hi, dandelion.

To the GOP: Immigrants are HUMANS

boldprogressives:

If elected President, Ron Paul will work to implement the following “common sense” reforms:

• Enforce Border Security – America should be guarding her own borders and enforcing her own laws instead of policing the world and implementing UN mandates.
• No Amnesty - The Obama Administration’s endorsement of so-called “Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” granting amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants, will only encourage more law-breaking.
• Abolish the Welfare State – Taxpayers cannot continue to pay the high costs to sustain this powerful incentive for illegal immigration.  As Milton Friedman famously said, you can’t have open borders and a welfare state.
• End Birthright Citizenship – As long as illegal immigrants know their children born here will be granted U.S. citizenship, we’ll never be able to control our immigration problem.
• * Protect Lawful Immigrants – As President, Ron Paul will encourage legal immigration by streamlining the entry process without rewarding lawbreakers.

When considering the ramifications of immigration, we have to remember that we are talking about human beings. I believe that the laws of our country should be upheld, but I do also believe in treating all humans equally, regardless of birthplace. The united states has defined itself as the nation that’s has taken in folks from around the world, and we have allowed those people to pursue the great American Dream.

 Immigrants are vital to our national prosperity, the are both a huge part of our labor market, as well as great job creators. Historically, curbing or limiting immigration or the rights of those who have come to our shores has blown up in the face of America. For evidence I give you the alien and sedition act, Japanese internment, and more. 

Many proponents of stronger immigration policies believe that the United States has broken down in terms of enforcement of these laws. Many say that if you want to create a job for an American, you should deport an illegal alien. But in reality immigrants create jobs. For instance look at the 50% of our medical doctors who were foreign born. Or the seasonal workers who keep businesses open for other employees like managers and other laborers year round. 

It is easy to get caught up in the economic argument about immigrants, but then we are segregating all these people to nothing but pawns in a cheap labor force. It strikes me as odd that all candidates in the GOP field would consider a fertilized egg to be a person, but would not bestow the same classification on an ‘illegal’ immigrant. It is stranger still that the mainstream media and a great portion of the general American public agrees with this in principle. Most of us- who are more than likely descendants of immigrants- cannot see past the kick them out/ grant them amnesty debate. You are dehumanizing these people when you continue that kind of argument. 

So with that in mind, let us break down Congressman Paul’s immigration policy with an eye that what he is talking about are human beings, not cattle:

* Enforce Border Security – America should be guarding her own borders and enforcing her own laws instead of policing the world and implementing UN mandates. This implies that immigrants are criminals and terrorists. If we instead took that money and focused it on promoting progressive views of liberty and freedom globally, immigrants may have less reasons to try and come into our country illegally. 

“Militarizing the U.S.-Mexican border by deploying ever increasing numbers of Border Patrol Officers (tripling the force from 1980 to 2000) and building fences has not discouraged migrants from crossing. The measures have, however, driven them into the most remote reaches of the desert. During 2005, at least 473 people died under such circumstances, a historical record. Such a death, some people say, hurts far less than slow starvation [which was the fate the awaited them in their home country.]”

-The Accidental American: Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization

* No Amnesty - The Obama Administration’s endorsement of so-called “Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” granting amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants, will only encourage more law-breaking. Again, this makes the assumption that we should label immigrants based upon their one misdemeanor offense of jumping the border.

* Abolish the Welfare State – Taxpayers cannot continue to pay the high costs to sustain this powerful incentive for illegal immigration.  As Milton Friedman famously said, you can’t have open borders and a welfare state. According to the New York Times, Studies have shown that about 75% of undocumented workers actually do pay taxes through fake Social Security cards, and that immigrants in general use far fewer public health resources than do native-born Americans. Continuing this idea that immigrants are detrimental to our American society is a form of institutional racism. 

* End Birthright Citizenship – As long as illegal immigrants know their children born here will be granted U.S. citizenship, we’ll never be able to control our immigration problem. What is being said here is that unless you are a white, christian, english speaking, hyper  consumer, you do not deserve to procreate within our borders. Continuing to define the American as a white person can only again lead us to institutionalizing racism. 

* Protect Lawful Immigrants – As President, Ron Paul will encourage legal immigration by streamlining the entry process without rewarding lawbreakers. The United States, as policy, sets a limit to the number of people admitted from a particular country every year as legal immigrants. Countries with natively white populations are given preference in our immigration process. There is no doubt that President Paul would continue this racist course of action. 

So there is why Ron Paul shouldn’t be elected President, because not to far under the surface of the freedom loving libertarian lies a violent xenophobic racist. But don’t get your hopes up about the rest of the GOP contenders, because even though Ron Paul is on the fringe of conservative politics, his immigration platform lines up with those of Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and others.  

(via wearetheweirdos)