Illegal immigration on the forefront

In light of Arizona's decision to crack down on illegal immigrants, cities like Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and other locales are filled with angry Hispanics and their supporters.  Tomorrow is Cinco De Mayo and I'm sure the protests against Arizona Governor Brewer will get louder and perhaps more volatile.  


Personally, I applaud the efforts of the state of Arizona to enforce the federal laws prohibiting individuals of any descent from entering this country illegally. 


Several year ago I attended a lecture by Heather Mac Donald, a John M. Olin fellow at the Manhattan Institute, and a prolific writer of articles about illegal immigration.  

In a blog dating back to February 2008 I discussed some of McDonald's key points from that lecture.  She emphasized the necessity of Americans to look at the potential dangers of unbridled illegal immigration.  Rather than having this piece being lost in a blog roll, I decided to post the major points of McDonald's thesis once more. 

Not much has changed in two years.  In fact, from the reaction to Arizona's decision to crack down on illegal immigration in their state, the issue is even hotter.  News reports have featured protesting crowds with signs that equate Arizona with Nazi Germany.  These protesters are so far from the truth and fail to see their own culpability in breaking the law by not becoming naturalized citizens of the United States and expecting the same benefits given to a U.S. citizen. Illegals are a people with a lot of gall and a total lack of understanding of American laws on naturalization. 


Finally, we have a state in our union brave enough to take on this issue. In fact, I encourage my readers to send Governor Jan Brewer a note of thanks for her courage to take an unpopular stand on an issue the past several U.S. presidents have steered away from. 

McDonald's premise is that if you listen hard enough to the public voice of the American people, you'll hear their frustration over the illegal immigration issue. Politicians need to listen to the voice of their constituents or be knocked out of the loop.

Why is illegal immigration so important? Because the demographic of the United States is changing. In the past three years, the number of illegal immigrants in America has reached 12 million. From a 2005 article from the Washington Post we read:

Based on Census Bureau and other government data, the Pew Hispanic Center, a private research group in Washington, estimated the number of undocumented immigrants at 10.3 million as of last March, an increase of 23 percent from the 8.4 million estimate in 2000. More than 50 percent of that growth was attributable to Mexican nationals living illegally in the United States, the report said.

To figure out the number of illegals in this country today, the same article provides us the math:

Pew Hispanic Center Director Roberto Suro said that the number of illegal immigrants continues to grow at the same rate as in the 1990s -- approximately 485,000 a year -- "despite significant efforts by the government to try to restrain the flow . . . at the border."

if we use the figure of 485,000 a year growth rate of illegal migrants, that would bring us two years later at 12 million illegals here in this country.

Who are these illegals? Once more the Washington Post piece provides the answer:

Mexicans remain the largest group of illegal migrants, at 5.9 million or about 57 percent of the March 2004 estimate, the report said. An additional 24 percent or 2.5 million undocumented immigrants are from other Latin American countries. Assuming the flow into the country has not changed since a year ago, the population of undocumented immigrants could number nearly 11 million today, the report said.

Here's another way to look at this according to Heather MacDonald. One in eight U.S. residents is foreign born. That's not a problem. That's 38 million foreign born people in this country. Here's the kicker: one in three of foreign born individuals is here in this country illegally. One in three of the foreign born residents in our country is here illegally. That's serious. If these illegals do not pay taxes, then they are enjoying the benefits of this country without having to pay for it. Who pays for their use of our services such as free medical exams, subsidized prescription drugs or subsidized schools for their children? The taxpayers do.

One young Iraq veteran remarked illegals work hard and should enjoy benefits like everyone else. However, is it fair that this young soldier goes overseas with the intent to protect America and create a secure nation while 12 million residents of the U.S. do not contribute to the defense budget of the U.S. that pays his salary and pays for the weapons that may save his life by their not paying federal income tax. Something is wrong with that kind of thinking.

A major reason why the issue of immigration is so important is that it is a massive assault on the rule of law. By not compelling illegals to become citizens, we're transferring the sovereignty of our country to people, according to MacDonald, who are from outside our borders. The legislature is no longer sovereign. Look at the Hispanic rallies in Spring 2006. Should a politician listen to people who are here illegally when it comes to enforcing the rule of law of the U.S? I don't think so.

Illegals are to be confronted with the rule of this land rather than the rule of this land have to yield to the large number of protesters in the streets of our cities. The self rule of law for illegals is simple: because I am here in the U.S. I have a right to be here." In other words, "we make our own laws. We do not live by the rule of law of the United States of America." No wonder they don't become citizens of the U.S; they do not respect the laws of America. The public is infuriated by this disregard for the rule of law. No matter what laws Congress passes to control our borders, illegals feel they have the right to flaunt their disobedience and indifference to the law.

Heather McDonald refers to an 2004 Los Angeles Times piece demonstrating this flaunting of the law: "After Border Patrol agents arrested a few hundred illegal aliens in southern California cities in 20045, the LA Times ran . . . stories bemoaning the resultant fear among illegal aliens and quoting advocates and politicians blasting the Border Patrol's outrageous behavior." So the behavior of illegals coming into this country illegally is not an issue. The fact they were caught and deported is a bigger issue. Perhaps I should go out and rob a bank and if I get caught, I can get the LA Times to garner sympathy for me. After all, I robbed the bank because I needed the money and that justifies my ignoring the law against bank robbery!

The rule of law is simple: if you come here illegally, you will face deportation. We should not be ashamed of this law nor should we be afraid to enforce it. The illegal needs to know that deportation is real. But if every time an illegal is arrested and faces deportation, there are cries of protest from the media, then the illegal knows we are not serious about our laws. There is no need of mass deportations, according to MacDonald. We merely need consistent enforcement of deportation laws. If so, illegals would calculate how wise it is to come to the U.S. through illegal channels, knowing they might be forced to leave.
Many illegals would decide to return home on their own and many fewer would decide to cross our borders. So the answer is not merely more border patrol personnel. Rather, we need enforcement of the laws regarding illegal entrance into our country. The threat of enforcement of the law on this issue must be credible. Right now it isn't.

If Macdonald is right and some polls are correct stating that Americans want to far stricter stance towards illegals than the press does and the politicians, much of our illegal immigration policy would be on its way towards a concrete solution.

Illegal immigration on the forefront

Grandson of a legal immigrant

My grandfather Jacob Wildstein was an immigrant from eastern Europe, specifically Austria.  He was naturalized as a citizen of the United States of America by the Supreme Court in Brooklyn, NY on March 13, 1924.


Thus I am the descendant of an immigrant to the United States.  My grandfather did not climb a border fence nor did he sneak into the United States on the back of a truck.  He came proudly from eastern Europe on a ship to escape from antisemitism and to become an American citizen.  He worked with his brother Samuel to establish a textile factory business in Newark, N. J.  Both brothers became successful and paid their own way while here in the States.

Grandpa Jack did not arrive here for welfare, free health care, free education, food stamps, or a social security card. He came here to become a citizen of the United States  He never expected other U.S. citizens to learn to speak his native language Austrian or Russian.  He did not expect thousands of U.S. documents and signs to be printed in his native language. Jacob Wildstein took classes and learned to speak English-the language of the United States.

He took several jobs when he first came to America and paid both state and federal taxes.  He only received social security at age 65 after he himself paid into the system after the law was passed in 1935.

Several years ago I took one of my son Jonathan to New York and we visited Ellis Island.  After searching the wall where the names of many immigrants were engraved, I found my grandfather's name. Tears of pride came to my eyes as I thought of the blessing of being here as a U.S. citizen because of my grandfather.

In the case of illegal immigrants, their names will never be engraved nor memorialized at Ellis Island nor will their names be engraved on the border walls they hopped over to illegally enter the United States.

Advocates of allowing illegal immigrants to be given amnesty to become citizens of the U.S., often say, "This country was built on immigrants."  No it wasn't. This country was built on men like my grandfather-a legal immigrant, not an illegal immigrant.

Because of my grandfather's hard work and savings, he helped pay a portion of my college tuition.  All he asked was that I maintain above average grades.  He did not teach me to expect the government to pay all my bills apart from the amount I received from the G. I. Bill after serving in Vietnam. Grandpa Jack did not teach me that America exists so I can grab all I can from the government, but rather to give all I can to our country.

Oddly enough, his wife Minna, my grandmother, did a lot of charity work for cancer during the 60s.  In recognition for her giving nature, she received a letter of thanks from the thirty fifth president of the United States-John F. Kennedy. As a young boy,  I would ask my grandmother to show me the letter and I would stare at JFK's signature.  I was proud of my grandmother because she embodied what President Kennedy said in his inaugural address, "Ask not what your country can do for but for what you can do for country."

Today, under the limping leadership of President Obama, he has dismantled the truth of JFK's statement by nurturing a society that seeks to take everything they can from our the taxpaying citizens of the U.S. and to go very little in giving back in return.  The attitude of illegal immigrants is "take what you can from the U.S. government" embodies the opposite spirit proclaimed by democratic president John F. Kennedy and goes against everything my legal immigrant grandparents stood for and passed on to me as their grandson.

Grandson of a legal immigrant

Once More On The Politics of lllegal Immigration

I have no intention of being mean-spirited, biased or racist. Those are usually the labels thrown at individuals who quote statistics and demonstrate the negative impact the illegal immigration culture is having on our society.

This is my country. I am a citizen of the United States. I served in the U.S. Army and am a veteran of Vietnam. When I see a group of people flaunting their lack of compliance with the rule of law, I have to speak up. To remain quiet is so un-American,

I am well aware of what racism is. I’ve lived with it as a Jewish person and been the object of anti-Semitism. I’ve lived in a predominately ethnic community and have been harassed because I am Jewish and white, and white kids in high school have called me names because I had black friends.


Racism does not take place when a person tells the truth about an ethnic minority. If I tell you young Hispanics are attracted to the gang culture that is not prejudice. I live in Los Angeles, California and I see the gang life influence every day.

Sadly, gang life is doing quite well with Hispanic immigrants. In her lectures and her articles, Heather McDonald notes that the incarceration rate of Mexican Americans is 3.45 higher than that of whites.

If you have not been reading my blog, you need to know Heather Mac Donald is a John M. Olin fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor to City Journal. She also is a recipient of 2005 Bradley Prize for Outstanding Intellectual Achievement. Her credentials are quite impressive and can be checked out at the Manhattan Institute's webpage. She is also a prolific writer of books and articles on the issue of illegal immigration. I went to hear her speak on the politics of illegal immigration and out of that lecture came this article.

McDonald lays it out: Anyone who speaks to Hispanic students in immigrant-saturated schools in Southern California will invariably hear the estimate that 50% of a student’s peers have ended up in gangs or other criminal activities.

Along with gang membership comes hostility toward education. Listen to rap song lyrics that appeal to young whites, blacks and Hispanics saying that it’s cool to be illiterate.

You can be sure gangs are not holding college career day on the street corners of East L.A. Rather, college education is knocked out by gang membership.

Again, illegal immigrants are not adding to family values (as I discuss in my previous post) but causing them to break down.

Hispanic population provides the greatest number of individuals who become part of gangs. Also, gang membership is getting younger and younger. 8-9 year old Hispanics are joining gangs. The school drop out rate among Hispanics is the highest.

It’s not enough to want to justify illegal immigration by noting what hard workers they are. Yes, it is true that a large number of Hispanics are hard working and they're to be commended for that quality. However, due to the influence of gang culture, we’re in danger of creating a generation of Hispanics that will create grave problems for our society.

The best thing the Hispanic community can ever do-illegal or legal-is to repudiate the gang culture and the rap music philosophy that disparages the dignity of so many young people. I often chuckle to myself when I observe a wealthy rap artist sing the praises of the hood while they live in the luxury of Beverly Hills mansions. What blatant hypocrisy!

Yes, Los Angeles has a grave gang problem. Many members of gangs are illegals-24%. However, these individuals are hard to track since they are not citizens and we have no record of them.

On top of that, the police have a hard time making arrests. Why? Cities like Los Angeles have immigration laws that tie the hands of police officers trying to arrest aliens who commit crimes.

The LAPD’s ban on immigration enforcement mirrors bans in immigrant-saturated cities around the country, from New York and Chicago to San Diego, Austin, and Houston. These “sanctuary policies” generally prohibit city employees, including the cops, from reporting immigration violations to federal authorities. So is the crime wave going to go up or down?

Should a cop arrest an illegal gangbanger (as if it’s legal to be a gangbanger) for a crime, he’s not allowed to even question his immigration status. In fact, if the police officer does question the illegal, it is he who becomes an object of investigation.

How serious is this? Check out this example: . . . the police force arrested a Honduran visa violator for seven vicious rapes. The previous year, Miami cops had had the suspect in custody for lewd and lascivious molestation, without checking his immigration status. Had they done so, they would have discovered his visa overstay, a deportable offense, and so could have forestalled the rapes.


If you don’t believe me, read Mac Donald’s article, “The Illegal-Alien Crime Wave.”

In Los Angeles, 95 percent of all outstanding warrants for homicide (which total 1,200 to 1,500) target illegal aliens. Up to two-thirds of all fugitive felony warrants (17,000) are for illegal aliens. What if we could deport these homicidal monsters? Do you want them to stay and live in our society? I don’t even want them in our jails! Why should I pay taxes to support them? They’re only continue to live the gang lifestyle in jail while a white guy like me supports them. I might feel more compassionate if they were U.S. citizens. They disregard our citizenship laws, are sent to jail and legal citizens have to foot the bill . . . . ?

Listen to the seriousness of this situation as described by Heather McDonald:

In many immigrant communities, assimilation into gangs seems to be outstripping assimilation into civic culture. Toddlers are learning to flash gang signals and hate the police, reports the Los Angeles Times. In New York City, “every high school has its Mexican gang,” and most 12- to 14-year-olds have already joined, claims Ernesto Vega, an illegal 18-year-old Mexican. Such pathologies only worsen when the first lesson that immigrants learn about U.S. law is that Americans don’t bother to enforce it. “Institutionalizing illegal immigration creates a mindset in people that anything goes in the U.S.,” observes Patrick Ortega, the news and public-affairs director of Radio Nueva Vida in southern California. “It creates a new subculture, with a sequela of social ills.” It is broken windows writ large.

It is quite clear our nation has loss total control over immigration policy. Millions of illegals can shop, travel, work and commit crimes in broad daylight in total security from the immigration laws.
We need to choose wisely when we elect our next president. The solution is simple: enforce the immigration laws already on the books. Give the INS some clout. Allow the border patrol to do their jobs. Don’t allow the frightened liberal who’s concerned about offending their illegal maids to gridlock us into doing nothing but watch our country sink into the swamp of disrespect for the laws and principle upon which this incredible country was founded.

Once More On The Politics of lllegal Immigration

More Politics of Illegal Immigration

With McCain as the Republican presidential frontrunner, the issue of illegal immigration is even more important. Voters need to know their stuff. We must be on top of the issues regarding the blight of illegal immigration and why it is such a serious matter.

Let’s talk about a myth that has affected the thinking of people regarding illegals. Heather McDonald brought this to my attention and I have consulted her articles to write this blog.

Once again, Heather Mac Donald is a John M. Olin fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor to City Journal. She also is a recipient of 2005 Bradley Prize for Outstanding Intellectual Achievement. Her credentials are quite impressive and can be checked out at the Manhattan Institute's webpage. She is also a prolific writer of books and articles on the issue of illegal immigration.

The myth is stated as follows: Hispanics will save the American family from the rising tide of illegitimacy and disintegration.


The idea is that illegal Hispanics are good for this country since they possess wonderful family values that the rest of us do not possess. The family values that the rest of us Americans have lost would be restored through the presence of illegals in our society. Is this true or does it just make a good argument lacking serious substantiation.

When we speak to people living in Southern California or other areas of heavily populated Hispanics, we are given a different story. My son attends a Southern California suburban school. I have occasion to speak to the assistant principal and he has repeated often that it's mostly the Hispanic kids who are the ones getting into fights, bringing drugs into the school and giving reason for the police to be called to the school premises. In my neighborhood, Hispanic youths are not having a positive influence on the surrounding white community.

Another issue, according to Heather McDonald is teen single parenthood. She says, “among Hispanic teens the stigma of teen single parenthood has vanished. Social workers in Southern California are in despair over the epidemic of single parenting. To cope with it, Hispanic teens are looking to welfare and social services.”

The problem is compounded by the fact Hispanic teens are looking to their mothers and grandmothers who are having or have had babies outside of marriage. The practice is becoming quite normal.

Here are the alarming statistics from a Heather McDonald article in HumanEvents:

Hispanic women have the highest unmarried birthrate in the country -- over three times that of whites and Asians, and nearly one and a half times that of black women, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Every 1,000 unmarried Hispanic women bore 92 children in 2003 (the latest year for which data exist), compared with 28 children for every 1,000 unmarried white women, 22 for every 1,000 unmarried Asian women, and 66 for every 1,000 unmarried black women. Forty-eight percent of all Hispanic births occur outside of marriage, compared with 24 percent of white births and 15 percent of Asian births. Only the percentage of black out-of-wedlock births -- 68% -- exceeds the Hispanic rate.

Put this together. With increasing illegitimacy rate for Hispanics with their overall high fertility rate, where is this myth of family values? What's it based on?

Let me repeat this: The Mexican teen birthrate is 93 births per every 1000 girls, compared with 27 births for every 1000 white girls. Now line up the costs connected with illegitimacy, i.e. . . . kids raised in single-parent homes: higher risk of school failure, emotional problems, teen pregnancy and poverty. There’s little contribution to family values at all at this rate of high Hispanic teen pregnancy.

Here’s more information that breaks up this myth:

Hispanics have the highest school dropout rate in the country. This is a recipe for economic decline. In the LA Unified School District, which is 73% Hispanic, just 40% of Hispanic students graduate. It is well known that those who are supportive of illegal immigrants are opposed to the long deferred California high school exit exam, which would require students to answer just 50% of questions testing eighth grade level math and ninth-grade level English. If such an exam becomes a requirement, Hispanic graduation rates would become even lower . . . drop below 30%.

We can only imagine the money being spent from taxpayers’ money to try to keep these young Hispanics in school. I wonder if their illegal non-tax paying parents are financially contributing? I sure hope so.

The argument that the presence of illegals Hispanics in the U.S. is justified due to their family values is fallacious. It is not a pretty picture but we must stand before this mural of illegal immigration and see it for what it is. Let’s stop fooling ourselves thinking this problem will go away or will be solved on its own.


Our welfare system is in danger of collapsing (which might not be such a bad idea), our social security system is in jeopardy and our healthcare system is in shambles. Why? Because 11-12 million people in this country are taking cash out of these beneficial systems without putting anything back in. It's only a matter of time before it all collapses. So when the Democratic candidates appear to extend an open hand to illegals, you and I need to look deeper at the long term repercussions of such an unwise (but popular among Hispanic voters) stance.

I have more to say. Just one more thing, I promise. The issue of illegals and crime.

More Politics of Illegal Immigration

The Politics of Illegal Immigration

I seemed awfully busy attending political meetings prior to Super Tuesday. After all, I needed to be informed on the major issues. So in mid-January I attended a lecture presented by Heather McDonald on the "Politics of Illegal Immigration."

According to the Manhattan Center for Policy Research, Heather Mac Donald is a John M. Olin fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor to City Journal. She also is a recipient of 2005 Bradley Prize for Outstanding Intellectual Achievement. Her credentials are quite impressive and can be checked out at the Manhattan Institute's webpage. She is also a prolific writer of books and articles on the issue of illegal immigration.

The lecture was sponsored by a conservative political group, the David Horowitz Freedom Center. The lecture hall could hold at least 100 but only 25-30 attended. I was shocked. Here's an intellect speaking in her area of expertise-illegal immigration, an area that concerns conservatives in a major way-yet the event is barely attended. Illegal immigration is of such utmost importance that this issue influenced my decision to decline to vote for McCain in this week's Super Tuesday California election.

McDonald's premise is that if you listen hard enough to the public voice of the American people, you'll hear their frustration over the illegal immigration issue. Politicians need to listen to the voice of their constituents or be knocked out of the loop.

Why is illegal immigration so important? Because the demographic of the United States is changing. In the past three years, the number of illegal immigrants in America has reached 12 million. From a 2005 article from the Washington Post we read:

Based on Census Bureau and other government data, the Pew Hispanic Center, a private research group in Washington, estimated the number of undocumented immigrants at 10.3 million as of last March, an increase of 23 percent from the 8.4 million estimate in 2000. More than 50 percent of that growth was attributable to Mexican nationals living illegally in the United States, the report said.

To figure out the number of illegals in this country today, the same article provides us the math:

Pew Hispanic Center Director Roberto Suro said that the number of illegal immigrants continues to grow at the same rate as in the 1990s -- approximately 485,000 a year -- "despite significant efforts by the government to try to restrain the flow . . . at the border."

if we use the figure of 485,000 a year growth rate of illegal migrants, that would bring us two years later at 12 million illegals here in this country.

Who are these illegals? Once more the Washington Post piece provides the answer:

Mexicans remain the largest group of illegal migrants, at 5.9 million or about 57 percent of the March 2004 estimate, the report said. An additional 24 percent or 2.5 million undocumented immigrants are from other Latin American countries. Assuming the flow into the country has not changed since a year ago, the population of undocumented immigrants could number nearly 11 million today, the report said.

Here's another way to look at this according to Heather MacDonald. One in eight U.S. residents is foreign born. That's not a problem. That's 38 million foreign born people in this country. Here's the kicker: one in three of foreign born individuals is here in this country illegally. One in three of the foreign born residents in our country is here illegally. That's serious. If these illegals do not pay taxes, then they are enjoying the benefits of this country without having to pay for it. Who pays for their use of our services such as free medical exams, subsidized prescription drugs or subsidized schools for their children? The taxpayers do.

One young Iraq veteran remarked illegals work hard and should enjoy benefits like everyone else. However, is it fair that this young soldier goes overseas with the intent to protect America and create a secure nation while 12 million residents of the U.S. do not contribute to the defense budget of the U.S. that pays his salary and pays for the weapons that may save his life by their not paying federal income tax. Something is wrong with that kind of thinking.

A major reason why the issue of immigration is so important is that it is a massive assault on the rule of law. By not compelling illegals to become citizens, we're transferring the sovereignty of our country to people, according to MacDonald, who are from outside our borders. The legislature is no longer sovereign. Look at the Hispanic rallies in Spring 2006. Should a politician listen to people who are here illegally when it comes to enforcing the rule of law of the U.S? I don't think so.

Illegals are to be confronted with the rule of this land rather than the rule of this land have to yield to the large number of protesters in the streets of our cities. The self rule of law for illegals is simple: because I am here in the U.S. I have a right to be here." In other words, "we make our own laws. We do not live by the rule of law of the United States of America." No wonder they don't become citizens of the U.S; they do not respect the laws of America. The public is infuriated by this disregard for the rule of law. No matter what laws Congress passes to control our borders, illegals feel they have the right to flaunt their disobedience and indifference to the law.

Heather McDonald refers to an 2004 Los Angeles Times piece demonstrating this flaunting of the law: "After Border Patrol agents arrested a few hundred illegal aliens in southern California cities in 20045, the LA Times ran . . . stories bemoaning the resultant fear among illegal aliens and quoting advocates and politicians blasting the Border Patrol's outrageous behavior." So the behavior of illegals coming into this country illegally is not an issue. The fact they were caught and deported is a bigger issue. Perhaps I should goi out and rob a bank and if I get caught, I can get the LA Times to garner sympathy for me. After all, I robbed the bank because I needed the money and that justifies my ignoring the law against bank robbery!

The rule of law is simple: if you come here illegally, you will face deportation. We should not be ashamed of this law nor should we be afraid to enforce it. The illegal needs to know that deportation is real. But if everytime an illegal is arrested and faces deportation, there are cries of protest from the media, then the illegal knows we are not serious about our laws. There is no need of mass deportations, according to MacDonald. We merely need consistent enforcement of deportation laws. If so, illegals would calculate how wise it is to come to the U.S. through illegal channels, knowing they might be forced to leave.
Many illegals would decide to return home on their own and many fewer would decide to cross our borders. So the answer is not merely more border patrol personnel. Rather, we need enforcement of the laws regarding illegal entrance into our country. The threat of enforcement of the law on this issue must be credible. Right now it isn't.

If Macdonald is right and some polls are correct stating that Americans want to far stricer stance towards illegals than the press does and the politicians, much of our illegal immigration policy would be on its way towards a concrete solution.

Illegal immigration is such a significant issue. A few more postings are necessary to discuss the crime rate connected with the presence of illegals in this country and the false claim of the illegal alien's positive influence on our country's family values.

The Politics of Illegal Immigration