Discriminations

Today Ward Connerly and a group of other worthies (and one considerably less worthy: me) have signed a full page open letter, published in the Washington Times, calling on Congress to bar immigrants legalized by the legislation currently before the United States Senate from receiving preferences based on race, sex, national origin, or color.

Here is the text of the letter, minus the fancy layout and graphics:

Immigration Reform Must Address Race Preferences

For many years now, our nation has debated the merits of race preferences (“affirmative action”). This debate has been conducted in our legislatures, our courts, our schools, our communities and at the ballot box. Now, our nation is engaged in a debate about immigration. This debate is wide ranging and many people honorably and strenuously disagree over what course America should take. However, immigration and race preferences cannot be considered in isolation. Under existing laws and policies, the majority of immigrants coming to America will automatically be eligible for race preferences and privileges not provided to the great majority of Americans.

This is unfair! As voters in California, Washington and Michigan made clear in their overwhelming support of ballot measures banning government mandated racial preferences – and as voters in five other states will have the opportunity to prove again in November 2008 – the American people strongly oppose the idea that our government should treat us differently based on race, ethnicity, sex or national origin. They understand that while preferences were aimed at giving a helping hand to those who had historically suffered discrimination, in practice they have served above all to compound injustice, needlessly breeding resentment by systematically privileging some Americans over others. Yet, immigrants cannot even claim to be victims of the historical discrimination that “affirmative action” was designed to redress. It is essential that any new immigration legislation not perpetuate – indeed not exacerbate – these injustices. Any new legislation should include carefully drafted provisions to ensure that the new immigrants and their children not be afforded any special privileges that put existing Americans, including minority Americans who have suffered actual discrimination in the past, at a disadvantage. We, the undersigned, hold a variety of views about immigration. But we are united in the conviction that each individual should be judged on his or her merits. While immigrants and their descendants should be afforded the right to compete fairly and freely in every aspect of American life, they should receive no special benefi ts on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity or national origin. We have drafted language that would enable the Congress to preserve this very important objective.

Ours is a nation dedicated to the proposition that all of us should be treated as equals under the law. Those who seek to join the American family should likewise be treated as equals. No individual or group of individuals should bring to our land an expectation for a future entitlement to preferential treatment – and under no circumstances should we grant it.

My suggestion? A provision barring preferential treatment based on ethnicity or national origin to anyone — both native born and naturalized citizens; both legal and illegal immigrants; permanent resident aliens, guest workers, everybody — in all federal programs and programs receiving any federal assistance. In other words, sort of a junior version of the state civil rights initiatives.

It has never made any sense to give preferential treatment to immigrants, legal or illegal, or to native born Hispanics who have been here in some instances longer than either blacks or whites.