Recession and Immigrants

The Times makes a suggestion so outrageous that if it were raised by any other responsible institution, in any other context, it would have generated an unequivocal editorial condemnation from the very editors who wrote it.

On the subject of large-scale immigration and its impact on the economic and social well-being of California, The Times advocates stifling public debate and urges Wilson to engage in self-censorship.

Any issue of controversy--not just immigration--is susceptible to misinterpretation, deliberate distortion and outright demagoguery. Should our society cut off all discussion of issues like abortion, affirmative action, crime and punishment, AIDS or immigration simply because there are demagogues who might try to twist the comments of people like Wilson?

The Times does not deny that massive immigration is a factor in California’s budget woes. The editors simply prefer that Wilson obliquely “discuss the troubling trend in state demographics.” Discussing demographic trends in California without talking about immigration is like discussing the American trade deficit without mentioning Japan.

In the annals of American journalism, The Times’ Nov. 27 editorial must go down as a dubious milestone. Never before has any mainstream publication gone on record as urging an elected public official to engage in deliberate obfuscation.

DAN STEIN, Executive Director

Federation for American Immigration Reform

Washington, D.C.