Why are there immigration laws

[Beestie]

Originally Posted by Jacquelita

Why are there immigration laws?

I say it's to control the economy - UT says it's because people don't like foreigners

what say the cellarites?

You are both correct. Sort of. Immigration laws pacify the isolationists. The utter lack of enforcement pacifies big business. The paradox pacifies the intellectuals. The highly publicized spot enforcement pacifies the rest.

Immigration is a politicians' wet dream.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by Beestie

Immigration laws pacify the isolationists. The utter lack of enforcement pacifies big business. The paradox pacifies the intellectuals. The highly publicized spot enforcement pacifies the rest.

That is a nice little blurb.

Since government is really just an artifact of tribal society, promoting fear of the other is governments most important job.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by Griff

Since government is really just an artifact of tribal society, promoting fear of the other is governments most important job.

Originally Posted by Beestie

You are both correct. Sort of. Immigration laws pacify the isolationists. The utter lack of enforcement pacifies big business. The paradox pacifies the intellectuals. The highly publicized spot enforcement pacifies the rest.

Immigration is a politicians' wet dream.

Without a doubt, those are the most cynical, paranoid, and concise explanations I have ever seen.

I love you guys!

[xoxoxoBruce]

And accurate, Rich......don't forget accurate.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Jacquelita

Why are there immigration laws?

I say it's to control the economy - UT says it's because people don't like foreigners

First learn reasons why so many immigrants. United States laws for corporate welfare make it virtually impossible for many jobs to be created where jobs would be better located AND where the same labor exists. Sugar and corn are but two industries, heavily subsidized with corporate welfare, but better performed overseas. US government corporate welfare checks lower world prices of sugar and corn making such jobs impossible in Central America, South America, and Africa.

Free trade - we hype it publicly and then subvert it with policies that undermine jobs where immigrants reside. Then we so hype a fear of THEM as to even demand that Canadians carry passports.

The problem is not immigration. Immigration is only a symptom. The problem is why we are not putting vast resources of labor to work - which is historically how America got rich. Another symptom of that failure is a vast disparity created only by that border.

Yes many jobs require immigrants. And there are many industries - such as mushrooms - that are better performed by those immigrants in their home countries. Illegal immigrant numbers around The Cellar are so large that a nearby suburban radio station for those illegal immigrants is 690 AM.

Since not willing to address the problem, then we will waste vast time and resources promoting hate to keep them out - curing symptoms while only make more enemies. The economy controls itself if government does not distort it - tariffs, et al increase the need for illegal immigrants - corporate welfare. Meanwhile hate and fear promotes knee jerk responses such as military border campaigns rather than address the reason for that immigration. Yes, many immigration laws get promoted due to fear of foreigners rather than to address a problem. America historically resorts to walls when America cures symptoms rather than solve a problem.

How entrenched is American corporate welfare? Previously noted was the Cancun WTO conference terminated three days early because of American corporte welfare that also makes illegal immigration worse:
Isolationism

The Cancun challenge of 4 Sept 2003:
The Doha agenda was ambitious, aiming not only to cut barriers in highly protected economic sectors, such as agriculture and services, but to write new rules for globalisation in areas such as investment and competition policy. Most of all, Doha was purportedly focused on helping the poor. Rich countries promised to open their markets in areas, especially farm goods and textiles, which matter most to poor countries. They promised to help poor countries with cash, technical assistance and “special and differential” treatment in implementing any agreement. To underline the pro-poor message, the words “development” and “developing” were included 63 times in the 10-page document that launched the Doha round.

But instead the entire conference failed three days earlier for reasons including this one:

Cancún's charming outcome on 18 Spet 2003:
For all the fine promises made at Doha, rich countries could see no farther than the interests of their own farmers. America's unwillingness to curb its cotton subsidies—which have an especially severe effect on poor-country producers—is unforgivable.

How can one have an informed opinion of illegal immigration and not even know what happened in Cancun? Its called curing symptoms - too often using hate, fear, and other emotions to justify immigration laws.

[tw]

No free trade? Then people flee to where jobs are available. A subtitle from that Economist report was

Champions of the world's poor are celebrating the collapse of global trade talks. Some champions

It included this picture to demonstrate an attitude that also increases our immigration problem:

[busterb]

Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907.

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American... There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907
And here is a link to http://www.snopes.com/quotes/teddyroos.asp