{"id":54231,"date":"2014-05-04T08:50:21","date_gmt":"2014-05-04T16:50:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=54231"},"modified":"2014-05-04T08:51:39","modified_gmt":"2014-05-04T16:51:39","slug":"is-anti-illegal-immigration-just-code-for-anti-hispanic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=54231","title":{"rendered":"Is \u2018anti-illegal immigration\u2019 just code for anti-Hispanic?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joseph Cotto writes<\/a>:<\/p>\n

OCALA, Fla., May 1, 2014 \u2014 Illegal immigration is turning into a top political issue this year.<\/p>\n

With midterm elections around the corner and an enraged pro-amnesty base firmly out of the shadows, unlawful immigration presents a dangerous potential quagmire for Republican politicos.<\/p>\n

The amnesty debate rarely hits the heart of the matter, focusing instead on the politics of race. Opposition to temporary legal status or citizenship for illegal aliens is often perceived as anti-Hispanic bigotry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis \u2018perception\u2019 is false and pernicious,\u201d says Dr. Stephen Steinlight of the Center for Immigration Studies. \u201cNo solid data or body of empirical evidence suggest, let alone prove bigotry motivates the great majority that opposes amnesty. It is a smear disseminated by amnesty advocates to advance their cause.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Immigrant advocates\u2019 lack compelling arguments to support their position. By labeling opponents \u2018bigots,\u2019 they rationalize refusal to debate them and camouflage fear of responding to opponents\u2019 ideas with a fraudulent moral justification. \u2018One Nation, After All,\u2019 an exhaustive study of American attitudes towards Third-Rail issues by Alan Wolfe, finds no evidence that bigotry plays a role in opposition to Hispanic immigration. Americans oppose illegal immigration, not immigrant ethnicity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmnesty and the resultant increase in immigration would be highly injurious to America\u2019s Hispanic community,\u201d Dr. Steinlight explains. \u201cMost are working poor with a high percentage of families on two major welfare programs. They\u2019re clinging to the bottom rungs of the socio-economic ladder in the loosest labor market since the Great Depression. A tsunami in immigration would greatly intensify competition for scarce jobs, increase unemployment, drive down wages, and make upward mobility even harder for second and third-generation Hispanics whose socio-economic advancement has stagnated. For reasons previously cited, it would also slow assimilation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some claim that Hispanics are \u201cnatural conservatives\u201d due to their family-oriented culture. This allegedly makes them Republicans in all but formal registration. Election results say the exact opposite, though.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe premise and stereotype are equally false,\u201d Dr. Steinlight says. \u201cThere\u2019s no correlation between \u2018strong family values\u2019 and conservatism. Cultures perceived as possessing them (i.e. Asian Americans and Jewish Americans) are predominantly liberal. Moreover, whether understood generically or as socially conservative code language, Hispanics don\u2019t exemplify \u2018strong family values.\u2019”<\/p>\n

JOSEPH COTTO WRITES<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Looking beyond the shenanigans of Capitol Hill GOPers, what should America expect in the event of illegal alien amnesty?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can expect disaster. In sum, we\u2019ll witness the unmaking of America,\u201d Dr. Stephen Steinlight of the Center for Immigration Studies told me late last year. \u201cIt would subvert our political life by destroying the Republican Party. The Hispanic vote will make the Democrats the PRI of America. A GOP relic might survive regionally, but could never successfully contest a national election.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerica would turn into a One Party State which, like all others, would be tyrannical and corrupt. The political center would lurch to the left. Political liberty, the freedom to choose among authentically different alternatives, would be lost.
\n\u201cA population transfer from one nation with a different language and political culture which will become the predominant future demographic will destroy social cohesion. The diversity of previous immigration safeguarded against this. Dual language\/dual culture countries are plagued by Balkanizing social strife.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joseph Cotto writes: OCALA, Fla., May 1, 2014 \u2014 Illegal immigration is turning into a top political issue this year. With midterm elections around the corner and an enraged pro-amnesty base firmly out of the shadows, unlawful immigration presents a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[161,17209],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-immigration","category-stephen-steinlight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t