Also of note here is that one of the people supporting a Constitutional amendment against birthright citizenship -- or, alternately, a reinterpretation of the existing 14th* -- is Lindsey Graham, formerly known as “Grahamnesty.”
Now, we should never trust someone like Graham, and his proposal to end birthright citizenship would be rendered moot (at least in the short term) if it were followed by the granting of amnesty to 12-20 million illegals.
But as much as I hate saying so, Graham actually brings up an important distinction.
“Guest workers” and temporary employees are certainly problematic, mostly due to the fact that the businessmen who invite them usually aren’t held accountable for the damage they cause to other people’s life and property. However, the best thing about migrants is that they go home, and don’t stick around to become wards of the state.
As usual, conservatives, Lou Dobbs types, and even some “paleos” have got thing backwards when they speak of their love for “assimilation” and “legal immigration,” and then feign concern for poor Mexicans migrants who are supposedly “abused” by evil capitalists and -- heaven forbid! -- paid wages below the federally sanctioned hourly minimum. But ultimately, the migrant who stays for a limited period of time, who doesn’t harm anyone, and who then promptly goes away -- I know, this is idealistic -- is essentially engaging in the free trade of his labor.
We should treat such migrants as a potential nuisance -- and communities certainly have the right to exclude them altogether. Still, the real problem is not illegal immigrants but the legal ones. The real danger is not poor agricultural laborers who come and go but millions of foreign aliens who are to be “assimilated” into the nation.
At any rate, for the first time in his career, Lindsey Graham has proposed something that I support.
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Notes:
* -- This prospect is discussed by Pat Buchanan in State of Emergency.
