For several years now the U.S. has struggled with an increasing tide of illegal immigration. A large majority of U.S. citizens are opposed to this. They see it as a threat to peace, social institutions, wages, and the cohesiveness of our society. Those groups who believe that they have something to gain by supporting the illegal immigration try to deflect concerns about how it is affecting society. They do this in two ways. First of all they try to eliminate the word ILLEGAL from public debate. Instead they try to make it sound like there is no difference between illegal immigration and legal immigration. They do this to confuse citizens knowing that most Americans support legal immigration.

The second tactic that they use is to brand anyone who opposes their agenda a racist. This is a pretty effective technique in the U.S. Due to the iron fist of political correctness. Being labeled a racist can be devastating to a persons standing in society, and their career. That is why most public figures will go out of their way to avoid being labeled a racist. It is obvious that using the racist card can be an effective tool to silence opponents, but is it a legitimate argument?

The American Heritage Dictionary defines racism as:

1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

Do immigration laws promote a belief that one race is superior to another? If the laws specified that a particular race was not allowed to immigrate because they possessed undesirable qualities then maybe you could say yes. But that is not the case with U.S. immigration laws. In fact the opposite is enforced. U.S. immigration laws have what is called a diversity lottery. The following excerpt was taken from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services web site:

Each year, the Diversity Lottery (DV) Program makes 55,000 immigrant visas available through a lottery to people who come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

By the same token, I do not see how you could say that U.S. immigration laws are prejudiced based on race. One reason why the pro illegal immigration pressure groups can get away with this tactic is because Mexican citizens make up the largest and most vocal group of illegal immigrants. Another reason is that the Mexican government actively promotes illegal immigration to the U.S. This causes a lot of animosity towards the Mexican government by those opposed to uncontrolled immigration.

Just because Mexican citizens will be mostly affected by cracking down on illegal immigrants doesn't make it racism. That is because no one is demanding a ban on immigration from Mexico. They are only calling for enforced legal immigration. And just because someone successfully snuck into the country illegally does not give them the right to remain permanently. Since the Marxist Progressive political groups in the U.S. are the first to trash the policies of our country and label people a racist, I thought it might be helpful to compare what other countries immigration laws are like.

First lets look at Mexico's immigration laws. The following information came from an article on Mexican immigration laws from the Center for Security Policy:

Pursuant to Article 33, "Foreigners may not in any way participate in the political affairs of the country."

Article 33 "foreigners - not just illegal immigrants - may be expelled for any reason and without due process. "

Article 32 "Equal employment rights are denied to immigrants, even legal ones "

Pursuant to Article 32, bans on foreigners, immigrants, and even naturalized citizens of Mexico serving as military officers, Mexican-flagged ship and airline crew, and chiefs of seaports and airports.

Article 27 states, "Only Mexicans by birth or naturalization and Mexican companies have the right to acquire ownership of lands, waters, and their appurtenances, or to obtain concessions for the exploitation of mines or of waters."

Article 11 guarantees federal protection against "undesirable aliens resident in the country."

So based on the standards of our Marxist progressive groups, who is the racist? Mexico or the U.S.? So what about France? The darlings of the Marxist Progressive movement. Lets see what they have to say. The University of Pittsburgh School of Law published an article about new immigration laws that have been enacted by French Lawmakers. The new law states that:

• Only the qualified get "skills and talents" residency permit
• Foreigners only allowed in to work, not live off benefits
• Foreign spouses to wait longer for residence cards
• Migrants must agree to learn French
• Migrants must sign 'contract' respecting French way of life
• Scraps law on workers getting citizenship after 10 years

source: BBC News

Does this mean that the French are racist? Or does it mean that they are concerned about the affects that increased immigration has on their country?

How about Denmark, another liberal socialist country. In 2002, Denmark enacted tougher immigration laws due to concerns of an increase in violence by immigrants. Here are a few of the highlights:

• The right to asylum on humanitarian grounds, which had previously seen up to 60% of applications approved, was scrapped
• Danish citizens could not bring a foreign spouse into the country unless both partners were aged 24 or over, passed a solvency test showing the Dane had not claimed social security for 12 months and had to lodge a bond of 53,000 kroner ($9,300).
• Danish citizen has to be judged to have stronger links with Denmark than any other country.
• Applicants for Danish nationality must take a Danish language and citizenship test.

source: BBC News

Once again, are the Danes racist for enacting these laws?

The large increase in immigration around the world has caused concern among all of the industrial countries. These concerns include the assimilation of large numbers of people from cultures that are antagonistic to their own, language problems, pressure on social services, and increased violence. Managing immigration in a way that encourages assimilation, reduces social discord, and provides a net benefit for the immigrants and the host country is not racism. It is good public policy.

- Thomas Paine 2

Technorati Tags: illegal immigration, immigration, racism