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In this important and provocative book, America’s leading populist conservative author makes a compelling case that America as we know it is being irrevocably changed by uncontrolled immigration. His focus, of course, is on the Southwest, where Mexicans are reclaiming lands lost to the United States more than 150 years ago. They are doing it by simply walking across the border, bringing their families and culture with them. George W. Bush has essentially refused to enforce our immigration laws. The Mexican government is happy to use the United States as a safety valve for relieving pressures brought about by its failed economic policies, and to have U.S. dollars sent back to Mexico. Many businesses are pleased to have cheap, hard-working laborers. America-hating elites would love to see the United States disappear anyway. The raw numbers are awesome. There are more illegal aliens in America today than all the English, Irish and Jewish immigrants who arrived during the 400 years since Plymouth Rock. More important than the numbers themselves is the mindset of the people who come, and the nature of the culture that receives them. More and more, the new entrants have no wish to assimilate and learn English, and American culture tells them that is just fine; indeed, it is their right. Some Americans feel a sense of guilt that we occupy land once claimed by Mexico. But destroying the greatest and free-est country in the world is not an intelligent way to assuage that guilt. In an incredible speech in Madrid in 2002, Mexican president Vicente Fox railed about the "Anglo-American prejudice" against creating a sort of European Union for Mexico and the United States. This is not a recipe for improving the wages of working Americans when we consider that the per capita GDP gap between the U.S. and Mexico is the biggest of any two large neighboring countries on earth. Buchanan has plenty of suggestions for fixing the problem. Fence and patrol the border. Deny welfare benefits to illegals. Penalize employers who knowingly hire illegals. Stop allowing citizenship to "anchor babies" who are carried across the border by their still-pregnant mothers. Take a ten-year time out from immigration (except in limited cases) to assimilate the immigrants we already have. This sounds like Yankee common sense. Buchanan is not against all immigration. But he believes, along with the Founding Fathers, that first and foremost, immigrants should want to become Americans. The test must be whether the immigrants make America a better place for all Americans, not just whether an alien would like better health benefits. Do we have the will to preserve our country? As Toynbee said, civilizations perish when they fail to resolve the crisis of the age. (St. Martins Press, 2006, 270 pp., $24.95) |
Why is the greatest military and economic power on earth impotent to stop them? Why are we closing emergency rooms built for our own citizens and teaching the language of the invaders in U.S. schools?
