The May 17th edition of The John Carlson Show revealed the truer feelings of its host: opposition to immigration generally, and latin-american immigration in particular based mainly on cultural, nativist sentiment. The second hour of that show featured a discussion of a bill pending in the US Senate that would increase the allowable level of legal immigration from the current one million per year to up to several times that level. Carlson portrayed this change as offensive and unnecessary, wishing that the Senate could just vote on the single issue of fortifying the border.
At one point, a caller pointed out that Carlson's opposition to increased legal immigration ran counter to his previously announced goals:
CALLER: Part of our take on this is has been that we don't care if people immigrate, we encourage immigration, we just don't want illegal immigration. And they're talking about legal immigrants.
CARLSON: Yes, but there's an important point you left out. Assimilation. You can assimilate a million a year. Can you assimilate 20 million a year? Or 10 million a year?
Students of American history know that this is nothing new. There have been numerous periods where political figures have used immigration as an emotional tool. While the ethnic group at fault has varied widely between Irish, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese, the root cause has been consistent: a sizable portion of the population has an easily-stoked fear of change caused by foreigners who arrive in America with new, unfamiliar languages and customs. Hispanic immigrants are no different that previous groups - new arrivals have always tended to settle in groups and the first generation has the most difficult time learning the language and adopting the core customs of their new home. However, within the first few generations, their differences become less and less pronounced and they become just another part of the melting pot.
What's so amazing in this case is how right-wingers who place so much faith in the free market would completely overlook its impact in this case. The current rate of illegal immigration is a clear sign that the system for legal immigration is broken. There is a huge demand around the world to migrate to the U.S., and an equal demand within the economy to employ those who want to come. However, the current immigration caps and massively frustrating INS bureaucracy have failed to keep up. And that demand crosses all ethnic, educational, and socio-economic lines. Go to any major company in the area and ask them how hard it is to get work visas for even highly trained employees. They'll tell you that they have a huge number of immigration attorneys on staff who's sole job it is to help foreign-born employees to navigate the byzantine processes required for legal immigration. It is no wonder that low-skill people resort to illegal immigration when it takes such a huge investment of resources for even the most talented people to become citizens.
But none of this answers why immigration has suddenly become the primary focus of right-wing radio and blogging. The simplest explanation is that it is an easy change of subject, and provides a face-saving way for conservatives to escape from the failure of George Bush without admitting the failure of the conservative policies they have promoted over the last 10 years. From Iraq to the economy to the federal budget, there is little to be proud of. Immigration provides an oppotunity to rage against "The Others" and offers a handy relief valve for their frustrations and a convenient group on which to affix blame.