Saturday, January 07, 2023

Links - 7th January 2023 (1 - Migrants [including Martha's Vineyard])

Martha's Vineyard Migrants: Chamber of Commerce Declares 'Humanitarian Crisis' over Arrival of 50 Migrants - "The Chamber of Commerce of Martha’s Vineyard said the island was facing a “humanitarian crisis” after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sent planes carrying 50 illegal immigrants to the island...   Republican lawmakers mocked the affluent summer colony’s Chamber of Commerce for declaring a “humanitarian crisis” over the arrival of just 50 Venezuelan immigrants, pointing out that the number constitutes a drop in the bucket compared to what border states deal with on a daily basis.  Fifty “people in Martha’s Vineyard is a ‘humanitarian crisis,’ but a record high number of over 2 million illegals trespassing in our country in 2022 alone is not a problem for Democrats. . .” Florida Representative Matt Gaetz wrote.  Texas Senator Ted Cruz said, “if 50 constitutes a humanitarian crisis in Martha’s Vineyard, what the hell is 4.2 MILLION?” alluding to reports citing the number of illegal immigrants who have entered the U.S. since President Joe Biden took office."

Migrants' 44-hour visit leaves indelible mark on Martha's Vineyard | CNN
This is a real headline

Martha's Vineyard Elites Deport Illegal Immigrants After 24 Hours - "Lisa Belcastro, a local resident who manages the shelter at the island’s St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church where migrants slept for their two-night stay, said Thursday the migrants would have to move on because the wealthy island was full.  “We certainly don’t have housing, we’re in a housing crisis as we are on this island,” Belcastro said. “We don’t have housing for 50 more people.”...   Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also accused DeSantis of culpability in “literally human trafficking” on MSNBC.  President Joe Biden, on the other hand, faced no such charges of human trafficking over secret flights of illegal underage migrants in the middle of the night"
I-TEAM: Documents show 78 flights carrying migrants landed in Jacksonville over last 6 months - "Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody has teamed up with DeSantis to sue the Biden administration claiming relocating migrants to Florida is illegal."

End Wokeness on Twitter - "Whenever you pass one of these, remember that time when Martha’s Vineyard called the National Guard to remove 50 illegals from their island"
“In this house we believe: Black Lives Matter. Women’s rights are human rights. No human is illegal. Science is real. Love is love. Kindness is everything.”

Meme - "I just want to be as happy as the residents of Martha's Vineyard are when they're kicking immigrints off their island."

Brian Smith on Twitter: "The stunt failed to make its intended point."
"what desantis hoped to prove was that liberals would move the migrants away from them. what happened instead is that they moved them away from them"
"Lol. Over 100 national guard to remove 50 illegal immigrants in les than 24 hours."

Martha's Vineyard Claims It Doesn't Have Room for Immigrants, but Airbnb and Hotels.com Show Otherwise - "Elizabeth Osborn Bostrom, a resident of Martha’s Vineyard, said what all the elite Vineyard bolshies are thinking. She told the New York Post that she “stayed out of town most of the day to avoid the commotion.” and that “people here leave their doors open. It’s safe and there’s no real crime, usually. I’m not upset they came here, but I’m a little wary. I have my doors locked.”  In other words, She doesn’t want to see them, and she doesn’t trust them. Sounds a little racist to me."

Mia Cathell on Twitter - "You can't make this stuff up. "URGENT PLEA"! The ultra-wealthy on Martha's Vineyard has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser, already raising over $36,000. Please help these struggling millionaires with multiple summer homes during this "humanitarian crisis"🙏
The organizer is an Ivy League alum from an affluent family and New York comms exec who donated 6x to Kamala Harris. Her wedding on Martha's Vineyard was featured by NYT and her family's $1.6 million+ home there sits near a private association beach.
The GoFundMe donations are going to Martha's Vineyard Community Foundation, which has assets under management of $14 million+. MVCF is also seeking money via a Migrant Relief Fund since residents are "concerned about the well being of the migrants...on our Island."
UPDATE: Since the Martha's Vineyard migrants were sent to Cape Cod, the island's GoFundMe is STILL taking donations for "building up a reserve to assist situations like this in the future, rather than directly helping this group of migrants and their situation.""

Meme - Rex Chapman @RexChapman: "Serious questions for devout Christians - WWJ think of how DeSantis and Abbott are treating these migrants? Where in the Bible can you cite support for treating the poor, hungry and oppressed (including kids) this way? If he could..."
Jon: "Always. ALWAYS. You're a terrible Christian if you don't do liberal things. But if you do conservative things as a Christian you're a dangerous theocrat? Buddy we're not playing this game any more"
Comments: "What are they doing that's unbiblical? Seems compassionate to send them to these liberal utopias that should be eagerly waiting to accept them with open arms"
"“Separation of church and state!!!” “Your religion demands that you vote like me!” Same people."
"If you want to tell me what Christians believe and how they should act then does that mean I get to tell you how liberal/progressive/democrats are supposed to act? Because in that case you should all be giving more to the collective, Should not have multiple houses, you should be freely housing people in your backyard, you shouldn't be taking a private jet anywhere, shall I go on? Don't tell me to walk the walk when all you people do is talk and don't live in anyway the things you preach."
"Isn't Martha's Vineyard a place full of rich people? Seems like a place with the right resources to help the poor, hungry and oppressed. Am I wrong?"
"The Bible also says you are to acclimate (not the other way around) and obey the laws on foreign lands. Rex appears to be a Christian of convenience rather than a Christian of truth."
"DeSantis and Abbott ensured those migrants made it to our wealthiest cities with significant budgets. As our country needs help spreading out the migrants reaching our borders, I feel DeStanis and Abbott provided the most Christian attitude by providing a safe passage to locations with better resources. Or should we leave the migrants in a desert waiting for a court case, as the children are left in fence cages away from their families?"

Meme - Charles Weber - AKA "the Jew from Boca": "So, the people who:
- Hate god.
- Hate religion.
- Hate prayer.
- Love killing babies.
- Love pushing porn in kids school.
- Love drag shows for kids.
Are suddenly telling us what "real Christians" should do when it comes to immigration..."

NBC News Deletes Tweet That Contained Disturbing Quote From Immigration Activist About Migrants - "The deleted tweet stated: “Florida Gov. DeSantis sending asylum-seekers to Martha’s Vineyard is like ‘me taking my trash out and just driving to different areas where I live and just throwing my trash there,’ a founding member of a foundation which helps refugees says.”  The quote was from Max Lefeld, a founding member of the Casa Venezuela Dallas foundation, which helps migrants"

Plane towing a banner reading ‘Vineyard Hypocrites’ circles Martha’s Vineyard - The Boston Globe

Meme - Jonethan Jewel: "Hell, I want a free ticket to sanctuary cities. They offer the best quality of life in all of America"
Jonathan Jewel: "If you're cheering because Ron DeSantis is trafficking human beings to places like Martha's Vineyard then you are no Christian. You're a fucking piece of shit and the only solace is that you're going to burn in Hell for eternity which is what you deserve"
Comment: "Why weren’t these same people complaining when Biden was sending them all over the country ? People are so tribal it’s insane"

Pelosi decimated for claiming illegal immigrants need to stay in Florida to ‘pick the crops down here’ - "Critics claimed that Pelosi’s remarks were demeaning of migrants and that she openly admitted America should welcome in and profit off of illegal immigrants... "For Democrats, mass immigration checks two boxes: 1. More future voters 2. Cheap foreign labor."  New York Post author Miranda Devine explained, "Apart from the fact she can't speak properly, and is nasty, it's illegal to employ illegal migrants. It's also disastrous for a country not to make a distinction between legal and illegal migration. At least we have less than six weeks left of this piece of Pelosi."... "Elitist democrats think Hispanics are only good for picking their crops. Legal Hispanics will answer resoundingly in November and send Nancy and a lot of other radical democrats home.""

Meme - Mayor Muriel Bowser @MayorBowser: "DC values our DREAMers and our immigrant communities - all will continue to find sanctuary in our city."
"DC Mayor Bower: "We're not a border town. We don't have an infrastructure to handle this this type of a level of immigration to our city... We're not Texas."

Meme - Maria Shriver @mariashriver: "Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott. I've heard people say they like these guys because they are tough and they don't care about political correctness. These men are bullies. These men are in the stu..."
Noble Brown @Sociopathlete: "I'd suggest you take in a few immigrants yourself but your husband impregnated the last Latina you had in the house"

Greg Price on Twitter - "DC city council member: “The governors of Texas and Arizona have created this crisis [and] have turned us into a border town.”"
Brianne K. Nadeau on Twitter - "The District is a sanctuary city, which means our law enforcement does not cooperate with ICE. As Councilmember, I have called for an abolition of ICE and wrote DC’s law to establish a permanent immigrant legal services fund. Read full remarks here"
Amazing. Immigration is not a federal issue apparently
Apparently she forgot her complicity and is blaming others. Typical

Enough pasta already: why asylum seekers in Italy are fed up with their food rations - "Elias, who arrived in Italy from West Africa after a long journey, eats pasta every day for lunch and dinner. And, he claims, for breakfast too. He’s been doing so for nine months, since he first set foot in the small town in central Italy where he now lives...   Food has become a real flashpoint in the power dynamics between asylum seekers and the people charged with looking after them. It has provoked protests, marches and road blockages. Asylum seekers refuse it on a daily basis. I was shown entire portions that had been thrown away, or kept in the fridge for when there was really nothing else to eat (or it could be spiced up with something else).  Each asylum seeker receives an allowance of €75 a month, distributed by NGOs. If any is left after buying credit for a simcard, clothes and bus fares, some use it to buy extra food at Indian or African shops, or at Eurospin, the local discount supermarket. But in the hotel reception centres, they must hide it under the bed as bringing in any food staples is forbidden. Some asylum seekers find places to cook in makeshift BBQs or dirty kitchens...   Activities that are generally taken to be signs of integration, such as volunteering, are encouraged by the interior ministry and can be taken into consideration when asylum requests are processed. Food is a central part of this system that privileges docile migrants and which rewards their “positive signs of integration”. This means saying ciao or buongiorno to Italians in an appropriate manner. Not making any trouble. And eating pasta – as all Italians are expected to do."
When in Rome, do as the asylum seekers do

Afghan evacuee charged with rape in Montana, governor says, demanding resettlement halt - "An Afghan evacuee has been charged with the rape of a woman in Missoula, Montana, the state's governor said Thursday – and he called for the Biden administration to halt all refugee resettlements until assurances are made about the vetting process.  Gov. Greg Gianforte's office said in a statement that an Afghan male placed in Montana by the U.S. State Department was charged with sexual assault."

Inside the smuggling ring that left a family to freeze to death on a perilous walk across Canada's border - "The family of four that froze to death while trying to secretly walk into the United States from Manitoba during a blizzard were already waiting at the drop-off point in Canada when other Indian citizens arrived for the night hike across the border. The father and mother were the oldest by a decade of the 11 migrants who gathered near Emerson, Man., on Jan. 19, for the organized illegal crossing. Their children were the youngest by far...   The conditions were frightful, even for those accustomed to a prairie blizzard. The temperature hovered around -35C with the blowing snow and bleak darkness of a featureless remote route, as the group headed toward the border, about 9:30 at night.  While seven made it to safety, snatched from the cold by U.S. Border Patrol officers the next day, after more than 11 hours of walking, the family of four, including a toddler and an older child, didn’t even make it out of Canada. The family was apparently not impoverished, as is the common perception of smuggled migrants, nor were they failed immigrants who lost a battle to stay in Canada, as is the perception of some migration experts. By accounts from India, they were from a large and supportive family with some assets, the father working as a teacher and owning farmland, and left their village just days before being consumed by the cold.  Indian media have identified the victims as Jagdish Patel, 35, his wife, Vaishali, 33, their daughter Vihanga, 12, and son Dharmik, 3...   The deaths are sparking debate in India, with hard questions on why so many are willing to risk so much to leave.  Newspaper accounts say the village of Dingucha and others like it are filled with advertisements and enticements for immigration to Canada, the U.S., Britain and Australia. Many make unrealistic promises of admission to Canadian universities, even without a language certificate.  The ads target the young, who dream of living abroad as a marker of success."
Clearly it's not just India - Canada is also a third world conflict zone, which is why the family needed to risk their lives to flee to the US. No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark, after all. The only solution is for the US to have open borders so anyone can go there to live and doesn't need to risk his life

What 'Squid Game' gets right and wrong about Pakistani migrant workers - ""Some of the issues faced by Ali Abdul appear to be typical" of a low-skilled migrant worker, says Noor Pamiri, a Pakistani immigrant based in New York who works for an organization that serves immigrants and refugees, mostly from South Asia and the Middle East. Ali faces labor exploitation and discrimination and seems to be stuck in a cycle of poverty "despite his hard work and abilities."  One of those abilities, adds Pamiri, is that Ali speaks fluent Korean and knows the culture, "showing that he has spent considerable time in South Korea."  What's less realistic, he adds, is that Ali's wife and child live with him in a small apartment in South Korea. "It's not typical for struggling immigrant workers to bring their families with them" when they go abroad, says Pamiri. What Pakistani journalist Absa Komal finds interesting about the show is that it "brings to light the South Asian culture where family obligation, loyalty and obedience toward family is of utmost importance," she says.  But that mindset does have its challenges, she adds. In many cases, men in South Asia are expected to bear the burden of providing for the whole family – including extended family members such as siblings to close relatives.  That Ali was willing to possibly sacrifice his own life to support his wife and child "stems from those values," she adds. "He ended up on the game because family is beyond everything."...   One thing that rubbed viewers the wrong way was that Ali came off a bit clueless, especially in the marble game, says Lalah Rukh Malik, the Pakistani, U.K.-based founder of the organization Science Fuse.  Ali was unable to "sense the danger" of his situation, she adds — he was too trusting of Sang-woo and was easily tricked by him. It also seemed to take Ali a moment to register the meaning of the Korean words for "odd" and "even" after Sang-woo explained it to him.  "In the game he is shown as someone less intelligent," says Malik. But the reality is that it takes a lot of smarts to be a migrant worker. "This Pakistani character has seen many struggles in his life, yet he figured things out to come to Korea with his family."  That the Pakistani character was shown as "less intelligent" than the other characters "seemed racist to me," she adds. The idea of an Indian actor playing the role of Pakistani migrant did not sit well with Pakistani actor Ahmed Ali Butt. He criticized Squid Game producers for this casting choice... Ali Gul Pir, a comedian based in Pakistan, disagrees: "Our country and our industry is so small as compared to India so it makes sense to choose an Indian actor to play the role as besides physical appearance, he also speaks fluent Korean which was of course one of the prime requirements for casting. He did a complete justice to the character.""
Clearly minorities cannot be written with any flaws, since that is "racist".
It is interesting that Indians aren't allowed to play Pakistanis, even though the 2 countries were the same 7 decades ago. Of course, this rule doesn't apply to white people. If they can't find a Pakistani actor who speaks fluent Korean (even before looking at other requirements), that's on them. They need to look harder.

Global top 50 pizza list honors the pies of an African immigrant in Italy - "After immigrating to Italy from Burkina Faso at age 12, Ibrahim Songne tasted pizza for the first time. His reaction?  Disgust."

Florida Cracks Down on Businesses Transporting Illegal Aliens Around the State - "The Florida Senate has passed legislation that would prohibit government agencies from contracting with companies that are transporting illegal aliens around the state.  Senate Bill 1808 passed along party lines and now heads to the Florida House for discussion and voting."

Freeze them out: Call for boycott of 'woke' US ice-cream company Ben & Jerry's - "Foreign minister James Cleverly tweeted: 'Can I have a large scoop of statistically inaccurate virtue signalling with my grossly overpriced ice cream please'.     Chris Philp, immigration minister, told the ice cream maker to 'stick to ice cream', adding: 'They're 'fleeing' France, which is safe, civilised & has a good asylum system.  'Last year the UK made 20,000 asylum grants. We are the only G7 country to meet the 0.7% aid target & have run the largest refugee resettlement scheme in Europe over the last 5 years. Stick to ice cream.'... hippy Ben & Jerry's came under pressure in 2017 to ensure dairy farms supplying it with milk in Vermont provided humane conditions for their migrant workers.  A survey by Migrant Justice, the farmworkers' advocacy group that lobbied Ben & Jerry's, found that workers in Vermont's dairy industry had been labouring under their own grim circumstances had few days off, did not sleep properly, and also had substandard housing... 'Perhaps if it paid the taxes HMRC thinks you should pay we could afford to accommodate many more asylum seekers.'"

UK-Rwanda migrant deal: UK announces controversial plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda (2022) - "Patel insisted the aim of the agreement was to improve the UK asylum system, which she said has faced "a combination of real humanitarian crises and evil people smugglers profiteering by exploiting the system for their own gains."  When a reporter asked what the criteria would be for relocation, Patel said "we are very clear that everyone who enters the UK illegally will be considered for resettlement and being brought over to Rwanda, I'm not going to divulge specific criteria for a number of reasons.""
Tanzania camp plan for refugees refused UK home (2004) - "A camp in Tanzania could offer a processing point for Somalis seeking asylum as well as a home for failed asylum seekers."
Liberals only care about the rule of law when it suits their agenda
Apparently when a Labour government does it, it's fine

Just 2% of migrants will be sent to Rwanda under existing rules | News | The Times - "Fewer than 200 illegal immigrants would be sent to Rwanda each year under existing asylum rules, according to an analysis of Home Office figures.  Migrants set for removal to the African country would be those judged “inadmissible” to the asylum system. The rules, introduced in January last year, apply to those arriving illegally via a “safe” country such as France... Home Office sources stress that one of the grounds for deciding if a migrant is inadmissible is that there is a realistic chance of removing them to a safe country. They say the deal struck with Rwanda would increase the number deemed inadmissible because it gives a realistic chance of removing them.  The Refugee Council also estimates, using figures from the Home Office and Crown Prosecution Service, that plans to criminalise asylum seekers who cross the Channel in small boats could result in 19,000 people sentenced to up to four years in prison.  The Nationality and Borders Bill, which reaches its final parliamentary stages this week with a series of votes, will create a criminal offence that would apply to all those who are intercepted in the Channel without prior authorisation to enter the UK. Currently, most migrants who cross in small boats are intercepted by the Border Force, coastguard or Navy, meaning they do not enter the country illegally because they have been assisted by the authorities. The Refugee Council estimates that the annual cost of prosecuting and jailing 19,288 migrants for crossing the Channel could reach £835 million... A Home Office spokesman said: “Our broken asylum system, which is currently costing the UK taxpayer £1.5 billion a year. Rwanda will process claims in accordance with human rights laws. It means those arriving dangerously, illegally or unnecessarily can be relocated to have their asylum claims considered and, if recognised as refugees, build their lives there... Priti Patel, the home secretary, accused the BBC of showing “undercurrents” of xenophobia in its reporting of the Rwanda deal. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, she said: “When you hear the critics start to stereotype, start to generalise, first of all, that’s all very offensive. It’s deeply offensive, and it’s based on ignorance and prejudice, some of this, in my view.”"

UK asylum plan defended by Rwandan Anglican archbishop - "Archbishop Laurent Mbanda said it was not immoral and Rwanda was ready to welcome people needing a home.  He said many Rwandans had lived in exile because of the genocide in the 1990s, so they understood the issues faced by people fleeing their homes... The Anglican Churches in Africa have an increasingly tense relationship with their mother church over Biblical interpretations of issues like same-sex marriage.  Archbishop Mbanda says he believes that as colonial days are over, the African churches have to think and speak for themselves. The Anglican Church, the cleric says, is led by one among equals, and that it is time for the African churches to challenge their mother church, not waiting for the Archbishop of Canterbury to tell them what to do.  During his Easter sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, the Most Reverend Justin Welby had suggested the UK's asylum plan was "ungodly".  This was followed by a joint letter signed by the UK Anglican bishops, which said the country could not outsource its ethical responsibilities."
Minority voices only count when they spout the liberal agenda

The Myth Of The Filthy Migrant
A "myth" is anything a liberal does not like. No empirical evidence at all is presented that this is a myth, just alleged contradictions (based on selective quoting) and how perceptions changed as facts changed (weird, I thought we are told that science is constantly updating itself and that this is a feature and not a bug)

Syrians face deportation from Turkey after posting videos of themselves eating bananas - "Seven Syrians are facing deportation from Turkey after they posted videos of themselves eating bananas, in a bizarre escalation of an ongoing row over the lifestyle of refugees.  According to Turkish media reports, the seven Syrians were detained in the western port city of Izmir on charges of “threatening public order and security."  In recent weeks, some members of Syria's refugee community in Turkey have been posting videos online of banana-eating as a way of mocking Turks who feel that Syrians enjoy a more affluent life than they do.   The trend began when a viral video appeared on Oct 17 which showed an argument between a group of Turks and a young Syrian woman in Istanbul.  “You’re living comfortably. I can’t eat a banana, you’re buying kilos of bananas," says one Turk in the video as she berates the Syrian.  In what may have been an attempt at a humorous response - which has now backfired - Syrians have been filming themselves munching on bananas in TikTok videos, which sometimes play the audio of the original street argument in the background."

18 dead after migrants storm border between Morocco and Spanish enclave - "Around 2,000 migrants tried to storm the border fence around the Spanish territory of Melilla in North Africa on Friday, in a violent-two hour skirmish with officers during which 18 migrants were killed and scores more from both sides were injured.  It marks the biggest attempt to breach the European Union's southernmost land border since Spain and Morocco ended a diplomatic crisis in March. According to authorities in Melilla, around 500 migrants reached the border fence, which at one point was broken open with a bolt cutter, with some 130 people managing to reach Spanish territory.  Sources from Spain’s Guardia Civil border force in Melilla described the breach as “perfectly organised and violent”...   There have been numerous such incidents at the border of Melilla and Ceuta, autonomous Spanish cities that border Morocco. On one day in May 2021 some 8,000 people, including migrants and Moroccan citizens, took advantage of an absence of Moroccan security forces to enter Ceuta in the midst of the diplomatic crisis between Madrid and Rabat."
Clearly racism. Migrant lives matter

Switzerland: Foreigners make up 58% of all adults convicted in 2019 - "According to a study published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (OFS), adult foreigners represent 57.8 percent of all adults convicted in 2019.  Of all adults sentenced in 2019 for violating the law on narcotics, foreigners were responsible for 57.9 percent of cases. In the case of traffic law, it was 52 percent.   When it comes to the country of origin, most perpetrators were from South-West Africa. According to the statistics, the rate is 30 per thousand, meaning that out of 1,000 people from Southwest Africa, 30 have committed an offense. People from West African countries come second with a rate of 21.7 per thousand. In the following places are Jamaicans (20.5), Haitians (19), immigrants from the Dominican Republic and Yemen (17.7), and South Africans (17.6). The North African nations are in 8th place, whereas they were in 3rd place in the last survey.   The number of immigrants from the former Yugoslavia convicted of a crime has decreased to 7.6 people per thousand, which is 0.3 per thousand less than the previous year.  British and Canadian (1.2), American (1.4), Swedish, and Dutch (1.6) nationals are among the least represented in criminal conviction statistics. People of Indian nationality have the lowest conviction rate at 0.9 people per thousand, while in the case of the Swiss, it is 2.6 people per thousand.  Foreigners make up a large percentage of the population of Switzerland, accounting for 25.1 percent of all residents"

A conspiracy of silence about the impact of mass migration has cost Britain dear - "Twenty years ago this week, a new campaign organisation made its presence felt with a prediction that rocked the political establishment. Migration Watch UK said that Britain could expect more than two million immigrants every 10 years for the foreseeable future unless curbs were introduced.  The founder, Sir Andrew (now Lord) Green, a former diplomat who was alarmed by the apparent trends, and David Coleman, the Oxford University demographer, extrapolated on the net migration figures since Labour had taken office in 1997 to make the forecast. The story was sufficiently dramatic to warrant front-page treatment in this newspaper and was instantly denounced, not only by migrant groups but by the Home Office itself.  As it turned out, the prediction was indeed wide of the mark. The increase was far greater. Since 2002, the population of the UK has grown by around eight million and 80 per cent can be attributed directly or indirectly to immigration. Yet, until Migration Watch pushed its way into the public discourse, no one was allowed to talk about this issue. At the 2001 general election, party leaders were required to sign a pledge promising not to “play the race card” during the campaign, which effectively meant any debate about the impact of large scale immigration was shut down.  Of course, immigration had been a divisive issue in British politics before. In the late 1960s Enoch Powell had warned of “rivers of blood” flowing from a failure to confront it. Various Acts of Parliament were introduced to limit the rights of Commonwealth citizens to enter the UK freely and, from 1971 to 1997, net immigration averaged about 50,000 a year.  This was why Migration Watch’s claim that it would soon be running at four times that figure was so explosive. By the following election, in 2005, the issue could no longer be ignored. The accession of the former Warsaw Pact states to the EU and the UK’s open door to immigration saw a massive increase, even though the Labour government insisted it would have little effect.  The people who ignored this trend and castigated anyone who discussed it are the same people who today demand that more money is spent on the public services to sustain such a large population. This was never primarily a matter of culture, though that did matter to many people. Their concerns were dismissed as bigotry by supercilious middle-class “progressives” who regarded it as a welcome boost to the multicultural nation they were keen to build. But, of course, they weren’t competing with the new arrivals for jobs, schools and services.  The population increase over the past 20 years is the fastest in history. Even the post-war baby boom saw only a five million population rise between 1950 and 1970. There is an argument for high levels of immigration when the population is ageing, in order to sustain the tax base and fill job vacancies. Rising populations boost GDP, though not necessarily on a per capita basis. Overseas nurses, doctors, teachers and other professionals help support the services the growing population needs.  However, the extra hospitals, schools, GP surgeries, houses, transport links and the like that are required for such a large number of people have not been provided in sufficient quantity, which is why there is so much pressure on those services. Even the water shortages that we are facing today are partly a function of a population explosion in London and the South-east fuelled by immigration.   One point that Migration Watch was making in 2002 was that if no one talks about immigration then no planning can be done for the inevitable pressures that it brings.  The fact is that, until the mid-1990s, the actuarial assumptions that underpinned government forecasts of public service requirements were based on an almost steady population. For instance, officials assumed that more homes would be needed because of the break-up of families; but they vastly underestimated the rate of new household formation because the impact of immigration was not taken into account... When the Common Market was established, with free movement as one of its core principles, it was never envisaged that millions of people would move to one European country and settle there...   The progressives, who even now rail against those who supported Leave, should acknowledge their own complicity in pretending that immigration was not an issue."
Damn climate change straining public services!

Meme - Pedro L. Gonzalez @emeriticus: "Thank you Ezra Klein for highlighting that mass immigration isn't necessary to have a thriving society!"
Ezra Klein @ezraklein: "Japan's failures have, in their own way, been overhyped as much as the country's previous successes...Adjusting for demography, the economies of Japan and the United States have grown at about the same rate over the past 30 years."

Meme - "Liberals feel negatively toward immigrants who vote Republican, conservatives feel similarly toward immigrants who vote Democratic"

7 Truths Liberals Will Never Acknowledge About Illegal Immigration - "1. Any sort of legalization or amnesty encourages more illegal aliens to come here During the Reagan administration, we had a “one-time” amnesty that featured promises of security in return for three million illegals getting to become citizens. Today, most estimates seem to put the number of illegals in the United States somewhere between 11-12.5 million...
2. A wall would make a major difference
A wall was never intended to be a fix for illegal immigration in and of itself. To the contrary, it’s a force multiplier. What we see everywhere that we have full fencing up is that illegals overwhelmingly avoid those areas. In other words, you can use a wall to direct illegals to certain areas and concentrate the border patrol in those areas
3. Illegal aliens hurt the poorest American workers
4. Illegal immigration is almost entirely about votes for liberals...
7. If you’re not willing to deport people today, you won’t be willing to deport them tomorrow
The argument we’ve been getting for the last 32 years on illegal immigration is that if we do an amnesty for illegals today, then we’ll start deporting people afterward. Except it never works like that. NEVER – and why would it?"

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