October 3, 2005 marks four decades since federal immigration policy took a drastic change in direction, slowly ushering in the nation we experience today. With a mix of sadness and anger, I wish all American citizens a very Unhappy 40th Anniversary!
Few Americans were paying attention to the immigration reform legislation being literally forced through Congress in 1965. Why should they? Unlike today, where immigration is the national issue which may well bring nation-wide violence if not properly handled, in 1965 we were an assimilated nation of Americans. The annual inflow of legal immigrants was around 300,000, the level of foreign born was very low, and 1964 had seen the passage of civil rights legislation which promised to peacefully bring Black Americans and White Americans together in a unique nation of their own creation.
Fast forward to 2005 legal immigration runs about 1.2 million each year and illegal entry plus overstays produces each year nearly 3 million more illegal aliens camped out in our increasingly crowded neighborhoods. Hispanics, that minority class created by the Ford Foundation, has supplanted Blacks, forcing many of them into demeaning economic competition with illegal aliens. Suddenly anyone wanting immigration reduced is a racist, bigot, or xenophobic, even as our nation's population is projected to approach 500 million by 2050 and, perhaps, 1 billion by the end of the 21st century.
At no time in the last 40 years have American citizens favored an increase in immigration levels. In fact, a consistent majority of citizens has wanted legal immigration reduced and illegal immigration stopped. But with bipartisan commitment, Congress, the President and the Supreme Court have consistently acted to foster higher and higher levels of alien inflow and more and more rights for both the legal and illegal aliens among us.
Legislation and Supreme Court decisions subsequent to 1965 have continued to provide an increasing number of paths for refugees, asylees, and legal or illegal immigrants to enter and be serviced with tax-payer funds in a fashion satisfying their cultural sensibilities.
Amnesties for illegal aliens have provided paths to citizenship for millions of Third World criminals and have, according to federal reports, encouraged many more to come.
During the presidential tenure of Bush (the elder), Clinton, and Bush (the younger), the number of illegal aliens in the country has risen steadily following the 1986 Amnesty by 15 million to 20 million. At no time has one of these presidents taken an aggressive stand against illegal immigration. In fact, most of their rhetoric has bordered on that appropriate for a "welcome wagon."
The 1965 immigration legislation was based primarily on a policy suggested by President John Kennedy in his short book, A Nation of Immigrants. After his death, legislation was ramrodded through Congress by Senators Edward Kennedy and Robert Kennedy. A review of the congressional action is fascinating those wanting immigration opened up lied their way to victory, claiming the legislation would bring insignificant change. Those who opposed the legislation and correctly predicted its horrific impact on America's future were, of course, branded racists. Ordinary American citizens weren't even aware of what was happening.
With time, as more and more aliens poured in, it slowly became evident that the legislation was drastically changing America. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the excuse of "unintended consequences" started to be used to explain away the impact of the 1965 legislation. They said, "A mistake was made," but no correction was ever offered just more mistakes.
Know your government's intent by its deeds, Allen, a character in Ayn Rand's book, Atlas Shrugged, wisely spoke when he said, "Mistakes of this magnitude are never made innocently."
Clearly we have reached a political state where American citizens have lost total control over their nation's immigration policy. A government typology with this level of control has a name which is easily recognizable Totalitarian.