Mass Immigration and Basic Freedoms

Freedom is what makes America special. Our Constitution affirms such fundamental freedoms as speech, assembly, and worship. To protect our liberties, it also limits the power of government.

But the Constitution alone cannot guarantee that we will remain free. Freedom requires that Americans share a common loyalty to the principles of the Constitution. If we don't embrace these principles as society, they will pass away - despite what any document says.

The excessive levels of immigration we now have are overwhelming our ability to assimilate the newcomers to our culture. In 1997 President Clinton observed that immigration was removing our "common ... culture," but claimed that we should not worry about it. He was quite wrong. Diversity under a common culture can be beneficial. But immigration-propelled "multiculturalism," which destroys our common culture, is a threat to American liberty.

These are the reasons:

(1) Many immigrants today come from countries with little or no history of political freedom. While they may appreciate freedom, they often do not have the knowledge and habits of long practice to sustain it. Their growing numbers and lack of assimilation make them a strong influence outside the mainstream of free America.

(2) Multiculturalism means the rise of diverse ethnic and political groups with little in common. With the decline of English as our standard language, they won't even be able to speak to one another. In this situation, a powerful government - one not respectful of liberties - may be the only force capable of holding the factions together.

To cite an example: free speech among people with little in common can easily cause someone to take offense. For the sake of keeping peace, some people will say "we must limit free speech." European countries and Canada, influenced by multiculturalism, have already moved in this direction. We Americans still enjoy legally protected free speech, but for how long? We must make a choice. We can have the multiculturalism made inevitable by mass immigration, or we can have freedom. But we can't have both.