THE TIMES BACKPEDALS ON IMMIGRATION

THE TIMES BACKPEDALS ON IMMIGRATION

BY JOHN HINDERAKER IN ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, IMMIGRATION, LIBERALS

Democrats saw what happened in Europe last week, and they can read the polls. The Biden administration’s policy of mass illegal immigration is hugely unpopular, and after nearly four feckless years, the Democrats are finally going to pay a price. So this morning’s New York Times email suggests that it is time to change course.

The Times begins by acknowledging that current levels of immigration (legal and illegal) are more or less unprecedented:

The first thing to understand is how unusual the modern migration boom has been. In nearly every large Western country, the foreign-born share of the population has risen sharply since 1990. It’s not clear whether immigration has ever previously risen so quickly in so many different countries.

A chart follows. In the U.S., the foreign-born share had risen from 9% to 15% as of 2020–no doubt it has risen further since then–and that assumes that all of the illegals are being counted.

The Times claims, briefly, that the unprecedented wave of immigration has had benefits. But it goes on to acknowledge some of the negative effects:

But the boom has also had downsides. More labor competition can obviously hurt the workers who already live in a country. Governments have strained to provide social services to the arrivals. And the rise in immigration has been so rapid that many citizens feel uncomfortable with the associated societal changes. Historically, major immigration increases tend to spark political backlashes.

Given that those concerns are obviously valid, what follows is jarring:

For years, mainstream Western politicians, from the center-right to the center-left to the left, have dismissed voters’ concerns about immigration. Some politicians describe it as a free lunch, with only economic benefits and no costs. They portray worries about immigration — worries shared by millions of people of different races, especially those with lower incomes — as inherently ignorant or xenophobic. Some politicians claim that governments are helpless to control their borders.

So wait: is the Times admitting that the majority who don’t like illegal immigration aren’t racists after all? Can we look forward to some corrections and an apology?

The Times says that the left’s refusal to turn off the illegal immigration spigot has driven the popularity of conservative (“right wing”) parties, which is true. But, the Times says, it is time for a change. It harkens back to the dim past of the Obama administration:

It wasn’t so long ago that the political left and center took a different approach to immigration.

They treated it as a complex issue that required moderation. President Barack Obama and Senator Bernie Sanders both fell into this category. They were part of a progressive tradition dating to labor and civil rights leaders who celebrated immigrants — but also supported tough border security, believing that unchecked immigration could destabilize society and increase inequality.

We conservatives have been pointing out that history for a long time.

There are some signs that the center-left and center-right are returning to this approach and becoming more respectful of public opinion:

* Biden, after loosening border rules early in his presidency and watching migration soar, has reversed himself.

The paper goes on to describe trends toward greater restrictions in the United Kingdom, the European Union, Greece, Japan and South Korea. But of course the Times’s real concern is the Democratic Party and the November election. The point of this recitation is to signal approval by the Left of Biden’s insincere reversal on the border, and to encourage Biden to keep it up.

But I think it is much too late for that to matter.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/06/the-times-backpedals-on-immigration.php