John Hinderaker:
Virtually all of these 33 million people will be Mexicans. This is an obvious, but somehow under-acknowledged fact. We are not talking about refugees or asylum seekers. These tens of millions of people already have a country. They are Mexican citizens. To import 33 million Mexicans (approximately one quarter of Mexico’s population) would transform the United States in ways that we cannot begin to foresee. It would certainly have a greater impact on the United States than any event since the Civil War.
And why, exactly, would it be a good idea for us–not for the proposed immigrants, but for existing American citizens–to import 33 million or more Mexicans, the vast majority of whom would be either low-skill workers or welfare recipients? I can think of one category of Americans who would benefit from such an extraordinary influx: Democratic politicians. They would add millions of Democratic voters to the rolls; moreover, the addition of millions of welfare recipients would inevitably swell the size and scope of government. But if you are not a Democratic politician, why on Earth would you view this massive demographic change positively? It will inevitably drive down the wages of unskilled and semiskilled labor, to the grave detriment of existing Americans who are already struggling to make a living.
