Gonzalez: "Peel away the myths and idealistic abstractions...and immigration, as a contemporary political issue, is about power and profit."

NumbersUSA has always sought to encourage "a civil forum for Americans of all political and ethnic backgrounds to focus on a single issue, the numerical level of U.S. immigration." Unfortunately, we've seen a continuing trend towards less open discussion that recognizes only narrow, pre-approved narratives. So when we see content urging a debate that is elevated over profits and power, we are excited to share it with you.

In his op-ed "Immigration Politics: Wishful Thinking?", Pedro L. Gonzalez explores immigration politics viewed through the lens of Machiavellianism and explains how things in Congress must change:

"Setting aside the Democratic Party's broken promises of hope and change, its policies maintain one concrete constant: electoral power through demography. Immigration overwhelmingly favors Democrats. It also makes possible the luxury economies of progressive citadels like New York and San Francisco, where recent immigrants disproportionately fill urban service jobs with high turnover rates. This is a revolving door of inequality sustained only by a constant infusion of fresh blood from abroad in the service of a mostly white overclass elite. Republicans, of course, are happy to provide the human cogs for this miserable machine, singing praises to our "founding principles" all the way. Far from humanitarianism, this scheme is fundamentally dehumanizing for all involved.

Burnham announced in the preface of his study of Machiavellianism "that only by renouncing all ideology can we begin to see the world and man." Looking behind the veil of "principles" and "progress" put on by Republicans and Democrats alike, it becomes clear that neither party wants to create immigration policy that elevates people - Americans and immigrants alike - above profit and power. For that to change, the formal framework in which debates over immigration occur must be deconstructed, penetrated and discarded." [emphasis added]

On Tuesday night, Gonzalez held a live stream discussing his op-ed. You can watch it in full here.

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