[CLUE-Talk] Rep Tancredo's Anti-Immigration Stance

[Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier]

On Thu, 2003-10-23 at 08:45, Jeffery Cann wrote:

*snip*
> I'm wondering if CLUEbies share his opinion on
> immigration.  Any comments?

I disagree strongly that multiculturalism is the "greatest danger this
country has ever faced" or that it's even a danger at all. I guess
Tancredo's talents do not include a grasp of U.S. history... whatever
happened to the "melting pot?" Give us your tired and huddled masses...?

Unrestricted immigration is probably a bad idea -- not from a cultural
standpoint, but from a logistical one. Unemployment is already a
problem...you don't solve that by adding a few million additional people
looking for work. 

I don't share the protectionist attitude about our "culture" in the U.S.
-- it's not one that needs "protecting" from other cultures. 

I do agree that corporations that tend to support lax immigration
policies are mostly looking for cheap labor. Imagine what would happen
to agricultural companies if we *really* tightened up the borders and
they had to hire people at competitive wages for fruit-picking and such
like that. A lot of companies take advantage of illegal immigrants.
(Read "Fast Food Nation" sometime...) 

If we wanted to do something useful, we could start pressuring Mexico
and other trading partners to raise or enact minimum wages and enact
better labor laws... 

Zonker
-- 
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier
jzb at dissociatedpress.net
http://www.dissociatedpress.net
http://www.corante.com/openmind