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Mexican Invasion Title: Libertarian 101: What is the libertarian position on immigration? With the illegal immigration debate heating up in Arizona and abroad upon passage of a new law "taking the handcuffs off" of law enforcement in the State, it might be necessary to again visit a sensible libertarian position on immigration. Too many times 'immigration reform' is convoluted by lawmakers to intrinsically include more controls over the 'legal' populace, wholly ignoring the real reason that the debate comes up at all. Crime, over-crowding, and the overall monetary cost to society all come up as common gripes among anti-immigration sentiment. All are valid. Those symptoms of a broken system have been especially apparent in Colorado, a State that has typically discouraged migration of any kind, evidenced by becoming the first State to refuse to host the Olympics in 1970 for fear of a population boom. Well, that boom came anyways. And in fact, that vote ended up backfiring for many Coloradans. Because of Federal immigration policy and some local sanctuary policies, Colorado's population increased exponentially anyway, only the new migrants largely weren't Americans looking to ski and board. Over 25% of the massive 31% population increase between 1990 and 2000 were foreign-born. In the 1990s, Colorado’s foreign-born population increased by 160 percent to an estimated 370,000 as of 2000; approximately 144,000 of them here illegally. Only 47% of whom became naturalized citizens; and that number is declining. Considering that Rasmussen is reporting that 70% of Arizona's 'likely voters' support the new measures signed into law by Republican Governor Jan Brewer . Largely in response to the continued violence and the recent slaying of a popular Arizona rancher, whose property is situated on the U.S.-Mexico border. This is a threat to all Americans, even the typically peaceful and family oriented illegal immigrants themselves. CD6 Candidate Rob McNealy on Immigration reform Libertarians advocate a more sensible policy that would, simply put, make immigration a non-issue. The Cato Institute's Daniel Griswold says; "Crossing an international border to support your family and pursue dreams of a better life is not an inherently criminal act like rape or robbery. If it were, then most of us descend from criminals." Knowing that and at the same time admitting there is a problem, how do we fix it sensibly? * Stop rewarding failure with government subsidies. Without a welfare state, we would all know that everyone coming to America wanted to work hard and support him/her self. Those same welfare programs and minimum wage laws also create an artificial market of immigrant labor to do the jobs Americans supposedly won’t do in the first place. * Stop guarding other country's borders and not our own. America continues to send border patrol professionals to Iraq and Afghanistan to train their forces, instead of focusing on the decades long epidemic of violence on our own border. Ron Paul points out that "We are still patrolling Korea’s border after some 50 years, yet ours are more porous than ever." We need to allocate far more resources and manpower on our own coasts and borders, that can't happen without drawing down our forces overseas. * Stop drug prohibition in America. And subsequently a huge cash cow for the violent Mexican cartels that exist only to bring illegal drugs into our country. A more sensible Federal drug policy would likely shut down the violence and turf battles of foreign nationals overnight. Also, the resources recouped by not chasing 'drug offenders' could be more wisely allocated to stopping violent crimes. But, unfortunately, Federal policy has forced Arizonans into a corner and they are willing to take pretty dramatic measures to stem the assault. They also open the door for some pretty draconian measures to be imposed on law-abiding citizens by local law enforcement. "Our failure to act responsibly at the federal level will only open the door to irresponsibility by others," Obama said today. Unfortunately, some of the proposed Federal answers are more invasive than anything Americans have ever seen before and are more reminisent of gustapo requirements than of a representative republic. Coloradans must find a way to stem the problem without forcing its citizens to give up civil liberties; like recent proposals for a Federal ID card or even simply allowing local police to initially question citizenship status based on race, dialect, or any other external mechanism for that matter. Libertarians have ideas to do just that, but they would require a national commitment to personal liberty and accountability that is definitely lacking in Washington.
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What will Ron Paul say about the new AZ law?
#2. To: All (#1)
Not one single Paul supporter knows Ron Paul well enough to know what his position will be. Still waiting for the handouts. Lew is working feverishly on what to do!
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