# How should we view immigration? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 9, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322 "2026-03-09T19:51:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/21 "2026-03-09T23:19:46Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > The real debate is that a lot of these countries have very left-leaning governments and that sing the United States in a relatively short period of time. Sing the United States? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/22 "2026-03-09T23:27:11Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Sing the United States? Swing ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/23 "2026-03-09T23:33:28Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > would like to see criminal activity severely discouraged. I believe immigrants coming to another country and then engaging in crime should lose their status, back they go. Why should the country who offered you safe haven have to pay to keep you in prison? > > Their family can stay, but you can’t return, they’ll have to come see you. > > They bring crimes our police services aren’t really familiar with, and it gets a big foothold before the police services catch up to something unfamiliar. Every set of statistics I’ve seen says that immigrants commit a lower percentage of crimes than do citizens born here. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/24 "2026-03-09T23:34:37Z")
The massive influence of socialistic German immigrants in the late 1800s is responsible for our current left-leading tendencies. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/25 "2026-03-09T23:38:45Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > They bring crimes our police services aren’t really familiar with Such as? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/26 "2026-03-09T23:45:04Z")
Well, currently several south Asian communities are awash in extortion rings. Have been for a few years, only now are the police catching up. Part of the issue is often communities come from places where the police cannot be trusted, so they are easily victimized. And afraid to speak out. And it’s other South Asians. And those people deserve harsh circumstances because victimizing your own, in such a way, is especially heinous, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/27 "2026-03-09T23:48:07Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Well, currently several south Asian communities are awash in extortion rings And American criminals never thought of extortion before they got here? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/28 "2026-03-09T23:49:51Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > It’s in the US’s economic interest to increase population through immigration. It’s clear we need the workforce. This is assuming your immigrants will be joining the workforce (i.e. not retired, not elderly). Codifying that assumption means restricting immigration. Re: criminality, like a lot of other Americans, my ancestors joined low-level criminal groups (serving the Mafia, but not part of it) for a couple of generations until, basically, the collective English was good enough to pursue other options. Over time, I think our non-criminal activities outweigh the drawbacks of my ancestors’ criminality. Bootlegging / speakeasies & rackets / theft were the main things I’m aware of. Bootlegging sounds romantic now but is producing & distributing mild intoxicants, so not dissimilar from the softer drugs in the drug trade. Not that we want more criminals, but I think some is inevitable as people try to survive in a new language & culture, and that it’s not as black-and-white an issue as it seems on the surface. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/29 "2026-03-10T00:01:30Z")
I think it’s very difficult for elderly people to leave their social circle at home to come to the US for…what? Our strong social safety net? They wouldn’t be eligible for Medicare or Social Security. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/30 "2026-03-10T00:01:43Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Part of the issue is often communities come from places where the police cannot be trusted, so they are easily victimized. Fortunately, some cities have built trust by not deporting the people who report crimes, preferring to find and punish the criminals instead. Those cities are called “Sanctuary Cities” and are hugely popular with people who think that fighting crime is important. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/31 "2026-03-10T00:06:51Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > The real debate is that a lot of these countries have very left-leaning governments and that sing the United States in a relatively short period of time. So your thinking is that immigrants from countries with left-leaning governments will vote for Democrats and therefore swing elections in America? First of all, you really can’t predict how people will vote based on where they come from. Second, just how many immigrants do you expect that they could swing an election? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/32 "2026-03-10T00:17:00Z")
Huh? I’m just in favour of deterrence, you don’t HAVE to deport any one. Such a threat would be enough, in my opinion, to deter lots of criminal activity. Policing and prisons need change going forward, what we have seems unsustainable. Courts backed up years, criminals paroled because the jails are over crowded. Budget squeezes, citizens demanding action. I think changes must come. A quasi draconian consequence, enforced once in five years, seems to me would reduce these crimes, without clogging courts and parole boards. I’m just saying we need to think in different ways maybe. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/33 "2026-03-10T00:18:45Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > So your thinking is that immigrants from countries with left-leaning governments will vote for Democrats and therefore swing elections in America? First of all, you really can’t predict how people will vote based on where they come from. Second, just how many immigrants do you expect that they could swing an election? It’s not just the immigrants, they have influence far beyond their numbers in political capital. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/34 "2026-03-10T00:25:20Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I think it’s very difficult for elderly people to leave their social circle at home to come to the US for…what? Our To be near their children who have emigrated. We have threads on this board for people looking to retire abroad. Maybe not a ton of 98-year-olds, but plenty of people in their sixties might. Also, this may surprise you: people don’t always do great research before making huge decisions. Sometimes they try but rely on incorrect information, especially if told by a person they trust. How many current immigrants knew exactly or even mostly what it would be like? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/35 "2026-03-10T00:54:40Z")
Sorry. Didn’t mean to dump on you in particular. Deterrence of crime is a good idea; there’s lots of people (not you) proposing ideas that deter reporting crimes ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/36 "2026-03-10T01:10:04Z")
doesn’t that sound like early 20th century Italian immigration (nee Mafia)? ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/37 "2026-03-10T01:34:37Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > This is assuming your immigrants will be joining the workforce (i.e. not retired, not elderly). Codifying that assumption means restricting immigration. I think we have this in place now. There’s different paths to entry (visas and lotteries). I don’t know that the US would be inundated with elderly. > [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Re: criminality Sorry my previous post wasn’t clear. My main concern is unreported violent crime in the undocumented communities because they are afraid to call the authorities. This is part of the bigger problem that they won’t (and sometimes can’t) use the services available to the rest of us. Not just government services, but also doctors and banks. * * * The current situation is a stalemate between Dems and Pubs, but it’s completely unfair to the undocumented workers. Many pay taxes, but can’t make use of the services or social security. While the rest subsidize us by working under the table. If we need immigration to grow our country and economy (and we do), then we should admit it and increase legal immigration, pay the full cost of the labor, and pay for the unused services. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan\_myers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@aruvqan\_myers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan_myers)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/38 "2026-03-10T02:13:13Z")
Well, east coast western NY, south of a reasonable major city, a ‘farm town’ though now it is also a bedroom community, there are currently 3 farms for sale by bank auction [forclosure] so right there could be 3 extended families [grandparents, parents, kids - hell throw in the Koran allowed 4 wives] placed. Not the only small town in an otherwise modern state that has empty properties. Not every farm needs to be 10 000 acres with huge combine harvesters - orchards use moderately small row orchard tractors. We have thanks to MAGAts a distinct lack of migrant workers to harvest what farms and orchards we do have. SO - Ali and Fatima, his 4 sons, their 4 wives, and assorted kids end up on a 250 acre farm with an orchard upon it. Kids go to school, 4 sons work the orchard and the wives garden for home use. Sort of how it was before WW2. Organic fruit, locovores can be thrilled. THey can do the custom subscription organic farm shit that has been so popular. Why should it be so frelling difficult? Because they are not all multibillionaires who want to own a few tens of thousands of acres of agribusiness? They won’t be starting billion dollar factories but they can move in, farm, work in stores, pretty much what any of us ‘normal’ nonrich folks do. ---
**Author:** ![Mavis\_Topholese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7feea3/32.png) [@Mavis\_Topholese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mavis_Topholese)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/39 "2026-03-10T03:06:20Z")
like the Cuban immigrants in Florida, or are more conservative immigrant communities somehow not part of your equation? You can’t assume someone’s going to vote according to the politics of a country they just left. I mean, people move to other nations for all kinds of reasons, and anyway, the politics of other countries simply don’t match up to those of the United States on a one to one basis. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322/40 "2026-03-10T04:18:37Z")
I don’t know what a poll would read, but it seems working-class Hispanics slightly favor democrats but college educated Hispanics tend to be further left than main stream democrats, and they have had a strong influence on politics. So, if you are conservative, you would want to cut back on the numbers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-we-view-immigration/1028322.md?page=3)