EDITORnThomas FlemingnASSOCIATE EDITORnTheodore PappasnSENIOR EDITOR, BOOKSnChilton Williamson, ]r.nEDITORIAL ASSISTANTnEmily Grant AdamsnART DIRECTORnAnna Mycek-WodeckinCONTRIBUTING EDITORSnJohn W. Aldridge, Harold O.J.nBrown, Katherine Dalton, SamuelnFrancis, George Garrett, Russell Kirk,nE. Christian Kopff, Clyde WilsonnCORRESPONDING EDITORSnJanet Scott Barlow, Odie Faulk,nJane Greer, John Shelton ReednEDITORIAL SECRETARYnLeann DobbsnPUBLISHERnAllan C. CarlsonnPUBLICATION DIRECTORnGuy C. ReffettnCOMPOSITION MANAGERnAnita FedoranCIRCULATION MANAGERnRochelle FranknA publication of The Rockford Institute.nEditorial and Advertising Offices: 934 NorthnMain Street, Rockford, IL 61103.nEditorial Phone: (815) 964-5054.nAdvertising Phone: (815) 964-5811.nSubscription Department: P.O. Box 800, MountnMorris, IL 61054. Call 1-800-877-5459.nFor information on advertising in Chronicles,nplease call Cathy Corson at (815) 964-5811.nU.S.A. Newsstand Distribution by Eastern NewsnDistributors, Inc., 1130 Cleveland Road,nSandusky, OH 44870.nCopyright © I99I by The Rockford Institute.n’ All rights reserved.nChronicles (ISSN 0887-5731) is publishednmonthly for $24 per year by The RockfordnInstitute, 934 North Main Street, Rockford, ILn61103-7061. Second-class postage paid atnRockford, IL and additional mailing offices.nPOSTMASTER: Send address changes tonChronicles, P.O. Box 800, Mount Morris, ILn61054.nThe views expressed in Chronicles are thenauthors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect thenviews of The Rockford Institute or of itsndirectors. Unsolicited manuscripts cannot benreturned unless accompanied by a self-addressednstamped envelope.nChroniclesnA MAGAZINE OF A M E I K A N CULIUItfn4/CHRONICLESnVol. 15, No. 12 December 1991nOn Immigration’nPOLEMICS & EXCHANGESnIn “The Impact of Immigration onnHispanic-Americans” (July 1991),nRichard Estrada seems to think he holdsnthe trump card in the debate over opennborders with his revelation that Hispanic-Americansnthemselves favor immigrationncontrols. He quotes Mexican-nAmerican Herminio Munoz: “Wenthink there is going to be a lot morenwork for us this year because of the law.nIn the past many of the farmers paid lessnbecause they could get all the workersnthey wanted. We have to believe the lawnis good.”nBut what’s the discovery here? It’snobvious that these workers would seenbenefit in laws that prevent other workersnfrom competing with them. I couldnbenefit a lot if all American journalistsnwith three-syllable surnames werendeported by state decree. Since I don’tnfall into that category, I would enjoy thenhigher wages created by the increasedndemand for my journalism skills. Butnwould such a decree be justified?nEstrada asserts that immigrants windnup poverty-stricken “garage people,”nbut he doesn’t consider that living in angarage in America might be a better lifenthan the immigrant’s previous condition.n(Besides, many immigrants donbetter than “garage people.”)nWe shouldn’t deprive foreigners ofnthe opportunity to improve their livesnfor the benefit of those who would gainnfrom a restricted job market. Especiallynif, as Julian Simon explains, increasednimmigration actually helps the nation asna whole.n— Elliot FusnChapel Hill, NCnMr. Estrada Replies:nInstead of using irony in calling for thendeportation of three-syllable-surnamednjournalists, why does Mr. Fus not forthrightlynadvance his open-immigrationnbeliefs by lobbying for the annual importationnof, say, three hundred thousandnjournalists (with any number ofnsyllables in their surnames)? Perhapsnnnthen he could persuade the remainingntwo of the top three professions that arenmost supportive of massive immigrationnto lobby for the entry of three hundrednthousand economists and three hundrednthousand lawyers. Then, members,nof all three professions would be in anperfect position to accost Mexican-nAmerican migrant worker HerminionMufioz in the fields and chastise himnfor lamenting the flooded labor marketnin which he toils.nJulian Simon is a professor of businessnadministration. Immigration expertsnwho happen to be labor economistsnand demographers find his worknon immigration shoddy. Or intellectuallyndishonest. (They do not hold thisnopinion about all immigration writersnwho are for massive immigration.) Thenargument that no matter how degradednthe immigrants’ condition here may be,nthey are still happier and better off herenthan where they came from — and that,nanyway, their presence is good for theneconomy as a whole — is precisely thensame argument that was used to justifynslavery in the plantation South. Butnhistory and its lessons, like labor marketneconomics and demography, elude Mr.nSimon.nIf Americans today are to nurture thentraditional democratic values and institutionsnwe inherited, we must fight thenongoing slide into a society of haves andnhave-nots that massive immigration fosters.nIn seeking a balanced approach tonone of the thorniest issues of our day, Inargued for a prudent reduction in thenlevels of immigration, a curtailment thatnwould (at the ceiling I proposed) continuento honor the U.S. role as thenworld’s premier receiver of immigrantsnand refugees. I am opposed to shuttingndown the borders, and said so in mynarticle. My position continues to be thatnCongress should prudently curtail thenlevels of legal immigration, while thenlaws against illegal immigration shouldnbe rigorously enforced. Finally, of thosenwho would make no distinction betweennlegal and illegal immigration, wenshould hasten to ask what other lawsnthey would seek to disregard at will.n