Illegal Immigration

Even for this administration, said Andrew Sullivan in The Atlantic Online, it was one of the 'œbiggest gaffes in a long, long time.' For years, President Bush has urged that this country adopt a guest-worker program that would open our borders to millions of immigrants who are willing to do work that most Americans won't. Most hard-core conservatives adamantly disagree, and want the borders shut and sealed. Last week, presidential advisor Karl Rove explained the White House's rationale thus: 'œI don't want my 17-year-old son to have to pick tomatoes or make beds in Las Vegas.' Imagine what Fox News or Matt Drudge would have made of that remark had it been uttered by a liberal Democrat such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Yet it went virtually unnoticed. But it shouldn't have. By speaking too candidly, Rove has exposed what the Republican Party's pro-business wing really thinks about immigration.

Those sentiments are inexcusable, said Mark Krikorian in National Review Online. Don't misunderstand me. 'œIt's not that I want my kids to make careers of picking tomatoes; Mexican farm workers don't want that, either.' But Rove's condescension points up what's wrong with Bush's immigration philosophy. Traditionally, conservatives have valued 'œhard work, thrift, and sobriety.' This administration, however, has apparently abandoned the notion that there's virtue and nobility in honest labor. Instead, it has adopted the patronizing attitude that the hardest, dirtiest jobs have to be outsourced to people desperate enough to do them. It's practically the American dream in reverse—an unequal society of masters and servants 'œfor which little brown people have to be imported from abroad.'

Like it or not, that's the reality of the labor market, said Ruben Navarrette in The San Diego Union-Tribune. Bush's critics would have you believe that for the right price, 'œAmericans would leave their desk jobs' and wash dishes, cut meat in factories, and yes, pick tomatoes in the hot sun. That's pure nonsense. Illegal or not, most immigrants have a very different work ethic from those born in this country. One employer told me that when she tried to hire native-born workers, she was barraged with questions: 'œHow much does this job pay? What are the benefits? How much vacation do I get?' When she took on immigrants, they asked only, 'œHow much work can you give me?' Employers shouldn't hire illegal help, but you can certainly understand why they do.