Since 1965, large numbers of immigrants arriving into the U.S. have been unskilled, earning low wages, and have come to depend more so on the government for things. They also (expectedly) favor large government.
Kevin MacDonald discusses a recent study by Prof. James Gimpel on the subject and what it means for the Republican Party:
Another aspect of the future decline in the economic position of Whites is highlighted in a recent report by James G. Gimpel, a professor of government at the University of Maryland, posted by the always valuable Center for Immigration Studies (Immigration’s Impact on Republican Political Prospects, 1980 to 2012). Importing millions of poor, uneducated people will be an ever-increasing drain on society as a whole and will lead to political power for redistributionist policies that will hurt Whites.
Prof. Gimpel’s study is focused on showing that supporting immigration is a losing strategy for Republicans long term… Gimpel’s argument is that importing millions of uneducated people produces greater income inequality and a large mass of voters who will favor income redistribution…
As the U.S. continues to import the poor and uneducated, there will be increasing electoral power behind redistributionist policies fueled by tax increases that will fall disproportionately on Whites. And as the electoral power of Whites decreases, the demands for such policies will become politically unstoppable. The same can be said for American conservative traditions of limited government and individual freedom…
However, it’s worth pointing out that one of the well-known costs of multiculturalism is that people are less willing to contribute to public goods like health care and education when the recipients are members of ethnic/ethnic outgroups — a result that flows naturally from evolutionary thinking. If Prof. Gimpel is correct that immigration leads to an ever-expanding and permanent underclass unable to improve themselves economically, the results will be explosive. As Whites decline in political power they will be increasingly unable to prevent being taxed to support public goods for this underclass of poor and unskilled non-Whites…
In either case, the result will be increasing resentment by Whites that will have cataclysmic political implications. When it is impossible to redress legitimate grievances at the ballot box, Whites will consider other means to attain their goals. Craig and Richeson’s results imply that Whites view becoming a minority as a threat to their social status, and they note that increased racial polarization is a likely outcome. When these threats to White’s economic status are increasingly obvious (despite the current media blackout) in a context where democratic methods are ineffective, things could change dramatically. One can easily imagine that explicit talk of White identity and interests would fall on fertile ground and that political rhetoric emphasizing the loss of traditional America would appeal to disempowered Whites.
Immigration advocates are playing a very dangerous game. Racial polarization in the context where a formerly dominant majority is in the position of not only ceding political power but also funding social services for the ascendant majority is a political time bomb.
In terms of tactical advice for the GOP, Gimpel suggests that Republicans re-brand their message to construe immigration restriction as being good for the immigrants already here. From Gimpel’s report:
At the same time, Republican reservations about higher immigration levels can be too easily typecast as racist and xenophobic. This is because the party’s elites have failed to deliver a clear message that they want a pro-immigrant policy of reduced immigration and that these two goals are complementary. Such a policy will also prove to be the best means moving immigrants toward the middle and upper income status that will promote their geographic and political mobility.
