The Foreign Service Journal, January 2005

Samuel Huntington has made clear that his concern is not with immigration per se, but rather aspects of today’s immigration. His concerns are not just language (like Dickson, I highly value my Spanish- language ability) and allegiance. Immigration today is bringing in a massive wave of newcomers, legally and illegally, that has resulted in falling wages and unemployment for America’s poorest workers. Huntington is in good company when he worries about the impact of today’s immigration on society. He echoes some of the concerns voiced by George Kennan in 1993 in Around the Cragged Hill. Kennan wrote, “It is obviously easier, for the short run, to draw cheap labor from adjacent pools of poverty ... than to find it among one’s own people. And to the millions of such prospective immigrants from poverty to prosper- ity, there is, rightly or wrongly, no place that looks more attractive than the United States. … Subject to no restrictions, this pressure will find its termination only when the levels of overpopulation and poverty in the United States are equal to those of the countries from which these peo- ple are now so anxious to escape.” Dickson is right when he says that Huntington’s concerns should not be dismissed out of hand. He is also correct, but naïve, when he cautions that Huntington should not be light- ly labeled a racist. Anyone who has paid attention to the immigration debate in this country should know that hurling the R-word is a stan- dard, knee-jerk tactic of the defend- ers of open-door immigration in an effort to intimidate their opposition and stifle reasoned discussion of the issues.  John L. Martin FSO, retired Director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform www.fairus.org Washington, D.C. J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 11 L E T T E R S u Send your letters to: journal@afsa.org. Note that all letters are subject to editing for style, format and length. Home Suite Home The next time you’re going to be in DC for an extended stay, make yourself at home at Georgetown Suites. With our discounted monthly rates and large, comfortable suites, you’ll feel right at home. Plus we’re near the State Department. Call today! Georgetown Suites the fun place to stay in DC 1-800-348-7203 www.georgetownsuites.com sales@georgetownsuites.com