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Scott Walker Capitulates to the Far Right on Immigration

Baltimore Immigration Lawyer: Scott Walker Capitulates to the Far Right on Immigration

Scott Walker continues to dig in on his anti-immmigration stance. In a recent interview, he shocked even parts of his own party by suggesting limiting legal immigration in times of economic distress. The result has been a mini-civil war between the Scott Walker anti-immigration wing of the party and establishment republicans such as John McCain and the Wall Street Journal.

The research seems to be against Scott Walker, but that has never stopped a politician from espousing a view favored by a section of the electorate. This time however the research is not byy some liberal group, but comes from the Cato Institute and other right-leaning groups. David Card from Cato Institute calls research into the impact of immigration on jobs ““the elusive SEARCH for negative wage impacts of immigration.”

The institute has attacked quite effectively the anti-legal immigration views championed by Jeff Sessions with whom Scott Walker met in the lead up to his interview. Session’s argument in an oped seems to cherry pick the science and omits important conclusions by the very economist he relies on. This fact is nothing new as we have seen the cherry picking of science in the climate change issue as well. But the fact that Cato and other conservatives are fighting back is a welcome sight. It is important to challenge candidates to explain their positions and call out pandering wherever it exists, right or left.

Another critic of the anti-immigration movement is the former Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Holtz-Eakin, who heads the right-leaning American Action Forum. He was quoted as stating that, “A benchmark immigration reform would raise the pace of economic growth by nearly a percentage point over the near term, raise GDP per capita by over $1,500, and reduce the cumulative federal deficit by over $2.5 trillion.”

Meanwhile in South Florida, at least 27 individuals have being charged as part of an immigration fraud ring. The Federal government alleges that the the rign organized marriages for the purpose of obtaining legal status. According to Fox News Latino, “Authorities say the ring operated from May 2011 to February 2014. People from a wide range of countries were involved, including Argentina, Ukraine, Colombia, Moldova, Israel and Venezuela.”