Jason Riley Assails Myths of Immigration

In a provocative new book, Jason Riley makes the case for welcoming more legal immigrants to the United States. Drawing on history, scholarly studies and first-hand reporting, Riley argues that today's newcomers are fueling America's prosperity and dynamism. He challenges the prevailing views on talk radio and cable TV that immigrants are overpopulating the country, stealing jobs, depressing wages, bankrupting social services, filling prisons, resisting assimilation and promoting big government.

This video was produced by Caleb Brown ( http://www.twitter.com/cobrown ) and Austin Bragg ( http://www.twitter.com/habragg ).

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[peepnklown]

Immigration made this country. America can afford and has afforded loosing jobs to efficiency, machines, etc so the whole loosing jobs to immigrations is a faulty squabble.

[migkillertwo]

@madhoyden

But male illegal immigrants are FAR more likely to be impoverished, and yet they have statistically low crime rates.

Perhaps it is our welfare state that subsidizes crime.

[KofiNateDogg]

We need to let people in and to come out of the shadows so we know everyone who is in the country. At present we have a Black Market in foreign labor that too many employers favor so that they won't stand up for their rights as employees or quit for a better paying job. So we have gone from reverse discrimination against White People to reverse discrimination against all Americans!

[PHOTOGRASPER]

@BeccaRose52 either you're for small, limited govt, or you're for big nanny-state govt. frankly, I don't care what nationality the moocher is -- It's all wrong.

...and Truly free countries don't need walls to keep people in or out.

[BeccaRose52]

Immigration has always been an acceptable process in the U.S.; however, you have people who cross our borders illegally to take advantage hardworking Americans such as welfare, free housing, education, medical, food, gas, vehicles, etc. at the expense of the American taxpayer. Illegals should be prosecuted for breaking the law and sent back to their own country. This man is full of liberal hot air which causes global warming. You can't make a country prosperous by people living off of others.

[Emeradisles]

Dude you Would say/ do anything to sell that book which is patently obvious! You sit up in your office reading about life while the rest of us are out here trying to survive it. Thank God we know the truth! We see it ally. Yes increased crime, welfare doles, Job loss (especially Construction)decrease in property values and quality neighborhoods. . ILLEGAL immigration is NOT good! Controlled immigration is very good for our country and always has been, uncontrolled is lawlessness run amok !

[hombreenojado]

Who's not welcoming immigrants? I don't consider persons entering the country illegally, working under falsified documents & stolen social security number while sending a large percentage of their earnings abroad via Western Union immigrants. Immigrants assimilate, joining their own culture wile becoming "Americanized". After all, that's what the Irish, German, Italian, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese etc. all did. So... why the special deal with this bunch?

[madhoyden]

Personally, I think most crimes are a symptom of poverty than illegal immigration. If you look at the rate of incareration rates of white and blacks, you'll find blacks have higher incareration rates who are more likely to be impoverished.

[UcanbeGOD]

Ya gotta love this drivel. His argument is as follows: Illegal immigrants do not increase the crime rate, in fact it has gone down.

Let's do what the speaker did in this video and ignore the outright crime of immigration to begin with and figure out how immigration decreases crime. How likely is it that adding people of a different race/culture to an area DEcreases crime?

[quaffer22]

There is a big & recognizable difference in the job market of the 1800's and todays job market. Our country has been exporting the major sources of employment to oversea workers.

This in effect trickles down to the buisnesses that depended on those employers' employees for survival.

America cannot afford to lose ANY jobs to foreign workers, nor import ANY source of employment. Immigration, legal or otherwise, is further depriving our citizens of even the most menial of jobs.