By Victor Davis Hanson| American Greatness The illegal immigration debate has come to a head once again. Congress remains at an impasse over a temporary spending bill that Senate Democrats refuse to support unless it includes a provision that would allow several hundred thousand illegal aliens to remain in the United States without fear of […]
By Victor Davis Hanson // Eureka Vocabulary changes always reflect the agendas of a political debate. The fight over illegal immigration plays out by altering words and their meanings. Take the traditional rubric “illegal alien.” The English has been clear and exact for nearly a century: illegal alien (cf. Latin alienus) was a descriptive term […]
by Victor Davis Hanson via Defining Ideas (Hoover Institution) The arguments for ignoring illegal immigration are as well-known as the self-interested motives that drive it. In the abstract, open-borders advocates argue that in a globalized culture, borders are becoming reactionary and artificial constructs. They should not interrupt more natural ebbs and flows of migrant […]
by Victor Davis Hanson// National Review Navigating self-interest, ideals, and public opinion in the debate about illegal immigration. Activists portray illegal immigration solely as a human story of the desperately poor from south of the border fleeing misery to start new, productive lives in the U.S. — despite exploitation and America’s nativist immigration laws. But […]
The Roman empire faced a challenge similar to what the EU faces. By Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Online When standing today at Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, everything appears indistinguishably affluent and serene on both sides. It was not nearly as calm some 1,900 years ago. In A.D. 122, the exasperated Roman emperor Hadrian […]
By Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Online Support for, or opposition to, mass immigration is apparently a class issue, not an ethnic or racial issue. Elites more often support lenient immigration policies; the general public typically opposes them. At the top of the list are Mexico’s elites. Illegal immigration results in an estimated $25 […]
By Victor Davis Hanson // Works and Days by PJ Media Set aside for a moment all the controversies over illegal immigration—the wall, deportation, amnesty, Donald J. Trump, “comprehensive immigration reform,” etc. Instead, contemplate what happens in a social, cultural, and economic context when several million immigrants arrive from one of the poorest areas in […]
By Victor Davis Hanson // PJ Media Legal immigration has historically been classically liberal and a great boon for the United States. Immigrants often bring in energy and fresh ideas. In the past, newcomers from around the world were eager for a second start in the United States. They nearly all worked hard, reminding American-born […]
Why a crucial problem is back in the national conversation. by Bruce S. Thornton // FrontPage Magazine Europe’s slow-motion immigration disaster has accelerated with the continuing turmoil in the Middle East and Africa. In Calais hundreds of illegal immigrants stormed the entrance to the cross-Channel tunnel in an attempt to reach more immigrant-friendly England. In […]
If there were not a Donald Trump, he would likely have had to have been invented. by Victor Davis Hanson // PJ Media Why did the illegal-immigration issue launch Donald Trump’s campaign? Why did his recent tense press conference exchange with Univision’s Jorge Ramos please even some of Trump’s liberal critics? What is it about […]