Immigrants are proud of their cultural heritage, but they are also proud of being part of the American Dream. The “Papers Please” law that was passed in Arizona earlier this year brought new attention to the immigration debate. Immigration has also come up in discussions about controlling spending and in the healthcare reform debate. In 2005, Senator Dianne Feinstein said, “We know that people come to this country illegally. They come for many different reasons. Some out of fear of persecution, some for work, all for opportunity…About 50% of the agricultural workforce are illegal workers…With respect to agricultural work, I know that it is extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible, to get Americans to work in agricultural labor.”
Category Archives: Immigration
What is behind Arizona’s draconian anti-immigration law?
Budget concerns? Probably not. Racism? Perhaps. Last night Rachel Maddow reported on another possibility: The private prison industry.
Check out her 10-minute report on this topic.
Can you pass the citizenship test that is required for all immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship? Give it a try…
What economic policies lead to greater economic health? And what political policies will lead to better economic outcomes? These are complex questions, and can be difficult to test scientifically. However, it is useful to look at case studies in an effort to understand what policies work and what policies lead to disaster. Let’s take a […]
Words do have consequences. A growing federal government may be a legitimate concern, but people are not being informed about the aspects of government that promote freedom and democracy, and which aspects diminish our freedoms. Those involved in politics and power grabs have become a primary source of citizen education. The outcomes are anti-government sentiment, movements based on misinformation, and sometimes with violent methods of pushing social change.