New York Times op-ed conflates welcoming immigrants with mass immigration
Today's "Opinionator" page on the New York Times' website features a column, "Immigrants Welcome Here," by David Bornstein, co-founder of Solutions Journalism Network.
Bornstein has great things to say about the value of welcoming immigrants into our communities:
It’s important for civic or government leaders to bring people from the immigrant and receiving communities together, as well as to train ambassadors who can lead their own successful welcoming activities. And it’s crucial to use media to communicate authentic stories of immigrants and challenge negative stereotypes. Otherwise the conversation is likely to be co-opted by the loudest and angriest voices.
But Bornstein conflates the importance of welcoming immigrants with a "desperate need" to "pass major immigration reform" - by which I assume he means adding a second California's worth of permanent job seekers via legalization and immigration expansion over the next decade.
I think Bornstein's heart is in the right place. But he's largely arguing a straw man. Most Americans like immigration and like immigrants but don't like mass immigration. The real debate is about the limits and how they should be enforced.
JEREMY BECK is the Director of the Media Standards Project for NumbersUSA