And there are remedies for all these concerns.
I see nothing wrong in requiring English language proficiency. Make it the official language of the U.S., if we must. English is already the unofficial language of the world – spoken on every continent and in all the skies. It would be a positive force for the integration of immigrants into a productive future, as it was for European and other immigrants.
And compel immigrants to make a choice: citizenship or a limited stay as a guest worker. The U.S. can’t afford to be the solution to Mexico’s unemployment problem. It’s time that responsibility was placed where it belongs - on the government of Mexico and the entrenched minority of its citizens who monopolize the country’s substantial wealth.
Finally, secure the border, but forget the ten foot wall. All that will do is create a market for eleven foot ladders. Instead, deploy a consular army into Mexico to register in advance and facilitate the placement of willing Mexican workers into legitimate and regulated American workplaces, not sweatshops.
I confess, there are days when I wake up and expect to read the news that the Statue of Liberty has come down from her honored place in America and for shame has swum back to France.
Then I think, no, America is her home. But maybe we can take up a collection, and send Lou Dobbs over instead. Paris might be a little too multi-racial for his taste, but by and large the brown-skinned immigrants in France are kept out of site in their own ghettos.
Bon voyage, Lou.
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