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

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