Recently the Bush administration announced a move to grant “amnesty” to 11 million illegal aliens already inside our borders, according to the official 2000 U.S. census. Instead, there is an urgent need for stricter immigration reform, including stronger enforcement of laws presently on the books, beefing up the U.S. border controls, tracking down visa holders, and placing a moratorium on all immigration into the U.S. for at least a year. After that, some studies show that we can absorb only about a total of 300,000 per year without causing a dramatic impact of structural changes on population levels and on our economic and social institutions.
Fortunately, the administration has finally called for at least the strengthening of our overwhelmed border control operations.
Now is exactly when we should begin to fix this broken system. We need time to protect ourselves from another wave of terrorists and a breathing period for America to absorb the record number of legal immigrants who have arrived here over the past 30 years – at the rate of 10,000 per day. About 400,000 foreigners now collect Social Security benefits (nearly $7 billion yearly), food stamps, medical benefits and housing assistance without having to work one day.
Politicians are looking for voters’ directions right now in order to determine how they will vote; so please ask Congress to pass HR 2712, the Mass Immigration Reduction Act of 2001, which would provide for a more balanced immigration policy. Immigration is population growth that we can control by reducing it; otherwise the continuing pressure of greater numbers means that no amount of intellectual planning for smart growth can prevent stupid sprawl.
Bothell
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