The danger of Joey K’s (and others) sentimentality on immigration issues

In my previous post over the Nick Griffin issue, Joey Kurtzman noted in the comments that,

“As for my own views on immigration, I’m not really capable of approaching immigration as a political issue. My family got here when there were no immigration laws beyond not having jaundice, and the whole coming-to-America narrative is too sentimental for me. So given that it *is* a legitimate political issue, and that immigration can’t be totally unchecked otherwise half the planet would move here, I don’t think that on this issue I really have anything of value to say.�

I think much of the Jewish community gets weak in the knees when it comes to immigration issues, which leaves the activist pro-immigration Jewish groups positioned to speak for the Jewish community generally.

I would argue that this sentimental silence is a problem, because:

1) The economic realities are not being addressed. While the vocal defenders are the hippies, mass immigration is not being pushed by them or “”those seeking to come out of the shadows to seek a better life…,” it is being pushed by corporations seeking to drive the cost of labor down by increasing the supply.

2) This country has done quite well with European-Americans (a.k.a. “Whites”) in power. It is particularly speculative for the Jewish community to desire a serious change in power. Such speculation is something you do as a side venture. You do not bet your house, never mind your country, on a dubious bet, where the best you could hope for is more of the same. And we have done well here. We have done mind boggling well here. To be neutral on something this crucial is bizarre. This is a stupendous risk the social liberals are agitating for, with little explanation of where they draw the line, outside of those individuals known to be a danger (oh how responsible of them, they don’t want immigrants with a terrorist background).

3) Significant amounts of white and black Americans appear to be against mass immigration. We owe it to them to consider their concerns seriously. We dismiss their concerns at our own peril as well.

4) There have been major problems with specific Muslim immigrant groups in European countries that should make us bang the alarm and mobilize to make sure such situations do not occur here. Again, all reasons offered by the social left as to why they may not happened here because it hasn’t happened so far are speculative. The most logical possibility, or at least, a reasonable factor–is that Muslim communities lack sufficient numbers. We have a lot to lose by risking that they achieve such numbers through immigration.

American Jews need to separate their immigrant past from today’s current immigration realities. And it isn’t just social left groups — whose job it is to pretend we and all other minorities are all in the same boat against white — conflating the two. Rather, all the so-called mainstream “defenseâ€? groups are in cahoots with those pushing mass immigration from pretty much anywhere. The Neocons are as well. Don’t look to them for help…as we know, according the Neocons, everyone in the world just wants to be exactly like us.

It is time for fair-minded people not bound by party orthodoxy to grapple with the issue of immigration, and to be honest with themselves. For instance, would accepting 5,000,000 immigrants from each and every Muslim country be a good idea for either the U.S. or for the Jewish community? Would this be a good bet? Remember, HAVING MUSLIM FRIENDS WHO ARE WONDERFUL DOES NOT PROVE IT IS A GOOD BET.

If people like Joey Kurtzman can’t “add anything valuable” because of nostalgia, then the Jewish community is going to continue to appear to present a unified voice in support of any and every pro-immigration policy and proposed legislation, no matter how risky.

Is this what your great-grandparents and great-great-parents would advise? I believe most of our ancestors would have recognized the importance of this issue today, and would strongly advise against a reflexively pro-immigration stand because of their memory.

There is much too much at stake to sit out on this one because of sentimentality.