Republicans winning new citizens for 2008 vote
By Toby Harnden in San Diego, California
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 10/11/2007
Minutes after taking the Pledge of Allegiance, new American citizens are urged to register as voters by Democratic activists who see them as natural party supporters who could hold the key to the 2008 election.
But with increasing illegal immigration threatening the economy and security of the United States, many legal immigrants anxious to uphold the laws of their adopted country are moving towards the more hard-line immigration stance of Republicans.
Even in California’s Democratic-controlled San Diego, sizeable numbers of America’s newly-minted potential voters said that illegal immigrants should be penalised rather than given an easy route to citizenship as most Democrats advocate.
“For a long time, immigration was OK,” said Sara Wright, 49, a seamstress from Mexico who arrived in the US legally in 1986.
“But now, no more. A lot of really bad people come from Mexico and commit crimes.
“People are coming in and having two, three, four babies and going on welfare. Some are making money here and spending it back in Mexico.
"That’s not right. They should go back to Mexico and get a permit.”
Mrs Wright, whose American-born husband Ed served in the US Navy, was one of 1,591 people from 89 countries who became citizens at a ceremony in San Diego’s Golden Hall on Tuesday.
Nearly two thirds of them were from Mexico, whose border is just 17 miles from the city.
During the 40-minute ceremony, performed by a judge, the new citizens waved American flags, sang “America the Beautiful” and raised their rights hands as they repeated the oath to “abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty” of another nation.
Follow Toby Harnden as he travels from coast to coast to weigh up the mood of US voters
Some men wore ties emblazoned with the stars and stripes while many women dressed in red, white and blue.
After the oath, some wept, others hugged one another and many turned to the public gallery and flashed broad smiles.
With the number of illegal aliens in the US estimated at anything between eight and 20 million people out of a population of around 303 million, how to deal with the problem is becoming an explosive political issue in the 2008 campaign.
President George W. Bush’s plan to provide a “path to citizenship” was rejected by Congress and branded an “amnesty” by many senior Republicans.
Hillary Clinton’s status as front runner for the White House was damaged recently when she declined to criticise a plan in New York state to give driver’s licences to illegal immigrants.
Previously, new citizens could be relied upon to vote Democratic by a ratio of up to 10 to one. But in San Diego this week there were indications that this could be changing.
“I’ve had several people here, Hispanic people, say ‘No, I’m a Republican’,” said Bill De Risa, a Democratic worker eagerly registering voters outside Golden Hall.
His colleague Mary Kennedy said that one woman had told her she wanted to be a Republican because of immigration policy.
“She felt the Democrats were too soft. She wanted higher fences. It’s a very polarising issue.”
Sarah Thomas, 42, a restaurateur originally from Salway Ash, Dorset and one of about two dozen Britons who took US citizenship, said illegal immigrants should be sent home.
“They need to leave and come back legally.
“Just because somebody has been here for 10 years illegally, not paying taxes, does that give them equal rights? No.”
John Pauls, 46, a Canadian-born doctor, said that illegal immigrants were a major burden on the taxpayers who had to foot their health bills and that insecure borders could allow terrorists to come into the US.
“Those that do come into this country illegally are telling us that they are morally and ethically not trustworthy. They should not be here. It’s insulting to those of us who are here legally.”
5% of total tax payers (who make $350,000.00 a year) contribute 50% of all US income tax. 50% tax payers only contribute 3% of total us income tax.
So who is doing whom a favor?
HCC 发表评论于
Wait a minute here, the illegal immigrants do pay taxes:
A portion of them do pay income tax (if their employer reports it). In fact the tax law in this country specifically prevents the immigration service from obtaining and using tax information to prosecute the illegal immigrants...so that the government can make more tax revenues.
Yes, some of them don't pay income tax...but everyone will have to pay sales tax. (Texas, for example, charges 8.25%). And, those who bought real property will also have to pay property tax. Those who opened their own business will have to pay franchise taxes too.
If these people pay taxes, surely they are entitled to receive accompanying benefits. The Democrats are advocating for what the people truly deserve (unless you would prefer to have them die on the streets). Your article above failed to take these things into consideration.
noso 发表评论于
Illegal Immigration
Click here for publications on this topic
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) estimates that in January of 2000 there were
7 million illegal aliens living in the United States, a number that is growing by half a million a year. Thus, the illegal-alien population in 2003 stands at at least 8 million. Included in this estimate are approximately 78,000 illegal aliens from countries who are of special concern in the war on terror. It is important to note that the 500,000 annual increase is the net growth in the illegal-alien population (new illegal immigration minus deaths, legalizations, and out-migration). In 1999 for example, the INS estimates that 968,000 new illegal aliens settled in the U.S. This number was offset by 210,000 illegal aliens who either died or returned home on their own, 63,000 who were removed by the INS, and 183,000 illegal aliens who were given green cards as part of the normal "legal" immigration process. One of the most important findings of the INS report is the intimate link between legal and illegal immigration. The INS estimates that it gave out 1.5 million green cards to illegal aliens in the 1990s. This was not due to amnesty legislation, but rather reflects how the legal immigration process embraces illegal immigration and encourages it through legal exemptions. According to the INS, only 412,000 illegal aliens were removed during the decade.
The Census Bureau has also developed estimates of its own. Their estimate at the time of the 2000 Census suggests that the illegal immigration population was about 8 million. Using this number, it can be concluded that the illegal-alien population grew by almost half a million a year in the 1990s. This conclusion is derived from a draft report given to the House immigration subcommittee by the INS that estimated the illegal population was 3.5 million in 1990. For the illegal population to have reached 8 million by 2000, the net increase had to be 400,000 to 500,000 per year during the 1990s.
The two "magnets" which attract illegal aliens are jobs and family connections. The typical Mexican worker earns one-tenth his American counterpart, and numerous American businesses are willing to hire cheap, compliant labor from abroad; such businesses are seldom punished because our country lacks a viable system to verify new hires' work eligibility. In addition, communities of recently arrived legal immigrants help create immigration networks used by illegal aliens and serve as incubators for illegal immigration, providing jobs, housing, and entree to America for illegal-alien relatives and fellow countrymen.
The standard response to illegal immigration has been increased border enforcement. And, in fact, such tightening of the border was long overdue. But there has been almost no attention paid to enforcement at worksites within the United States. Nor has there been any recognition that the networks created by high levels of legal immigration contribute to mass illegal immigration.
Publications:
Op-ed: Use Enforcement to Ease Situation, by Steven A. Camarota, The Arizona Republic, October 23, 2005
Testimony: "Secure Licenses Critical to Homeland Security," Testimony Prepared for the Joint Transportation Committee, Massachusetts State House, October 25, 2005. Statement of Jessica M. Vaughan, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Immigration Studies
Testimony: "SAVE: A Useful Tool for State Agencies," Testimony Before The Joint Committee on Housing, Massachusetts State House, September 20, 2005
Statement of Jessica M.Vaughan, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Immigration Studies
Backgrounder: Downsizing Illegal Immigration: A Strategy of Attrition Through Enforcement, by Mark Krikorian, May 2005
Op-ed: Should the United States get Tough on Illegal Workers? Yes, by Mark Krikorian, New York Daily News, December 26, 2004
Backgrounder: No Child Left Behind: New Rules for Unaccompanied Minor Illegal Aliens, by Don Barnett
Center Paper 23: The High Cost of Cheap Labor: Illegal Immigration and the Federal Budget, by Steven A. Camarota, August 2004
Op-ed: Playing Games with Security: Taking Two Steps Back for Every Step Forward on Immigration, by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online, August 18, 2004
Op-ed: Post-Americans: They've just grown beyond their country, by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online, June 22, 2004
Crime & the Illegal Alien: The Fallout from Crippled Immigration Enforcement,
by Heather Mac Donald
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, June 2004
State and Local Authority to Enforce Immigration Law: A Unified Approach for Stopping Terrorists
by Mr. Kris W. Kobach
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, June 2004
Congressional Testimony: "Pushing the Border Out on Alien Smuggling: New Tools and Intelligence Initiatives," Testimony before House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims, May 18, 2004
Statement of Michael W. Cutler, Fellow, Center for Immigration Studies
Congressional Testimony: "What's Wrong With the Visa Lottery?" Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims, April 29, 2004
Statement of Steven Camarota, Director of Research, Center for Immigration Studies
Op-ed: Don't Give Noncitizens the Vote: Recent proposals to relax election requirements would ill serve the national interest, by Mark Krikorian, Newsday, April 26, 2004
Op-ed: Safety Through Immigration Control, by Mark Krikorian, The Providence Journal,
April 24, 2004
Op-ed: Viewpoints: Should borders be open? by Mark Krikorian, BBC News, UK Edition,
April 1, 2004
Congressional Testimony: Flawed Assumptions Underlying Guestworker Programs; Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims, March 24, 2004,
Statement of Mark Krikorian, Executive Director, Center for Immigration Studies
Congressional Testimony: Funding for Immigration in the President’s 2005 Budget; Testimony before House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims, March 11, 2004, Statement of Michael W. Cutler, Fellow, Center for Immigration Studies
Op-ed: Not Amnesty but Attrition: The Way to go on Immigration, by Mark Krikorian, National Review, March 22, 2004
Panel Discussion: INS, RIP: One Year Later, The National Press Club, March 3, 2004
Congressional Testimony: America’s New Welcome Mat: A Look at the Goals and Challenges
of the US-VISIT Program; Testimony before the the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, March 4, 2004
Statement of Jessica M. Vaughan, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Immigration Studies
Testimony: The Proposed Issuance of Maryland State Driver's Licenses to Illegal Aliens, Testimony before the Maryland House of Delegates, Judiciary Committee, February 18, 2004
Statement of Michael Cutler, Fellow, Center for Immigration Studies
Flawed Assumptions Underlying Guestworker Programs
by Mark Krikorian
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, February 2004
Op-ed: Bush Bill Would Aid Mexico's Meddling in U.S., by Mark Krikorian, Newsday,
February 18, 2004
Congressional Testimony: Guestworker Programs for Low-Skilled Workers: Lessons from the Past and Warnings for the Future. Testimony before the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security of the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. Senate, February 5, 2004
Statement of Vernon M. Briggs, Jr., Board Member, Center for Immigration Studies
Congressional Testimony: Preventing the Entry of Terrorists into the United States,
Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on International Relations,
Sub-committee on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights, February 13, 2004
Statement of Jessica M. Vaughan, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Immigration Studies
Statement of Peter K. Nunez, Board of Directors Chairman, Center for Immigration Studies
Op-ed: Earth to WSJ: Clueless on immigration. by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online, January 28, 2004
Op-ed: Enforcement Blues: Do we want an immigration agency that works, or not?
by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online, January 26, 2004
Op-ed: Amnesty, Again: This country should have learned -- apparently, it has not,
by Mark Krikorian, National Review, January 26, 2004
Op-ed: Bush Plan for Illegals Out of Touch with Reality, by Mark Krikorian, January 17, 2004
Promise Unfulfilled: Why Didn’t Collective Bargaining Transform California’s Farm Labor Market?
by Philip L. Martin
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, January 2004
.pdf version
Op-ed: Jobs Americans Won't Do: Voodoo Economics from the White House, by Mark Krikorian
National Review Online, January 7, 2004
Falling Behind on Security: Implementation of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002
by Rosemary Jenks and Steven A. Camarota
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, December 2003
.pdf version
Politics by Other Means: The “Why” of Immigration to the United States
by Fredo Arias-King
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, December 2003
.pdf version
Op-ed: Arizona Amnesty: Rewarding Illegal Aliens, by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online, November 21, 2003
Fewer Immigrants, a Warmer Welcome: Fixing a Broken Immigration Policy
by Mark Krikorian
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, November 2003
.pdf version
Remaking the Political Landscape: The Impact of Illegal and Legal Immigration on Congressional Apportionment
by Dudley L. Poston, Jr., Steven A. Camarota, and Amanda K. Baumle
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, October 2003
Op-ed: Freeloaders, by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online, October 3, 2003
Panel Discussion: Can Immigration Law Be Enforced? A Year after 9/11, Many Still Answer 'No', September 2003
RICO: A New Tool for Immigration Law Enforcement
by Micah King
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, July 2003
Bar None: An Evaluation of the 3/10-Year Bar
by Jessica Vaughan
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, July 2003
Tran: The Role of State and Local Law Enforcement in Immigration, Rayburn House Office Building, June 26, 2003
Congressional Testimony: The Deadly Consequences of Illegal Alien Smuggling, by Peter Nunez, House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims, June 26, 2003
Congressional Testimony: The Issuance, Acceptance and Reliability Of Consular Identification Cards, by Marti Dinerstein, House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims, June 19, 2003
Tran: Mexico's Illegal Alien ID Card: Should it be Valid in the United States?
The Nixon Center, June 12, 2003
North American Borders: Why They Matter
by Glynn Custred
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, May 2003
Op-ed: Oil for Illegals? Mexico, and the Democrats, have a fit over House vote,
by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online, May 14, 2003
Officers Need Backup: The Role of State and Local Police in Immigration Law Enforcement
by James R. Edwards, Jr.
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, April 2003
Securing the Homeland Through Immigration Law Enforcement
Congressional testimony by Mark Krikorian
U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration,
Border Security, and Claims, April 10, 2003
NRO Debates: Dealing with illegal immigrants should be a top priority of the war on terror, Part II, Part III
by Mark Krikorian and Tamar Jacoby
National Review Online, February 12-14, 2003
Announcement: 800,000 + Illegals Entering Annually in Late '90s: New INS Report Also Finds 80,000 from Middle East, by Steven A. Camarota, February 4, 2003
IDs for Illegals: The 'Matricula Consular' Advances Mexico's Immigration Agenda
by Marti Dinerstein
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, January 2003
Op-ed: Targeting Tancredo: Further proof we're not serious about border control,
by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online, September 20, 2002
America's Identity Crisis: Document Fraud is Pervasive and Pernicious
by Marti Dinerstein
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, April 2002
Enchilada Lite: A Post-9/11 Mexican Migration Agreement
by Robert S. Leiken
Center for Immigration Studies report, March 2002
Another 50 Years of Mass Mexican Immigration: Mexican Government Report Projects Continued Flow Regardless of Economics or Birth Rates
by David Simcox
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, March 2002
Op-ed: Making our de facto national ID cards work, by David Simcox, United Press International, February 26, 2002
Announcement: Census Bureau: Over 100,000 Illegal Aliens from the Middle East: New Government Report Raises Concerns in Light of Terrorist Threat, January 22, 2002
Announcement: Census Bureau: Eight Million Illegal Aliens in 2000: Finding Raises Concern Over Border Control in Light of Terrorist Threat, October 24, 2001
Op-ed: Amnesty, in English: The Debate Over Amnesty Ought To Be Waged in Plain English,
by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online, September 4, 2001
Op-ed: Tired and Poor: The Bankrupt Arguments for Mass, Unskilled Immigration,
by Steven A. Camarota, National Review, September 3, 2001
Attitudes Toward Amnesty: Zogby Poll Examines Support Among Different Constituencies
by Steven A. Camarota
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, September 2001
.pdf version
Op-ed: Defining Deviancy Down in Immigration, by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online, May 3, 2001
An Examination of U.S. Immigration Policy and Serious Crime
by Carl F. Horowitz
Center for Immigration Studies Report, May 2001
Controlling Illegal Immigration: There Are Ways, But Little Will
by Mark Krikorian
Investor's Business Daily, March 21, 2001
New INS Report: 1986 Amnesty Increased Illegal Immigration: The Center's 2000 analysis of new INS estimates demonstrate that 1986 amnesty increased illegal immigration
Op-ed: Amnesties Beget More Illegal Immigration: Will somebody tell Congress?
by Mark Krikorian, National Review Online, October 16, 2000
America's Other Border Patrol: The State Department’s Consular Corps and
Its Role in U.S. Immigration
by Nikolai Wenzel
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, August 2000
News coverage
Inalienable Identification: Key to Halting Illegal Employment
by David Simcox
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, January 2000
Op-ed: Lured by jobs, illegal immigrants risk death at border crossings, by Mark Krikorian,
Santa Barbara News-Press, April 25, 1999
"No Sanctions: Governments Haven't Fulfilled Promises to Punish Rogue Employers"
by Daniel Jester
pp. 8-10 in Immigration Review no. 33, Fall 1998
"Missing the Boat"
Review by Sanjay Mongia of Forbidden Workers: Illegal Chinese Immigrants and American Labor by Peter Kwong
pp. 13-15 in Immigration Review No. 31, Spring 1998
Op-ed: A Loophole in Immigration Law, by Steven A. Camarota and Jessica Vaughan,
The Washington Post, October 21, 1997
Congressional Testimony: Identification Document Fraud, by Rosemary Jenks before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims, May 13, 1997
Measuring the Fallout: The Cost of the IRCA Amnesty After 10 Years
by David Simcox
Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, May 1997
"5 Million Illegal Immigrants: An Analysis of New INS Numbers"
by Steven Camarota
pp. 1-4 in Immigration Review no. 28, Spring 1997
Op-ed: What Crackdown?, by Mark Krikorian, The New York Times, April 4, 1997
Op-ed: The link: legal and illegal immigration, by Mark Krikorian, New York Post, February 16, 1997
Op-ed: Illegal Workers Aren't Needed to Make Sure We Keep Eating Our Vegetables,
by Mark Krikorian, Chicago Tribune, April 9, 1996
Other Links:
Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States:
1990 to 2000 Executive Summary
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), January 2003
U.S. Immigration Policy: Restoring Credibility
A 1994 report from the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform
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