Recession (Depression?) Won't Solve Our Immigration Crisis.

John Tanton, the founder of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, recently sent me an article, Migrant Intake Cut Flagged from The Australian, which dubs itself "Australia's National Newspaper". [By Paul Maley and Verity Edwards, October 10, 2008] It said:

 "The Prime Minister said Australia's overall migrant intake, which is set annually in the lead-up to the May budget, would be determined according to the financial conditions that prevailed at the time.

"'It's been this way since time immemorial and will be this way into the future as well,' Mr Rudd said yesterday, when asked if it was time to think about cutting the migration rate. 'We adjust it according to economic circumstances.'"

Gee. Why does the Australian headline only say "flagged"?

"[The] latest official figures showed a rise in Australia's jobless rate last month - up from 4.1 per cent to 4.3 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms. Unemployment increased by 21,700 last month, outstripping the 2200 new jobs created. In May, the Rudd Government added 31,000 skilled migrants to this year's migration program."

How much "flag" do you need, Mr. Prime Minister! You better cut el toro or your citizens will continue to be economically gored like a feckless matador.

Of course, US legal immigration is set by law and cannot be altered by executive action in view of labor market conditions. And lest we get to thinking that the upcoming recession (or is it "depression"?) will finally provoke legislation to solve the immigration crisis here, be aware those who want Open Borders are still lurking and planning. You know who they are: businesses seeking cheaper labor and the ethno- and ideo-centric lobbies such as La Raza, and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), both of the latter getting big buck support from major corporations, and the Roman Catholic and other churches.

And here another story designed to lull us into feeling that the surge is over and that we can relax about the immigration issue—despite knowing that at least 12 million illegal aliens reside in the US. The October 17th front page Wall Street Journal article, Now Boarding: Illegal Immigrants On One-Way Tickets Home, [by Miriam Jordan] begins

"While U.S. airlines downsize and scrimp on amenities, one carrier is offering its passengers leather seats, ample legroom and free food. But frequent fliers probably don't want a ticket on what may be the fastest growing 'airline' serving Central America.

"This carrier is run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency responsible for finding and deporting undocumented immigrants. A crackdown on illegal immigration has led to a spike in deportations and the creation of a de facto airline to send the deportees home."

Nice, eh? Have a luxurious ride home at US taxpayer expense so you can come back another day when economic conditions improve.

Certainly I am not against airplane deportations but the numbers involved won't begin to cut into the 12 million illegal alien numbers among us now.

As the WSJ rreports:

"In all, the U.S. government deports people to more than 190 countries. Outside of Mexico, ICE flew home 76,102 illegal immigrants in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, up from 72,187 last year and 50,222 two years ago.

"ICE Air's patrons are what the airline industry calls 'non-revenue passengers,' since Washington foots the bill at $620 a person on average for the one-way flight home. The agency now flies 10 aircraft, twice as many as last year, including leased and government jets.

"From Kansas City, Mr. Pitts' team coordinates with 24 ICE field offices and monitors all flights. On a recent morning, staffers tracked seven ICE Air flights to Central America on an electronic wall map. Three schedulers worked the phones and emailed frantically to place immigrants on future flights."

Ah, home for the holidays. Well, at least for the Filipinos. Hey, at least these jobs can't be outsourced. A boost for our lagging airlines and a full flight is assured every time. Nothing is too good for our corporate friends as the bail outs of recent days continue full blast. Of course, Sheila Blair, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) noted bitterly that while corporate America is being well served with government (read "taxpayer" cash) the benighted mortgage holders have been largely ignored.

But then that's getting to be the American Way: The governing elites ignore us citizens and steamroller their self serving, bought on K Street schemes which diminish the Middle Class and move us relentlessly to the standard government model of far too many Third World countries—you know, few richies and many peons. 

None of the four worthies running for President and Vice President on the major party tickets were challenged by their interrogators in any of their debates to explain why they favor open borders and comprehensive (read "amnesty") immigration reform.

Why? Same reason. The major media gets its revenue from these same businesses who want cheap labor.

Folks, it will take repeated voting actions on our part, perhaps over several election cycles, participated in by all citizens of whatever ethnic, religious, cultural or political persuasion, to de-elect those elites who don't get our message. Citizenship comes via the orderly, precise, carefully enforced Rule of Law. Real immigration reform comes under this vital tenet, without which our democracy is toast.

Meantime, have happy recession (Depression)!

Donald A. Collins [email him], is a freelance writer living in Washington DC and a former long time member of the board of FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform. His views are his own.