Trends

Everyone loves immigration. Everyone loves immigrants. Nationwide. Worldwide. Right?

Wrong.

The Pew Research Center released a poll October 4th which indicated:

The publics of the world broadly embrace key tenets of economic globalization but fear the disruptions and downsides of participating in the global economy. In rich countries as well as poor ones, most people endorse free trade, multinational corporations and free markets. However, the latest Pew Global Attitudes survey of more than 45,000 people finds they are concerned about inequality, threats to their culture, threats to the environment and threats posed by immigration. Together, these results reveal an evolving world view on globalization that is nuanced, ambivalent, and sometimes inherently contradictory.

Regarding globalization, the trend indicates:

There are signs that enthusiasm for economic globalization is waning in the West -- Americans and Western Europeans are less supportive of international trade and multinational companies than they were five years ago. In contrast, there is near universal approval of global trade among the publics of rising Asian economic powers China and India.

There was also very interesting recent news from Switzerland regarding immigration, in which recent national elections appear to be distilling down to immigration issues:

SCHWERZENBACH, Switzerland: The posters taped on the walls at a political rally here capture the rawness of Switzerland's national electoral campaign: Three white sheep stand on the Swiss flag, as one of them kicks a single black sheep away."For Greater Security," the poster reads.

Suddenly, the campaign has turned into a nationwide debate over the place of immigrants in one of the world's oldest democracies and over what it means to be Swiss.

Even Switzerland, the most limp-wristed of the limp-wristed in terms of immigration policies, finds itself discussing an issue publicly that, a short time ago, would never have been mentioned under one's breath in public.

But this kind of puts the capper on it all: if former Mexican President Vicente Fox praises our President Bush for anything, then I know Bush has it wrong. Witness:

NEW YORK (AP) - Former Mexican President Vicente Fox said Monday that the United States is letting racism dictate its policies, especially when it comes to immigration.

"The xenophobics, the racists, those who feel they are a superior race ... they are deciding the future of this nation," he said, without naming names, in an interview with The Associated Press.

In his first interview to promote his new book, "Revolution of Hope," Fox applauded President Bush's desire to pass an immigration accord that would allow more Mexicans to work legally in the U.S.

Folks, when you play the "Xenophobe Card" with Mexican immigration or the "Hitler Card" regarding most any other topic (with some very rare exceptions), then I simply tune you out. Consider Fox not just tuned out but off. In the US, for example, 92% of the people think our government should do more to minimize illegal immigration. That's not just clear, that's the electorate screaming at the tops of our voices.

Meanwhile, literally back at the ranch, Farmers in Fornicalia are threatening that, because of greater focus on illegal immigrants, their fields may stand to rot; my reply is: that's a temporary price to pay for greater security and CONTROL of our nation. And temporary it will be. Economics and employment abhor vacuums, like nature.

Growers said not only is the supply of workers getting smaller, but the federal guest worker program known as the H-2A Visa is too time-consuming.

I'm telling you, people, it's like I've written oh-so-many times:

Regarding ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION:

• With Demorats, it's about the VOTES = FREE VOTES
• With Republicans, it's about the MONEY = CHEAP LABOR

BZ