Ramesh: You are of course right. In fact, part of the education process on
this issue is getting across to people that (A) responding to illegal
immigration, and (B) forming a coherent, sustainable, and nation-enriching
immigration policy are two very-nearly-independent issues. I suggested in a
column recently that they are in a sense OPPOSITE issues, like arson and
fire-fighting.
There is no logically-necessary connection between your opinions on A and
your opinions on B. (Though, human nature being what it is, in practice,
knowing a person’s opinions on A, it is not hard to make a decent guess
about his opinions on B, and vice versa.)
There would for example be nothing logically untenable about simultaneously
believing that illegal immigrants should all be rounded up and deported
without the option, AND believing that numbers of legal immigrants should be
hugely increased. I actually know someone who seems to hold these views.
(Though, in line with my previous parenthesis, I think that person is a
rarity.) You might even, though it would be a real logical stretch, believe
the converse thing: that illegal immigrants should be left alone, while
legal immigration should be stopped completely.
What is unconscionable is to go around referring to people who would like to
see the laws enforced “anti-immigrant.”