Letters

From the January 1996 issue

(Page 3 of 3)

Rep. Smith also decides to play some unfortunate semantic games. A "flexible ceiling" on refugee admissions is the same as a cap. Changing either would require a congressional vote. And while the words "worker registry" may not appear in H.R. 1915 or H.R. 2202, here's what either bill would establish: a telephone registry of all newly hired employees which would require every employer to check either the Social Security number or alien identification number of each potential employee with the Department of Justice. Is a "verification system" substan tively different from a "worker registry"? You decide.

Turning to Peter Brimelow, my story noted that he's from another country. Now I'm start ing to wonder if he's not actually from another planet. There is not a single word in my story that mentions IQ or The Bell Curve, not even tangentially.

But since Mr. Brimelow has unaccountably chosen to raise the subject, let readers judge for themselves where he stands. In a footnote on page 57 of Alien Nation, Mr. Brimelow briefly explains the thesis of The Bell Curve and its authors, Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray. He continues: "In a little-noticed passage, Herrnstein and Murray blamed the 1965 Immigration Act for a sharp deterioration in immigrant quality. They estimated that the current influx has an average IQ of 95, at least 5 points below the white American mean. If they are right, of course, this suggests the consequences of current policy are far more disastrous than anything argued in this book. However, I figure I've taken enough risks already and merely report their view for what it is worth." Some eschewal.

Mr. Brimelow is quite right that selective and discriminatory government policies have distorted the natural patterns of immigration. But that doesn't mean the correct solution is to abolish immigration, any more than government construction of the Hoover Dam means we must stop drinking water or generating electricity.

As for Mr. Brimelow's question about my agenda, let me refer him to the letter above by Daniel Cannon, who captured it nicely: We ought to treat immigrants as the decent, hard-working human beings they overwhelmingly are. And, along the way, we ought to protect the liberties of all Americans, not use the fear of immigrants as an excuse for more government control of our lives and businesses.

Readers who wonder what Brimelow's agenda is but don't wish to wade through the tedious prose of Alien Nation might simply read the letter by Don Q. Reynolds, who has thoughtfully distilled its essence: "Round the silly bastards up."