I know this is not popular with Libertarians and anarcho-capitalists, but as long as there is a welfare-warfare state, I don't see how we can continue with open borders, so voting to secure them in the interim isn't exactly a negative in my book.
Which is the
real problem: The "open" border, or
the Welfare-Warfare state ? ? ?If the current crop of
neo-"Know Nothings" REALLY cared that `Illegal' immigrants are stealing `Our' Welfare, then their solution should be to vote to
stop `giving' illegal immigrants Welfare. However, the "Illegals Are Stealing `Our' Welfare" excuse is exactly that: Just an excuse. Their
real objection to `Illegals' is the some objection that
every crop of American
`Nativists' have
always had to Immigrants: That the `Illegals' are "Not Our Kind."
American `Nativists' movements have arisen with
every wave of immigrants to the U.S. `Nativist' mobs and cabals have arisen to block the immigration of Germans, to block immigration of the Irish, to block immigration of Catholics, to block immigration of Germans and Irish
because they were predominantly Catholic, to block the immigration of Chinese, to block the immigration of Japanese, &c., &c., &c. In each case, the `Nativists' have raised the exact same litany of objections: These Immigrants don't share `our' culture, they don't share `our' values, they are dirty, they are violent, they are thieves, they have too many babies. But ultimately, the bottom line is simply this: They are
Aliens. They are "Not Like `Us'."
The `Nativists' in
EVERY generation of Americans have called for the FedGov to "Shut The Border!" to keep out those who are "Not Like Us." These calls for "Closed Borders" were always firmly and wisely voted down until
1891. I don't think it's any great coincidence that none of those earlier votes succeeded until the forces advocating
socialist protectionism and trade-unionism began to dominate political discource in the late 1800s...
As for calls to "Secure the Border,"
it is no more possible to "secure" the U.S. border than it is to put a cop on every street-corner --- and for the same reason: It would take far too many cops! The FedGov is no more capable of "Securing the Border" and stopping `Illegal' immigation than it is of stopping `Illegal' drug traffic or of "Winning the War on Drugs."
The most the Feds can possibly do is to try to drive up the price of `Illegal' labor --- which will instead just drive it into a fully underground "Black Market," which will just mean that the Feds will instead lose the tax revenues they are currently getting from the `Illegals' who are currently working "above" ground but with false papers. And
that is why the congrescritters are currently talking "Limited Amnesty" rather than "Border Crackdown:"
The porkers in Congress don't want to lose the US$ ~100 BiIllion/yr in tax revenues that they are currently raking in from `illegals' working under false papers!
