years.

The presumptive presidential candidates have similar positions on immigration that run contrary to the vast majority of voters in both parties.

The June 30 results of a Rasmussen telephone survey concerning American's views on immigration are instructive. Fully 63 percent of voters view gaining control of the border as a high priority - a result that bears out earlier surveys. Moreover, 32 percent of those surveyed identified themselves as "angry" about the immigration issue.

Voters paying attention to this issue know that since 2000, an estimated 10 million to 12 million immigrants have arrived, representing the highest seven-year period of immigration in U.S. history. If immigration were to continue at this rate, the nation's population would increase from 301 million today to 468 million in 2060, a 56 percent increase.

Research on the impact this is having on the U.S. economy reveals that Americans are spending between $11 billion and $22 billion on welfare to illegal immigrants each year by state governments. Of this, $2.2 billion a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps and free school lunches.

An estimated $2.5 billion a year is spent on Medicaid.

Approximately $12 billion is spent on primary and secondary school education for children that are here illegally, many of whom cannot speak English.

Thirty percent of all federal prison inmates are illegal immigrants.

Native-born Americans are losing an estimated $200 billion in wages that have been driven down by the influx of illegal immigrants.
Meanwhile, over the past five years, illegal immigrants sent home remittances estimated to be between $25 billion and $45 billion to their countries of origin.

We are a critical moment in our nation's history when a moratorium on virtually all immigration is needed. We have had such a moratorium in the past following the vast immigration periods of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The failure to stem the tide is to literally import poverty. As a share of the population, 1 in 8 residents is now an illegal or legal immigrant. It is the highest level in 80 years.

There is simply no excuse for an unsecured southern border. There is no excuse for the profligate granting of visas to people whose presence in the nation cannot be tracked.

As a negotiation coach, I view elections as a negotiation between candidates and the voters. In the run-up to the national elections, voters need to let both candidates know they must change their position on illegal immigration.

Jim Camp of Dublin, Ohio, is CEO of The Jim Camp Group and the author of two best-selling books on negotiation. Web site: www.startwithno.com

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/opinion/92873.php

I personally don't trust either presidential candidate to do the right thing by the America people regarding Amnesty and related bad bills to help illegals that hurt the American people. However I do trust that the Republican Party will keep Mc Cain in line….

I think the Democratic Party is in LA LA land with Obama, and he/they will destroy our country if given the opportunity….


We see how the candidates have voted on Amnesty and related agenda and we have also seen how the parties have voted….the Republicans will save us from amnesty….the Democrats will bury us! Go to www.Senate.org for more details on voting records.

Hear! Hear! This is the key, Americans need to speak out in these town hall meeting and let the candidate and the news know we are tired of it and not going to take it anymore.

Speak up and do not let the candidates intimidate you into taking their point of view.....

Tell them NO Americans want it stopped, it is not about them it is about the Majority and our country.

Next time McCain starts his bleeding heart crap and intimidates anyone who dares bring up immigration...the person asking the question needs to tell him, "NO, we the people want a stop to this and illegals deported" if you don't have the guts to do it get out of the race.