# WHY did Illegal Immigration become an Issue Now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 7, 2006, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709 "2006-04-07T13:08:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/1 "2006-04-07T13:08:27Z")
The ability to move things on and off the political front burner is a very powerful tool. Remember how Bill Clinton somehow made eveyone talk about cigarette machines? I do not follow US politics too closely anymore, but I am amazed how important the issue of illegal immigration became so quickly. Who raised this issue first? Why? For that matter, when? It seems I must have been on the plane when all this hit the front pages. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/2 "2006-04-07T13:31:42Z")
There’s an all right [article](http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/060410ta_talk_cassidy) about it in “The New Yorker” this week. The most pertinent tidbit. . . > [@](#): > > For some Republicans, especially those facing midterm elections in predominantly white districts, acting tough on immigration has certain diversionary advantages. “Would I rather be talking about immigration reform with these voters or the war?” the Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio said to Ruth Marcus, of the Washington Post. “Immigration reform or gasoline prices?” Other immigration hawks have more substantive points to make. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/3 "2006-04-07T13:54:04Z")
I thought perhaps it was brought up by the citizen groups who started manning the borders themselves, or perhaps the state leaders of different states who wanted to activate the National Guard to patrol the border. Led by a Democrat, Gov. Napolitano and a Republican, Gov. Jon Huntsman. they petitioned the federal government into doing something to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants. [http://www.westgov.org/](http://www.westgov.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/4 "2006-04-07T14:21:16Z")
Tom Toncredo of Colorado certainly deserves some of the “credit” for flogging this issue. > **[United States | The Economist](https://www.economist.com/united-states?story_id=E1_GSSNPTQ)** > > United States from The Economist. You've seen the news, now discover the story. Partial quotes from the Economist Lexington column: > [@](#): > > Mr Tancredo’s beliefs and behaviour at first consigned him to the margins of Washington life. His immigration caucus attracted only 16 members. He frequently found himself giving speeches on immigration to an empty chamber (though the ever-present C-Span camera made it worthwhile). Karl Rove, Mr Bush’s chief adviser, was so angry about his anti-immigration stance that he told him that he would never “darken the doorstep of the White House” again; and Tom DeLay, the former majority leader and a moderate by Mr Tancredo’s standards, told him that “you cannot think of making a career in this place.” > > It is a measure of how far the immigration debate has moved from head to gut that Mr Tancredo is now in many ways mainstream (and his immigration caucus has 92 members). The House immigration bill didn’t include everything that he hoped for: a fence along the Canadian border, for example. But Mr Tancredo undoubtedly succeeded in defeating House Republicans who wanted to include at least a mention of guest-workers. And his fierce support for “enforcement only” policies is now pushing the Senate bill (and any possible compromise bill) much further in his direction. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/5 "2006-04-07T14:41:17Z")
Presidente Fox and other leaders in Mexico have made it a huge Election issue gor another. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/6 "2006-04-07T15:06:58Z")
I think what the OP is asking, though, is why now? I admit I don’t know either. Illegal immigration, sp. from Mexico, has been going on for years. Why is it such a huge to-do in 2006, and not 2000, or 1996, or 2012? Has something happened - a surge in numbers, some incident, what? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/7 "2006-04-07T15:12:05Z")
As long as the pot is bubbling on the stove, everyone is happy. When the pot boils over, everyone is pissed. We as a country have known this was a problem for years. It was more convenient and politically expeditious for us to bury our head in the sand and ignore it. We can’t do that any longer. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/8 "2006-04-07T15:51:17Z")
Yes, I am asking about the timing of all this. I forgot the Fall elections. The Minuteman thing started a year or two ago. This is their second fifteen minutes of fame. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/9 "2006-04-07T15:52:51Z")
I first noted it when Ranch Rescue [http://www.ranchrescue.com/](http://www.ranchrescue.com/) [http://www.splcenter.org/legal/news/article.jsp?aid=125&site\_area=1](http://www.splcenter.org/legal/news/article.jsp?aid=125&site_area=1) popped up on gun discussion boards in 2002. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/10 "2006-04-07T16:08:59Z")
It’s not too hard to manufacture a political outrage- this became all to clear with the failed attempts at “Save Terry” and “The War on Christmas” Illegal immigration (and before that, the less sexy legal immigration) has been a political toy since the founding of this nation.I remember my buddies crying in middle school because Pete Wilson told them they couldn’t come to class anymore. It gets trotted out now and then, like punk rock or bellbottoms, when someone need political capital. Part of this current “outrage” is that GWB, being a Texas politician, has captured some of the Latino vote. And part of how he’s done this is supporting various amnesty programs, learning Spanish, and generally being friendly to Mexicans of all legal statuses. This pisses of a lot of Republicans, who consider being tough on Mexican immigration (while gladly ushering in thousands of evangelical Ukrainian “refugees” who don’t have to undergo the full immigration process) to be an essential part of being Republican. ---
**Author:** ![Grimpen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/82dd89/32.png) [@Grimpen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grimpen)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/11 "2006-04-07T16:10:47Z")
I’d be interested in knowing more confidently whether this is a “grassroots” issue or an “astroturf” issue (manufactured grass roots); are lots of people genuinely concerned, or are they being told “lots of people are concerned, you should be too”? I ask because I’ve heard (but don’t have the independent sources to verify) that in my state, before this became a major issue, focus group managers were getting frustrated that no matter how often they asked about immigration nobody was telling them it was an important problem for them… We’re a long ways from the border, and I could well believe this looks different in border states. But I’m not convinced it’s an issue which has attracted genuine national concern. As distinguished from lots of national publicity. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/12 "2006-04-07T16:17:27Z")
> [@Grimpen](#): > > I’d be interested in knowing more confidently whether this is a “grassroots” issue or an “astroturf” issue (manufactured grass roots); are lots of people genuinely concerned, or are they being told “lots of people are concerned, you should be too”? > I ask because I’ve heard (but don’t have the independent sources to verify) that in my state, before this became a major issue, focus group managers were getting frustrated that no matter how often they asked about immigration nobody was telling them it was an important problem for them… > We’re a long ways from the border, and I could well believe this looks different in border states. But I’m not convinced it’s an issue which has attracted genuine national concern. As distinguished from lots of national publicity. Well it’s been discussed rather frequently amongst people in my neck of the woods of Pennsylvania. Fairly or not due to a homicide that was committed by an illegal alien. [http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa09\_shuster/padillafloorspeech.html](http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa09_shuster/padillafloorspeech.html) ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/13 "2006-04-07T16:18:07Z")
Immigrants, whether legal or illegal, have always been made scapegoats. They are easy to villianize and they don’t have much of a power base to use to fight back. The issue has come to a boil now that there are mid-term elections in the US. Bush talked of reform since his first day in office and only recently has it become such an “important” issue. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/14 "2006-04-07T16:50:35Z")
I’ll try to find the quote, but GWB has said he wants immigration issues to be the hallmark of his time in office. Every president wants to be remembered for something, education is often popular. I suppose if I was going down in history as the one who was there when the biggest terrorist strike on US soil happened and barely won either of my elections…I’d want something else too. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/15 "2006-04-07T16:59:11Z")
I don’t think it is as cynical as some posters think or as they would like it to be. There has been growing resentment over illegal immigration on the ‘net know for some time. It’s just an issue whose time has come. I think George Borjas’ book on illegal immigration has certainly helped as well. ---
**Author:** ![ZeroZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/f04885/32.png) [@ZeroZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZeroZero)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/16 "2006-04-07T17:13:36Z")
The biggest problem with this is there is a VAST difference between legal and ILLEGAL immigrants. And no one wants to make this difference. As a person who complies statistics for a living, I can tell you the quotes are so misrepresented it’s unbelievable. But as you know the easiest thing in the world to do is make people believe in unbeliveable stats. This is the issue. Illegals tend to be conservative. They vote. YES they vote. I know a LOT of legal and illegal immigrants that have told me they vote. Anyone can register without much hassle. The Republicans have to stand TOUGH on immigration of ALL kinds, legal and illegal. But the Republicans have to answer to big business as well, who WANT, (it’s a statistical fraud they NEED) illegal immigrants. So Republicans are caught in between pleasing the voters who don’t want illegals and the big business, who pay for their campaigns that DO want illegals The Democrats simply sieze this issue and FAIL MISERABLY to make a differental between those immigrants coming legally and illegally And even then we need MORE restriciton on immigrants and LESS restriction on NEED jobs. For instance in the company where I work since 2004 we have 10 positions now filled by LEGAL immigrants and these jobs pay over $50,000 / year. This is ludicrous. If I were to advertise these positions within a week I could fill every one with an AMERICAN BORN person of equal or greater value. This is wrong. When the company was bought by Brits, they got tax breaks for staying in this city, yet the first thing they did was fill 10 of the 19 positions paying $50,000 or more with immigrants. It’s this kind of thing that makes immigration a hot topic. Part of it is cyclical. Even if you were to accept the fact we need low wage workers, by letting them in legally or allowing them to stay legally they simply move AWAY from the low wage. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out a huge reason they will take a low wage job is simply that they are being “Blackmailed” into it by employers willing to turn them into the INS if they get treated badly or pay rotten. By allowing them to stay legally, these low wage workers, get better jobs, displacing Americans and what about those jobs they left. They fill up with illegals who CAN be blackmailed into the cycle. So just seeing these examples you can see it really isn’t about illegal immigrations it’s about a system that is VERY broken and needs to be completely overhauled form the ground up. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/17 "2006-04-07T17:14:15Z")
Even though this one was started in the correct forum, General Questions, I think it can best be answered in Great Debates. **samclem** ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/18 "2006-04-07T17:21:39Z")
**Trunk** ’s cited New Yorker article has it exactly right. Mid-term elections are coming up. Republicans are looking for an issue to distract voters. Last time around it was gay marriage. This time, illegal immigration. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/19 "2006-04-07T17:28:27Z")
This Washington Post opinion piece is somewhat relevant: [NAFTA and Nativism](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/07/AR2006020701272.html) (free registration required) It is an editorial opinion piece, mind you. Meyerson does not address “why spring 2006?” but does have a theory about why chickens are now coming home to roost in the last 10-12 years. Short version: NAFTA, followed by the rise of outsourcing to China and India. > [@excerpt from the editorial](#): > > But NAFTA, which took effect in 1994, could not have been more precisely crafted to increase immigration – chiefly because of its devastating effect on Mexican agriculture. As liberal economist Jeff Faux points out in “The Global Class War,” his just-published indictment of the actual workings of the new economy, Mexico had been home to a poor agrarian sector for generations, which the government helped sustain through price supports on corn and beans. NAFTA, though, put those farmers in direct competition with incomparably more efficient U.S. agribusinesses. It proved to be no contest: From 1993 through 2002, at least 2 million Mexican farmers were driven off their land. Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2006, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709/20 "2006-04-07T19:10:06Z")
Just another vote for the “Election year” option. Gay rights:2004 elections::Illegal immigration:2006 elections > [@Antinor01](#): > > I’ll try to find the quote, but GWB has said he wants immigration issues to be the hallmark of his time in office. Sure, but that’s only because he’s screwed the pooch on all his other attempts to establish an administration hallmark. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-illegal-immigration-become-an-issue-now/351709.md?page=2)