Tag Archives: Donald

Immigration restrictionists are right when they argue that
proposed “comprehensive” reform won’t do the GOP much good with
Hispanics. But that isn’t because, as the restrictionists believe,
Latinos are welfare-grubbing, government-loving Democrats who will
never vote for the party that denies them free stuff. It’s more
because, when it comes to immigration, Republicans don’t show them
the nice side of limited government.
Mitt Romney’s shellacking among Hispanics, nearly 75 percent of
whom voted for Barack Obama, brought Republicans to the negotiating
table on immigration reform, but only grudgingly. Many still
believe that Latinos are a hopeless cause. ;
In the wake of the election, Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan
Institute alleged that the source of the “strong bond” between
Hispanics and Democrats wasn’t immigration policy but Hispanic
support for “strong government intervention in the economy” and
“progressive taxation,” as if Hispanics are born Keynesians. And an
incendiary National Review Online editorial noted that
Hispanics are “disproportionately low-income and disproportionately
likely to receive some form of government support.” ;
But these commentaries betray a lack of perspective. Hispanics
are hardly unique in their voting behavior. With the exception of
Cubans and Vietnamese, no minority—rich or poor, on or off the
dole—has much love for the GOP. ;
Consider Indian Americans: More than 85 percent voted for Barack
Obama, and 65 percent generally vote Democratic. This despite the
fact that, like Jews (another anti-Republican minority), Indian
Americans are wealthier and less likely to receive government
support than the overall population. What’s more, Indian Americans
should be natural allies of limited-government politicians, given
how much government dysfunction they’ve witnessed back home.
So how do Republicans manage to alienate nearly every minority?
By applying limited-government principles very selectively. During
the last 50 years the GOP has opposed welfare handouts, racial
preferences, and multiculturalism. Yet the Party of Lincoln has
looked the other way when the government has oppressed minorities
through racial profiling, discriminatory sentencing laws, and,
above all, immigration policy.
America’s immigration laws are an exercise in social engineering
that should offend any sincere believer in limited government. They
strictly limit the number of foreigners allowed from any one
country, largely to prevent America from being overrun by Hispanics
and Asians. ;
The result: Highly skilled foreigners from India and China have
to wait up to two decades to convert their temporary work visas
(H1-Bs) to green cards or permanent residency. During this time,
they can’t change jobs, and their spouses can’t work. But they have
it good compared to low-skilled Hispanics.
Latin American immigrants can’t even get permits to legally
enter the U.S. for work. Uncle Sam is extremely tight-fisted with
visas for unskilled non-agricultural foreigners. Even if they
manage to obtain visas they have no way of applying for green cards
because, unlike H1-B workers, the law offers them no avenues to do
so. Unless they have close relatives in America, the only way
holders of H2-A or H2-B visas can live here permanently is
illegally. ;
Rather than demanding stricter enforcement of these irrational
rules, Republicans could have made common cause with the Hispanics
and Asians who are victimized by it. Instead of urging the Obama
administration to add to its record-breaking deportation numbers,
they could have led the charge against the visa raj that shackles
immigrants and the businesses that hire them. Instead of pushing
border drones and electric fences, they could have made more
compassionate immigration laws a civil rights crusade.
Democrats may resort to bribery, handouts, and fear mongering
when wooing immigrants to their side. But Republicans could go a
long way simply by staying true to their limited-government
principles. ; … Read More