- Joined
- May 8, 2017
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- 2,544
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- Location
- New York City area
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- Male
- Political Leaning
- Very Liberal
In this day and age of caravans, agitation to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and travel bans,one question I'll admit I agonize over is why these migrants are any different from my ancestors. They were all Jewish, and arrived similarly penniless from Ukraine, by way of Montreal, Poland (then Russia), and the Slovak-Hungarian border (they called themselves Hungarian). Am I being a hypocrite by denouncing the current caravan while applauding my ancestors' migration to the U.S.?
Here is my answer as I wrestle with this question. The earlier immigrants to the U.S. knew they had a long slog ahead. They worked menial jobs (in some cases) by day, went to night school to learn English. Or in the case of the ones coming from Kiev via Montreal, I suppose they learned English up there. But those people were fleeing serious religious persecution. They were not in the "wrong gang" in a perpetual gang war. Further, they had every intention to integrate into and participate in American society. At best, the current migrants are peasants, and have never, in generations, had a tradition of education or self-betterment.
We either have to enforce our borders, or eliminate the social welfare state that draws them. As Milton Friedman, noted economist famously said: "It's just obvious you can't have free immigration and a welfare state." See Look to Milton: Open borders and the welfare state. I work hard. I paid off a large educational debt. Why should people like myself be the losers?
Here is my answer as I wrestle with this question. The earlier immigrants to the U.S. knew they had a long slog ahead. They worked menial jobs (in some cases) by day, went to night school to learn English. Or in the case of the ones coming from Kiev via Montreal, I suppose they learned English up there. But those people were fleeing serious religious persecution. They were not in the "wrong gang" in a perpetual gang war. Further, they had every intention to integrate into and participate in American society. At best, the current migrants are peasants, and have never, in generations, had a tradition of education or self-betterment.
We either have to enforce our borders, or eliminate the social welfare state that draws them. As Milton Friedman, noted economist famously said: "It's just obvious you can't have free immigration and a welfare state." See Look to Milton: Open borders and the welfare state. I work hard. I paid off a large educational debt. Why should people like myself be the losers?