(Courtesy: The Tribune, Amir TuteJa writes from Washington)

The gates have always been closed in Japan. Coming back to America, during the past session of the US Congress dozens of measures were introduced to further reduce illegal immigrants’ already very limited access to public benefits, to greatly expand the border patrol or to slash the number of visas for legal immigrants. The administration managed to squash all he big proposals, end by the summer was beginning to develop a legislative initiative for next yeas

One bill that has been introduced in the US Senate would cut down legal immigration to the USA by about 25% over the next five Years, from the current 675,000 to the pro1990 level of 500,000, The bill would establish more Congressional consul over refugee ‘admissions and mandate immediate exclusion of aliens who use fraudulent documents for entry into the USA. It would increase penalties for alien smugglers and for asylum seekers who make false statements, ‘expedite the deportation process, and direct the Clinton administration to “develop and implement  more secure system to verify the identification of those who apply for work of for welfare benefits in the USA.” Citing the fact that the immigrants actually admitted in years after 1990 have exceeded the hint of 675,000, the Bill will “establish a firm cap on total immigration, excepting only the immigration of immediate relatives of ‘American citizens the nuclear family which will, and should, remain unrestricted.”

Where the legislative proposals wllbgin is easy to figure. Where they will ends impossible to predict, Preserving thereby of the immigration system is the slogan, Cutting costs is the rationale, New limits are the objective, Mlegal immigrants will be the initial target, but fewer legal immigrants may be the inevitable result.

Contrary to the conventional political wisdom of the moment in America and the rest of that rich world, the renew in immigration turnout only consistent with America’s history but a good and necessary thing, Sam Roberts, an urban affairs columnist for the, New York Times, has studied the latest census and offered a plausible analysis of is significance. As Roberts so wisely puts it, “the USA has been repeated reinvigorated by immigrants, Successive wavssof in unigrams have provided this county with new rules new ideas and new energy, New Americans have caused the economy 10 prosper an, time and again, taught us how: to preserve ols values, family and Crag, joy as we wore poised at the ably of undiluted materialism, They are what makes us different from, everyone else,” Amen  To firm believer such as myself in the contributions of the newcomers to the vitality of American sobriety the animus grad mood issue disturbing liberator indeed it come every the regional mason of Americas Manigraei: gradual transformation of newcomers into productive citizens. This process, unique to American experience, has made America, in the words ‘of sociologist Nathan Glazer, the} permanently unfinished country.” And it is a process that most recent immigrants ‘eagerly embrace.

The voluntary and involuntary, Why person or family emirates to another county. There may BS genuine political persecution in the country of their birth like the mass exodus of Bangladeshis to in a prior to their war of liberal from Pakistan in the seventies. But by far the biggest factor which causes immigration is persons seeking relatively better economies opportunity countries. The contributions or costs of the immigrants to the host country are a holly debated is, I submit that the capitalist system of rich countries will constantly seek the optimum level meaning least expensive too of manufacturing goods and providing services, In some cases the capitalist system will seek out cheaper goods ‘and services on foreign soil and in other cases the relatively “cheaper” immigrant labor will land on the host soil!

CONTINUED FROM A PREVIOUS ISSUE

Article extracted from this publication >>  August 4, 1995