As readers of this journal are well aware, the Obama Administration—supported by a coalition of what Donald A. Collins identifies as “cheap labor importers, job exporters, ethnic tribalists, and religious hypocrites”—seeks to impose a set of “comprehensive” immigration laws that would triple legal immigration over the next decade (by handing out 30 million green cards), and give “temporary” work permits to an additional 15 million or more foreign workers. After the November 2014 mid-term elections, President Obama issued a set of ten memorandums, defining his immigration policy goals. These call for even less enforcement of the laws already on the books, ensuring that illegal aliens will have nothing to fear, while increasing low- and high-skilled immigration.
Despite these executive actions, President Obama’s immigration policies are not set in stone. Federal Judge Andrew S. Hanen has ruled against Mr. Obama’s amnesty and threatened further sanctions against the Administration’s attorneys. Congress should use its authority and reverse these damaging measures.
In every issue of The Social Contract (see the inside front cover), we assert, “In order to best facilitate meeting the highest goals of the American people, (1) how many immigrants should we admit? (2) who should be admitted? and (3) how can we humanely enforce the rules?”
Lawrence Harrison, recognized internationally for his work in the field of economic development, draws special attention to the unique problems posed by massive Latino immigration. In a series of feature articles in this issue, reprinted by permission from Lawrence E. Harrison’s Jews, Confucians, and Protestants: Cultural Capital and the End of Multiculturalism (Rowman & Littlefield) copyright 2013, he explains which cultures create the cultural capital that encourages democratic government, social fairness, and economic progress, while others do not. Consequently, he advises that policy makers should not tilt immigration policy in favor of people who have less cultural capital, as evidenced by persisting problems in education, income, and crime data. Furthermore, current policy encourages Spanish becoming the second national language. Unless these policies are reversed, we can look forward to a balkanized future of conflict and economic decline