BCT Editorial – 1/10/07

This page was last updated on January 11, 2007.

Start U.S. up; Editorial; Beaver County Times; January 10, 2007.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“Immigrants are crucial to the future of the United States.”

[RWC] Duh! As other Times editorials on this topic, this piece attempts to conflate illegal and legal immigration. In other words, if you oppose illegal immigration, you oppose legal immigrants.

“The Washington Post reported that a study based on telephone surveys with 2,054 companies and projections by researchers at the University of California at Berkley and at Duke University found that immigrants, mostly from India and China, were present at the creation of about a quarter of the technology and engineering companies launched in the United States in the past decade.

“These companies, which had at least one foreign-born founder, now have estimated sales of nearly $50 billion.

“The study also found that about 25 percent of international patents filed in the United States in 2006 were submitted by immigrants.

“But the United States isn’t just gaining from immigrants who are working in high-tech and engineering firms.

“Immigrants who are working in small businesses (restaurants, dry cleaning, convenience stores, etc.) or minimum-wage jobs are doing their part as well. Their presence in the United States is one reason our nation is staying relatively young (and competitive) while other industrialized countries, especially Germany, France, Italy and Japan, have populations that are growing older (and less competitive) with each passing year.”

[RWC] It’s no coincidence these countries are far more socialistic than the U.S.

“Congress and the Bush administration must come up with an immigration policy that allows the United States to continue to tap into this important source of growth and energy.

“One way to do that is to recognize that the Ellis Island era of immigration is over and that in today’s global economy people can come and go as they please. The tough nut to crack is finding a way to make sure that they do so legally.”

[RWC] No, it is not tough. We simply need to secure our borders and enforce the immigration laws we already have on the books.

“One thing is certain: Closing the doors or severely restricting immigration is not the answer.”

[RWC] Tell me, other than a few complete buffoons, who has suggested, “[c]losing the doors or severely restricting [legal] immigration?”