The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference last month released an attack on FAIR and Laura Ingraham. In it, Robert Gittelson, a retired businessman who passed away on August 7, accused us of advocating a heartless policy of deportation for illegal aliens that would destroy the economy.
We were falsely characterized as ‘pro-abortion” and for “abortion on demand” when, in fact we take no position on any issue other than immigration policy.
Then Gittelson turned on Ingraham, who was identified as having aligned herself with FAIR on immigration policy, citing her comments on The O’Reilly Factor show in which she advocated, “…deporting all people who are here illegally.” This, the writer claimed, meant, “… not only deporting the undocumented, but also their 5 million citizen children, as well as several million citizen and legal resident spouses that comprise the millions of mixed status families that are caught up in this crisis.” That is an absurd and malicious claim.
Unlike illegal aliens, U.S. citizens may not be deported. While it is true that aliens being deported may elect to take their minor children who were born in the United States back with them to their home country, and the U.S. immigration authorities will assist that process, that certainly is not the same thing as deporting those U.S. citizens.
Gittelson then claimed that a policy of deporting all illegal aliens would wreck the U.S. economy:
How can we grow our economy when Ingraham and her population control allies want to cut our population by 20 million people — and these immigrants are dollar for dollar among the most productive members of our workforce!
This trumped-up hand-wringing is a variation on the theme of the supposed impact on the economy if 11 or 12 million illegal aliens were removed overnight. That, too, is a straw man. No one is advocating a mass immediate deportation of all illegal aliens. What FAIR advocates is a strenuous process of enforcing existing law with an expanded capability to control the border and U.S. jobsites to discourage future illegal immigration and encourage those already here illegally to return to their home countries. That would lead to the rapid decline in the illegal alien population – but one that would unfold over several years.
Rather than destroying the economy and the country’s tax base, as the writer claims, this policy would aid the economy by opening jobs for today’s enormous number of unemployed citizens that currently is a drag on the economy, and it would be a huge boon to the nation’s struggling state and local budgets that bear an enormous fiscal burden supporting low-wage illegal alien families.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this post incorrectly identified the author of the op-ed from The Hill. The opinion piece published on July 17 was penned by Robert Gittleson, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 57.
19 Comments
We need to repeal the 14th Amendment and end the anchor baby issue. Baby is a citizen of whatever country the parents are a citizen of.
We really don’t have to repeal the 14th Amendment. All that is needed it to change the Immigration Act to reflect that only children born to American parents are citizens. Congress can do that, but will they?
Exactly
The Constitution doesn’t need to change….its the American open border idiots that can’t read English that misinterperted the 1860s’ 14th ammendment for only slaves’ children, then falsely allegated to add in any foreign nationals’ children sneaking in to America [which the 14th Ammendment CLEARLY prohibits right now].
I guarantee you if we were magically able to deport every person currently in the country illegally as well as erect a border fence, our economy would explode. There is no way you can tell me all these low skilled, illiterate people are a net positive on our economy. They might provide a service to an employer, but what about the portion of their pay they send back to Mexico? Or the amount of social spending they require for health care, education, housing, welfare and everything else?
That is a fairy tales in your World of fantasies…..I thought some people are illiterate culturally but you royally win this one….
This is what the Left and all those self-interest groups pushing for Amnesty are good at–twisting the narrative away
from the real issues and truth to statements designed to play on the sympathy of the low information American public.
Organizations like FAIR need to work hard to get the TRUE message out to the wider public about how devastahe ting the economic costs will be to the U.S. citizens of providing housing, education, healthcare, welfare, food stamps, etc.,etc., to millions of mostly poor and uneducated illegals. And show people how much it will cost them in increased taxes–that’s something likely to get the attention of even the usually inattentive American voter and taxpayer.
According to the Heritage Foundation, amnesty for illegals would cost taxpayers about $9.4 Trillion (with a T) minus tax receipts of $3.1 Trillion leaving a net deficit of about $6.3 Trillion. Taxes for welfare, healthcare and education are primarily collected from local County property tax.
The advantage for the Chamber of Commerce is that illegals are easy to exploit on wages and working conditions. Local property owners, however, make up the difference in increased taxes and the Chamber just shifts the burden. If amnesty is passed, illegals would not be exploitable and therefore not hireable. It is unlikely the Chamber would let that happen. Mandatory e-verify.
So, Gittleson passed away at the age of 57. Not going to mourn his passing, nor the passing of any of the others who encourage the breaking of US laws on Immigration. Gittleson (apparently) did so for selfish reasons- he profited from their presence. People in business that prefer greed over law are to be abhorred. They are the enemies of a consistent, open society and, through the encouragement of breaking laws, accessories before, during, and after the commission of those crimes.
They should be prosecuted accordingly.
Massive LEGAL immigration is a bigger problem then illegal immigration. Throw in the absurdity of birthright citizenship. Just insanity.
Both are a problem, no doubt. There is no good reason, none, to keep admitting the numbers of immigrants we do. Pew Research says that immigration is the main reason for our population growth of 25-30 million per decade. People we do not need, taking jobs that we don’t have enough of to begin with. We can’t provide water as it is now for large areas of the country, much less adding many millions more.
And I doubt that the authors of the 14th amendment, which made citizens of native born slaves, would have meant for people to become citizens because of their parents illegal act. All European countries have changed their birthright citizenship policies. Including Ireland in 2004 by a vote of it’s citizens, who approved by a 79 % majority. But if you suggest it happen here, you’re called an extremist.
Native born and brought from overseas learn our history…
Illegals weren’t “brought” anywhere. They entered or stayed illegally. There shouldn’t be a reward for that action by making their children citizens.
Sometimes i wonder if you have it together……..babies were brought here illegally the same as your ancestors AND the blacks children before the 14th……………….AGAIN LEAR OUR HISTORY and become literate in our reality….
So someone finally admitted there are more than 11 million illegal aliens here. I’ve been waiting for that number, left over from the Bush administration, to change. Many of us all along have known it was false. I’m with Laura Ingraham on deporting illegal aliens, but realize that our laws would allow citizen children to remain. But, hopefully, the parent would take them along. American jobs for American citizens. Why would any administration allow people to stay when their first act was to break the law? I’ll never understand that. Do they think the law-breakers will suddenly become upstanding , law-abiding, America-loving people? I don’t think so.
FAIR better off distant itself from her…she is not that bright…..
Laura is one of the only public figures who is willing to state the truth as it relates to illegal aliens, the solutions and the obstacles.
According to who?
JoJo she hardly knows the country and ever seen how poor people lives…fro that matter….she just repeats and builds on what she is told……….and not that bright……………it shows…………
I’d say John Winthrop is the only voice of compassion and sanity in this forum.