The Coming Immigrant Invasion

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) completed an analysis of the proposed Senate immigration bill from a numbers perspective. So far most of the emphasis and debate nationally has been on border security and illegals, but according to the analysis, between 78 million and 216 million new immigrants would enter the U.S. over the next 20 years if the current legislation is passed.

Many free market conservatives enjoy cheap labor and the necessity of a growing population to help fund Social Security, Medicare, etc. However, as France and other European countries are now finding out, there are serious assimilation issues when demographics change so quickly (for example, going from a Christian nation to a Muslim nation). I don't want to sound alarmist because I don't think the dynamics of our country would change that drastically, but the INS truly holds an incredible amount of power to change the future of this country if they so choose.

Changes to annual quotas for any particular nationality, race or religion could make a real difference to society when compounded over 10, 20 or 30 years. For example, not many people living in France 10 years ago would have predicted how quickly the the Muslim population will grow on a percentage basis if current trends continue.

Immigration is a good thing and a necessary thing, but if a bill is thrown together as quickly and/or as shoddily as the prescription Medicare bill, the U.S. could hurt itself in the long run. Let's protect our borders but I hope we take our time with immigration reforms.