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Jane Galt on Immigration

June 25, 2007, 3:19 pm

Jane Galt takes on some of the more common anti-immigration talking points.  Just for example:

5. There were ethnic newspapers, but nothing like today's ethnic media.

This is just ridiculous. Immigrants in 1900 could get all the
entertainment that was then available in their own language; for
example, by 1918, New York City boasted 20 Yiddish theaters.
The idea that Latin American immigrants are somehow uniquely unable to
assimilate because they can now watch soap operas and the Venezuelan
version of Eurovision in their very own language seems to me
self-evidently absurd; an immigrant at home watching television in
Spanish is immersed in her own culture no more thoroughly than was the
typical resident of an ethnic neighbourhood who shopped, worked, went
to services, and partied entirely with their compatriots.

I am working on some research right now -- immigration opponents are claiming that "yes, immigration may have been OK in the past, but its different now."  I am in the process of putting together anti-immigration quotes from the late 19th and early 20th century that cover all of the same ground -- they're lazy, they breed too fast, they have disease, they don't integrate, they have divided loyalties -- but aimed at Irish and Italians.

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Category: Immigration
  • Bob Smith

    The difference between then and now is that the Irish and Italians weren't being bombarded by multiculturalism in the schools and propagandized by organizations like La Raza and MEChA, all of whom teach non-integration and divided loyalties. Specifically, they're trying to destroy the "melting pot" by teaching loyalty to one's clan, race, or sect before loyalty to the United States. That is, tribalism. Just look at stories about the 300-some different "graduation ceremonies" at UCLA. I know what the Democrats get out of this: multiculturalism leads to making everything a government-mediated tribal spoils system, which they of course want to "control". I put control in quotes because in countries that actually have such systems, nobody is in control. Constant war, always political and frequently violent, over the division of spoils is the order of the day.

  • Dave Moelling

    I do a fair amount of work in Mexico consulting at Power Plants. As in all my travels around the world, everyone eventually gets around to asking for help to get to the US. If not for themselves then for a son or relative. Mexicans know the problem in Mexico is the culture. Not the music/food part of culture, but the social hierarchy. Those who come to the US want to be American to escape this. That's what my german ancestors did emigrating to Missouri. You could still go to the German School until WWI, but they did not bring over the aristocratic class structure that still exists today in Germany.

    The problem seems to be the scale of the immigration and a perceived lack of control.

  • Rick Caird

    When you get around to doing this, please incorporate the Milton Friedman admonition:

    "You cannot simultaneously have free immigration and a welfare state."

    Hmmm, maybe it is different this time.

    Rick

  • John Carroll

    Isn't Sweden an example of the situation Milton Friedman talks about?

    Will not legalizing the current tens of millions and continuing to import tens of millions more from the Third World be an economic catastrophe for the Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, all the other entitlement programs, hospitals, school systems, law enforcement, and especially we taxpayers who are forced to pay for all this?

    With the addition of these tens of millions budding multiculturalists, will we not then begin to look like dying Europe?

  • Tony Boyce

    Bob's point is a valid one. When my ancestors came to the US, you had to be able to speak english or learn it. Nowadays, we have materials written in their native language that cost millions of dollars to produce.

    Look at California's election forms, they are written in how many different languages? The money wasted could be better used for the state services.

    The government must enforce the current immigration laws and shut down the boarders until we have in place a system for migrant workers to be here leagally. I have no problem with folks comming over here to make a new life for themselves, however one must do it leagally. Ellis Island long ago was the spot where immigrants stopped off and was processed for entry into this country. Currently, there is no central spot for immigrants to be processed which leads to massive confusion. INS has no clue as to who is here legally or illegally.