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Iv drip The juice you can't live without
Immigration is the least of America's problems
01 February 2013 03:30 PM
The benefits of immigration are so evidently clear - and the downsides so evidently overplayed - that it's remarkable how many Americans want fewer immigrants in their country, David Brooks says. If America can't pass a law to reform immigration, including giving a form of citizenship to eleven million illegally resident immigrants, then it really is "a pathetic basket case of a nation."
Here are some of the more quotable and provocative of Brooks's assertions:
"The argument that immigration hurts the less skilled is looking less persuasive."
"Immigrants are doing a reasonable job of assimilating."
"Immigrants, including illegal immigrants, are not socially disruptive. They are much less likely to wind up in prison or in mental hospitals than the native-born."
"Immigrants, both legal and illegal, do not drain the federal budget."
"It’s also looking more likely that immigrants don’t even lower the wages for vulnerable, low-skill Americans."
As ever, it's worth reading Brooks in full.
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