“make it seem as if immigration is a free liineh for Americans.rn. . . ITlic”] simpK- failed to mention that the hulk of the increasernin the GNP [due to immigration! goes to the immigrants thcmseUesrnas wages and salaries, not to the natie born.” The economicrnbenefit to nahves is on the order of one to ten billion dollarsrnannnalK’—tri’ial in an eight-trillion-dollar economyrnMoreover, the economic benefit of immigrahon (growth inrnGNP) ma’ be more than offset b public and social costs. Referringrnto the widening gap bchveen rich and poor, Borjas andrnfreeman explain, “The Academ’ report also concluded that 44rnpercent of the decline in the real wages of high school dropoutsrnfrom 1980 to 1995 resulted from immigration…. There are 13rnmillion such workers.” hnmigration creates w inners and losers:rnEmployers who can substitute cheaper immigrant for natiebornrnlabor win, to the tune of approximatek S140 billion annually.rnAt the same time, workers w hose w ages are driven down hvrnrapid growth in the size of the labor force lose by approxiniateU’rn$133 billion annually. Immigration has negated 40 years ofrnU.S. social policy designed to end poverts’.rnYet the beat goes on. The INS, between August 1995 andrnSeptember 1996, gave citizenship to an estimated 39,000rnineligible aliens, including 11,500 criminals, according to independentrnauditing and consulting firm Peat Marwick. ThernPeat Marwick study found that oer 90 percent of the INS naturalizationrnand processing procedures that resulted in 1.05 millionrnnew U.S. citizens eligible to vote in the 1996 election werernflawed.rnOn November 11-12, 1998, the annual conference of thernState Department’s Office of Refugee Resettlement attractedrn1,200 participants to the Mavflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.rnApproximately half of those present were government officials.rnSTART THErnNEWrnMILLENNIUMrnIN T H ErnETERNAL CITYrnJoinrnThe Rockford Instituternat the Forum Hotel in RomernJanuary 4-9,2001rnas we discussrnthe rise and fall of four Romes,rnwhile exploring the architectural wondersrnof both ancient and Christian Rome.rnSpace is limited; please make your reservations early.rnFor a brochure and pricing, please call Aaron Wolf, director ofrnexternal activities, at (815) 964-5811.rnincluding Secretar of Health and Hmnan Scriccs DonnarnShalala. Speakers and worksho]3s addressed the means brnwhich priatc and goxernmentorganizations could secure publiernhealth-care and welfare programs for refugees (and a.slunirnseekers), and how anti-discrimination legislation could be in-rnoked to circument welfare limits and prevent the denial ofrnbenefits.rnSecretarv Shalala stated tiiat over 39 percent of active tuberculosisrncases and approximately 60 percent of hepatitis B casesrnin the United States are found in the immigrant population.rnShe suggested that tiie prevalence of disease among immigrantsrncould be used as a wedge to move the l^hiited States toward thernnational health-care model proposed bv Hillary Clinton’srnliealth-care task force in 1993-94.rnOf lesser policy importance, but indicative of the mood, thernmoment of silence at the conference in observance of Veteransrn[^a’ was not for American ets, but rather for Red Armv veteransrn(Russian refugees) who are drawing Supplemental SecuritvrnIncome benefits (SSI) in New York Git)-. In fact, the increasernin SSI benefits to immigrants, especially refugees, is severalrnhundred percent greater than to the native-born popidation.rnThe refugee authorization for 1999 was 78,000 persons, notrnincluding about 20,000 Cubans who entered under a separaternprogram. These refugees entered under the 1989 LautenbergrnAmendment, which grants them immediate entitlement to anyrnbenefit available to citizens, including Social Securitv’. Thosernw^io appl- for asylum after entering the United States are not includedrnin that 78,000; they numbered about 50,000 in 1999.rnThe category system for allocating immigrant and refugeernisas —whether the criteria be countr’ or continent of origin, religiousrnaffiliation, skills, or family reunification—leads to jockeyingrnfor position and logrolling among ethnic, business, andrnother interest groups, and results in larger numbers of newcomersrnand unstoppable population growth. The only strategy thatrnwill stabilize U.S. population size is to enact an all-inclusive immigrationrncap or moratorium. The number need not be zero,rnbecause some people emigrate each year; and the numberrnprobably ought not be zero because American citizens whornmarry foreigners should expect to be able to bring in theirrnspouse after some reasonable period of time. However, the expectationrnthat all “family reunificafion” should occur in thernUnited States rather than in some other country is unreasonable.rnImmigration of 100,000 to 200,000 persons annually isrncompatible with a stable U.S. population.rnBy large majorities, white, black, and Hispanic voters havernendorsed immigration reduction. Nevertheless, the issue hasrnnot become politically salient, unlike, for example, improvingrneducation, saving Social Security, and reducing taxes. Each ofrnthese goals, however, becomes more difficult to achieve as thernimmigrant population grows.rnA vocal minority of wealthy contributors to both major politicalrnparties, representing left and right, have forged an alliancernm support of high levels of immigration. Pro-immigration activistsrnincluding the National .Association of Manufacturers, thernNational Trial Lawyers Association, and “many Jewish groups,”rnaccording to Washington Jewish Week (March 28, 1996), engagedrnin “a concerted lobbying campaign” to preserve the currentrnrefugee and other immigrant flows. Barring a recession,rnthe latent disgruntiement with high levels of immigration is unlikelyrnto coalesce into a strong grassroots movement except inrnthe border states. The mis- and disinformation campaigns havernbeen a resounding success. ^rn24/CHRONICLESrnrnrn