I started to notice the change in Americans’ views on immigration in the early 2000s. Most people I spoke to were not very upset about even illegal immigration. I saw the change in my students, who were mainly officers in the US Army. In a certain class the number of students, and mostly the majority, were among the American navy.
I picked it up in small ways, in the side comments about the problem we discussed. I had no segment from my class about immigration in itself, but I did have some lectures on American labor markets, so it was obvious that the issue of immigration would appear in that context.
I have always believed that students should not have Hector for their beliefs, that this violates sacred trust. So I didn’t. But one day, towards the end of a quarter in which the students and I could have hurry up particularly well, I felt comfortable when making a controversial statement that was not Hectoring, but simply points to a reality.
I stated: “This is the most anti-immigrant class I have had in my almost 20 years of teaching here.”
One of the students jumped on it and said, “Anti -illegal immigrants, sir.”
“Touche,” I replied. “However, I want to point out that when people say that those who want to come to this country must do this legally, essentially, even if they don’t know that those people cannot come to this country.”
My impression was that many students didn’t know that. Many seemed to think that there was a simple process for people to emigrate. That is not there. It is not easy and even when some certain routes that are somewhat simple, most people are not eligible.
I thought that everything when reading an excellent post by David beer from the Cato Institute. It is entitled “What Trump has done and is planning to do immigration instead‘Cato in Liberty, 3 February 2025. Look. David, together with Alex Nowrasteh, follows immigration accurately and keeps track of the rules.
I thought further when I read that the Trump administration even tries the green card from a permanent resident. Not only illegal immigration, but also legal immigration, is currently at risk.