Some 8 to 10 million illegal aliens from all over the world, as expected, have flooded across the border since Joe Biden took office.
A demagogic candidate Biden, remember, in 2019 invited those massing at the southern border to “surge” into the United States without specifying they first needed legal sanction: “We immediately surge to the border all those seeking asylum.”
In contrast, we know legal immigration is America’s great strength, but it has always depended on a few key prerequisites.
Immigration must be legal and measured.
Why? Because only the host nation can adjudicate how many immigrants it can successfully accept and assimilate. It has no desire to encourage Balkanized tribalism so common in nations abroad torn apart by ethnic conflict.
America must have some knowledge of the background of immigrants, especially whether they have criminal records, belong to gangs, are importing drugs, carry infectious diseases, or can be self-supporting.
By contrast, if the first thing immigrants do is illegally cross the American border, and the second is to reside illegally in America, and the third is to obtain fraudulent identification to mask that illegality, then they will establish long patterns of illegal behavior and disrespect for their hosts.
In addition, immigration should be diverse so that large ethnic groups do not form permanent tribal sects in the fashion of the Balkans, the Middle East, or Latin America.
Ideally, the host should prefer immigrants who have some knowledge of the language and customs of the United States. And they should have some ability to be self-supporting so as not to burden American taxpayers or overtax and deprive social services from poorer U.S. citizens.
As for the host?
America must be confident enough in and knowledgeable enough about its values, customs, and traditions to demand immigrants integrate rapidly into the body politic of the United States.
Both the host and immigrants must agree on the basic facts of immigration.
Immigrants, not the host, have chosen to leave their native land to risk a new life and identity in America.
Therefore, the relationship is, by nature, asymmetrical. The host has a perfect right, indeed a responsibility, to impose its own values upon newcomers—not vice versa.
Otherwise, if immigrants do not absorb their newly adopted culture, why would they have left and, in some sense, rejected their homeland in the first place?
To replicate in the United States the very conditions and environment that they so eagerly fled from back home?
So the host must remind immigrants that they chose a completely different paradigm from their native country. And therefore, they must be helped to embrace an entirely new national identity.
Unfortunately, in the last four years, the Biden administration has violated every historical canon critical to ensuring legal immigration enriches the United States.
They have encouraged 8-10 million of the world’s poorest to flood the border and to enter and reside in America without legal sanction.
Most have no prior experience with American traditions, and few speak English.
Host Americans have no idea whether hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of the millions entering illegally have committed crimes in their native countries, or have any record of employment, or are sick, or are here to foment gangs and to import lethal, foreign-made drugs that kill some 100,000 Americans a year.
Worse, we, the hosts, no longer believe in the melting pot that once made America the world’s only successful multiracial democracy, united by the laws of the Constitution and the unique values that emanate from it.
The combination of mass illegal immigration, without audit, into a country beset with $35 trillion in national debt, an existing 50 million residents not born in the United States, and without confidence in rapid assimilation certainly explains the disaster of illegal immigration that now manifests daily.
Joe Biden may think nullifying federal immigration law is a smart political trick that, in the past, may have flipped southwestern states from red to blue or warped the census to give blue states more congressional districts.
Or he may assume that with 70 percent of the electorate now voting through poorly audited mail-in balloting, there is no real way to prevent foreign nationals from voting for those who neutered the law to let them in.
But in truth, Biden is unfortunately undermining support for all immigration, legal or otherwise. He is guaranteeing that more imported drugs and gang members will kill more Americans.
Ironically, Biden is also alienating from the Democratic Party its once loyal black and Latino voters. They, not the party elite, must deal concretely with the consequences of Biden’s callous and cynical, ideologically driven policies.
Perhaps the left will only cease destroying immigration law when it realizes that for each illegal alien it invites in, it will lose one or more once loyal Democratic voters.
We can only hope you are right about the loss of loyal Democratic voters. It would be such a sweet revenge thrust upon them.
From the poisonous tree (policy) comes poisonous fruit (dependency and tribalism).
The vast majority of Americans have been willing to support with their tax dollars, fellow citizens who are in difficult circumstances. In turn for this support, the disadvantaged should be taking action to improve their economic prospects. This has been the social paradigm between Americans.
So what about the millions of poor illegal aliens Joe Biden invited to America? There is no social paradigm that involves American taxpayers supporting these non-citizens. There is no mutual citizen support or obligation. It’s entirely predictable that American taxpayer resentment will build toward these illegal aliens.
How this resentment is expressed and how taxpayers may choose to resist paying for Joe Biden’s illegal aliens is completely unknown. Joe Biden (and his leftist masters) have brought the most vulnerable and by definition criminal people to America where they are being forced on American citizens. This is a humanitarian disaster in the making.
Also perhaps worthy of consideration: Of the hundreds of thousands (millions) of illegal invaders flooding the U.S., the preponderant, overwhelming majority are low-skill (and no-skill) people who additionally do not speak English. What jobs (if they had working papers) they qualify for are the likes of pot-scrubbers and floor-moppers. With the advent (or onslaught) of robotics and A.I., such low-grade, repetitive jobs
are in the not-distant future going to be taken over by machines. Then what the U.S. has is a markedly increased welfare dependency (and probably increasing crime).
Well said, sir. It is tragic that we have so much division caused by the like of hyphenated names, e.g. African-American, Chinese-American, and our haste, at least in California, to offer driver testing in numerous languages.
The folks need to vote the progressives out this November and never let them back into power.
My grandparents came here from Sweden. They taught me, a person born and raised in the USA, how to be tough; how to work hard; not to complain about paucity; how to respect my own US laws and customs. They were embarrassed to take a hand out. They would rather roll up their sleeves and make it happen. Oh my, how immigration has changed for the worse.
You should review the Naturalization Civics Test foreign nationals (who have Green Card holders generally for 3 or 5 years) must take to become US Citizens. They must answer 6 out of 10 questions correctly [though a 60% grade does not pass in most schools]. The questions barely prepare a foreign national to participate in America’s democracy. Name 3 of the 13 original colonies? What was one thing Benjamin Franklin was famous for? Who is the Governor of your state now?
Granting US Citizenship should require attending a series of classes discussing representative democracy and an informed public–addressing the philosophy of self-government.
It was once a true test. My Danish -born grandmother attended night school 2 nights a week for many weeks. This, after working as Cook in a restaurant for 8 hours. My Dad drove her. One of the requirements was she had to read and explain the preamble of the Constitution in English. She never once thought it should be on Danish. She wanted to be American. She never missed the opportunity to vote.
Good as always. I would encourage you or any of your readers to read the 26 page research titled “The Fate of Empires and Search For Survival” by Sir John Glubb (ISBN 0 85158 127 7) and pay particular attention to section XXII The influx of foreigners.
A scary and unfortunately, “Writing on the Wall” message for us all and our country.
Rightful comeuppance and (barring massive action) eventual disaster for all.
VDH, I long for the days when we had the responsible immigration policies, supported by both political parties, that you described. That is what made America the “shining city on the hill”.
Wonderful synopsis of unlawful immigration by the Biden administration.
The chaos and lawlessness at the border just continues full speed ahead. Obviously, Joe Biden and his minions realize that there’s nothing to stop them – ie., no judicial or legislative barriers – and their gambit will pay off big time once they’ve achieved permanent majorities and seized total power.
It’s unlikely the Senate will hear Alejandro Mayorkas’ impeachment trial much less convict him. And forget about impeaching Biden. Apparently, if you’re a Democrat, you can run a lucrative influence peddling scheme right underneath the noses of the DOJ and Congress, completely ignore your oath of office to “faithfully execute” immigration law, and get your lackeys to prosecute and attempt to imprison your political rival.
And with our broken and corrupted voting system Joe Biden may very well get reelected.
What a country!
Thank you Dr. Hanson for your succinct editorial on illegal immigration.
Compounding the problems you listed is “birthright citizenship”.
I cannot understand why the Government is so lax on illegal immigration.
A country without borders and a common language is not a country.
Doug Felder
Doctor hansen
My family has lived and farmed of the Southern border in South Texas for over 100 years.
People told us the border could not be shut. During President Trump’s administration, he literally shut down thlaborder.I live behind the u s border wall
Potentially the Dems alienate one voter but score twenty over the border for that single? Votes and topping up the armed services is what’s happening.
This is a preemptive coup. Fundamentally transform the country was really code for fundamentally take over the country. It was expressed, put into motion, and is being carried out by every scurrilous method posible.
VDH’s articles are getting stronger as the plot unfolds under our horrified but slightly paralyzed eyes. As Americans we can barely fathom it. But so it is. I always look forward to these informed articles.
What matters is who manufactures the votes and who counts the votes.
The rest is happy talk.
I keep asking – will the Republic survive till next January ?
What are the odds the elections will even happen ?
We are living in an Orwellian society .
NO nation has ever had a completely open border
and then cared for them better than its own citizens .
Are we seeing our replacements
I think it is more likely the left will only cease destroying immigration law (along with the rule of law, generally) after we suffer what the left has invited in: tens of thousands of not-very-disguised warriors/jihadists (organized by Iran), who are intent upon and preparing for a massacre of unprecedented scale. It will be exactly like the one perpetrated on Israel – only 1000 times more murderous. Author Kurt Schlichter has already described precisely what will soon happen in his book “The Attack”. Recall, our omni-intrusive government said it lacked the “imagination” to foresee 9/11. It takes no imagination at all to see that this is inevitable! If millions of illegal “immigrants” and tons of fentanyl and every other drug (except ivermectin!) come across the former border unimpeded, do you think small arms, hand grenades and RPG’s (and who knows what else? MANPADS??) won’t?
The left hopes the ensuing chaos will give them unlimited power. By contrast, I think the value of the Second Amendment will be proved to all beyond any doubt. Only those willing and able to defend themselves, their families and their communities will stand any chance – if they are among those who are so unfortunate as to be attacked. If you don’t believe me, I suggest you read “The Attack”. If you have the courage to do so, plan to lose some sleep afterward.
If I said that Biden (and Harris/Blinken et al) are garbage, I hope no one would accuse me disrespecting the Presidency. I have the greatest respect for the office of the Presidency. I just have zero respect for the present occupant and his various minions, who have been promoted from their prior JV status under Obama. And thus proving they have risen to well above their level of competence.
The result is that I obtained my CHL and now own a firearm. The next step is self-defense class. White hatred. The invasion. DEI at work. Financial collapse on the horizon. I’ve been praying a lot lately. I miss the America in which I grew up.
Reading the article and comments are worthy to any serious citizen. I agree with the commenter, Char above, that Victor’s articles are getting stronger as we watch more chaos ensue each week.
This immigration crisis is an example of the Cloward-Piven strategy in action, with full cover from the MSM. Overload, chaos, government takeover, communism.
Some of my family, friends, acquaintances, and encounters who “vote Democrat” are living in a time back in their minds when “Democrat” meant something else entirely (e.g., JFK era). Yet they have the illusion that these principles and alliances still hold today. I believe their own identity is associated with “Democrat”, for the ideological reasons we have heard far into the past (plus, “a woman’s right to choose”). I blame the propaganda arm of the DNC for this. Brilliant, actually. And the outcome is that these well-meaning people are partially responsible for our own destruction by our deceivers. These people need some strong medicine to heal them, not kill them, but what will that be?
One of the biggest derelictions of duty I see is the MSM is not fulfilling their role granted by the Bill of Rights of a free press to hold the government in check. To this end, they are just as guilty of treason as the rest.
America in decline
Breaks my heart
“And these things must soon take place!” From Revelation. We are ignorant, complacent, have been taught well that if you speak truth that you are a bigot, that if you mention any discrimination, you are racial…we have done to ourselves
Two words – “too late”. The damage is done, all we do now is watch it play out.