Thread: Anyone Want To Take A Crack At This?

I found this in my local paper this morning.
I think this man needs to hear someone else's point of view, don't you? His email address is at the bottom.


Hackles are raised whenever the topic of immigration comes up. There is no shortage of strongly-held opinions when it comes to the bill now before Congress.

Only one thing is certain: No one can seriously claim that our current policies are working.

There are more than 12 million people whose status and future in the United States is unknown. Border enforcement is still spotty.

Then there's the thorny question of temporary workers for industries ranging from high tech to agriculture.


But something seems to have been left out of the picture. That something is Mexico itself -- the large, oil-rich nation with which we share a 2,500-mile land border. Mexico is the largest single source of U.S. immigration as well as our third-largest trading partner.

Looking at Mexico and beyond, we might start thinking more broadly about migration, not just immigration. Everyone who comes to the United States to make a new life or to seek a new job is a migrant. Most are leaving crowded places with difficult social, economic or political environments.

There are some 200 million people worldwide who are living outside their countries of origin. A relatively small share of the world's migrants come to the U.S. Indeed, many countries face migration challenges tied to rapid population growth.

Migration is, or should be, a foreign policy issue. Yet it is almost always talked about only in a domestic context -- as if people simply materialize at our borders. Only then do we even start to figure out what to do about them.

The very fact that we share our southern border often seems to be overlooked. It's Mexico's border too. A major social or economic disruption in Mexico would create population pressures unlike any we've ever seen.

Mexican migrants, mostly in the U.S., send home an estimated $23 billion in remittances annually to their typically poor families. Sharp curtailment of this money flow would have a major impact on our southern neighbor.

For two countries that share a long border, we are strikingly different. Per capita income in Mexico is less than a quarter of what it is in the U.S. It is among the five top nations in terms of its oil production. Yet it has a handful of very wealthy people with many millions living in great poverty.

Thirty-five years ago, the average Mexican woman had almost seven children. Today, the average family has 2.4 children -- a stunning revolution that will affect migration. We could do much to help Mexico continue to reap the full benefit of smaller families.

New U.S. immigration laws, if enacted, will make a difference, one way or another. But the harsh rhetoric of recent years isn't likely to stop. Goodwill between nations and people can be used up just like any other resource.

It is in our national interest to have strong friends and allies at our borders. That means turning down the volume a bit on the immigration debate.

It also means sitting down with our neighbors to find mutually workable approaches to migration, population growth and other issues.

Our geography makes for a shared destiny. We can help encourage smaller families and a better economy for our neighbor to the south.

The next time a news report comes on about Mexican politics or the Mexican economy, don't change that channel. Globally speaking, it's local news that directly affects the place we all call "home."

John Seager is the president of Population Connection (formerly Zero Population Growth), a grassroots advocacy group. His e-mail address is

john@popconnect.org.

Migration a foreign policy issue? I think not!!

This guy is insane and it's these kinds of traitors that we have to deal with.

Thanks for the email, he will suriely hear from me.

Turncoats! TSSK TSSK

You know, it's funny, nobody was even talking about illegal immigration in the local paper in my area until I started writing letters to the editor. I'm glad at least people are starting to wake up. One letter this morning called for Idahoans to contact Craig and Crapo to vote no on this bill. One letter called for people to vote Craig out next year.

Yes!

Well, good thing you started writing to them. In our paper just about every day the immigration issue is brought up in the "opinion" section. Most of the people that submit letters regarding this, are against illegal immigration.

Sadly, I know some people that just ignore the issue thinking it will go away. They will eventually follow our lead or ask me not to contact them anymore.

When I got into Congress.org and checked out the letters people were sending to the Senators, I was surprised at how many people in Idaho were ticked at this bill. I guess they just weren't letting the public know.

He has a point, we don't have millions of illegal aliens from Canada because they run their country much better. I don't think we should take control or bail out Mexico's economy, but we could tell them they need to run it better because all their people are coming back!

good research information that speaks to these issues is located in:

www.numbersusa.com

and

www.cis.org