It's very interesting to look at what Ronald Reagan and other leading Republicans have had to say about immigration.
Ronald Reagan
"...it makes one wonder about the illegal alien fuss. Are great numbers of our unemployed really victims of the illegal alien invasion or are those illegal tourists actually doing work our own people won't do? One thing is certain in this hungry world; no regulation or law should be allowed if it results in crops rotting in the fields for lack of harvesters."
From a Radio Address entitled "Apples," dated November 29, 1977.
"Our nation is a nation of immigrants. More than any other country, our strength comes from our own immigrant heritage and our capacity to welcome those from other lands."
"We have a special relationship with our closest neighbors, Canada and Mexico. Our immigration policy should reflect this relationship."
"We must also recognize that both the United States and Mexico have historically benefited from Mexicans obtaining employment in the United States. A number of our states have special labor needs, and we should take these into account."
"Illegal immigrants in considerable numbers have become productive members of our society and are a basic part of our work force. Those who have established equities in the United States should be recognized and accorded legal status. At the same time, in so doing, we must not encourage illegal immigration."
July 31, 1981 Reagan Statement on Immigration
Also, see here for some more interesting Ronald Reagan quotes on immigration. For instance:
*"We have consistently supported a legalization program which is both generous to the alien and fair to the countless thousands of people throughout the world who seek legally to come to America. The legalization provisions in this act will go far to improve the lives of a class of individuals who now must hide in the shadows, without access to many of the benefits of a free and open society. Very soon many of these men and women will be able to step into the sunlight and, ultimately, if they choose, they may become Americans."
*"I believe we must resolve the problem at our southern border with full regard to the problems and needs of Mexico. I have suggested legalizing the entry of Mexican labor into this country on much the same basis you proposed, although I have not put it into the sense of restoring the bracero program."
The bracero program was a guest-worker program similar to the one now being proposed by President Bush. It was killed in the mid-1960s, largely due to opposition from unions.
George W. Bush
"Family values do not stop at the Rio Grande. If you're a mother and father with hungry children, you are going to try to put food on the table. That's reality. That's called love."
Responding to voters at a town hall meeting that were calling for draconian measures against immigration. South Carolina 2000 Presidential Campaign.
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RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman
"When the law ignores the law of supply and demand, the law fails."
In a town hall meeting explaining why in spite of continued investments in border security, the number of illegal immigrants keeps going up. November 2005.
I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it and see it still.
I wonder if all the Republicans out there who worship Ronald Reagan agree with his statements on doors that are "open to anyone with the will and the hear to get here," etc.
So there is really no reason for the punitive anti-immigration legislation that we are now seeing in Washington.The "Know-Nothings" of the mid-nineteenth century tried to isolate America, in a way very reminiscent of what is happening now.
It is a negative philosophy that sees people as liabilities. However, the vast majority of Americans have an optimistic view of humanity, seeing people as assets who contribute and create opportunities.
Forward-looking, enlightened Americans joined together to stop the "Know-Nothings," allowing for an incredible economic expansion in the twentieth century.
Now, we must do the same, and stand up to today's isolationist movement, ensuring that America's next century is as prosperous as the last.
That is why I am so proud to announce the establishment of this Coalition of well-known individuals and prestigious organizations who oppose the anti-immigration forces now being seen in Washington and elsewhere.
We understand how important it is for our country to have a fair immigration policy.
Yes, we need to control our borders. No one argues with that. Just ask the recent immigrant who came here legally and is the first to be knocked off the ladder of opportunity by illegal immigrants. But we don't need ballot initiatives that make people think we want them to abandon their hopes because some of us don't believe the American Dream is big enough to share anymore.
I found the 1988 edition online here: [http://www.questia.c...]
from the website: www.questia.com
Missing from the online version is: Chapter 16 "To The Reshaping Of The New Right And The Rise Of The Militia Movement, 1987-1995"
Seems history repeats itself- except in 2007 the message can be instantly carried via cable, DSL, text-messages, and T-1 lines.
December 6, 2001 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing -- Attorney General John Ashcroft made the broad accusation that critics of the government who disagreed with its post-9/11 policies were aiding terrorists. "We need honest, reasoned debate and not fear-mongering," he said.
"To those who pit Americans against immigrants, and citizens against non-citizens; to those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies, and pause to America's friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil."
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Emma Lazarus, 1883 (U.S. pop. approx 55 million)
Now:
"Immigration has been an important part of our nation's success. The current system, however, puts up a concrete wall to the best and brightest, yet those without skill or education are able to walk across the border. We must reform the current immigration laws so we can secure our borders, implement a mandatory biometrically enabled, tamper proof documentation and employment verification system, and increase legal immigration into America."
From Mitt Romney's campaign site (U.S. pop over 300 million)
http://www.mittromne...
National Censuses, 1790-2000
http://www.infopleas...
What population are we shooting for for 2150? Whatever Congress votes to do, that's fine with me. As long as it is a conscious, well-thought out decision.