The New Case Against Immigration: Both Legal and Illegal

by Mark Krikorian

New research reveals why America can no longer afford mass immigration

Mark Krikorian has studied the trends and concluded that America must permanently reduce immigration— both legal and illegal—or face enormous problems in the near future. 

His argument is based on facts, not fear. Wherever they come from, today’s immigrants are actually very similar to those who arrived a century ago. But they are coming to a very different America—one where changes in the economy, society, and government create different incentives for newcomers. 

Before the upheavals of the 1960s, the U.S. expected its immigrants—from Italy to India—to earn a living, learn English, and become patriotic Americans. But the rise of identity politics, political correctness, and Great Society programs means we no longer make these demands. In short, the problem isn’t them, it’s us. Even positive developments such as technological progress hinder the assimilation of immigrants. It’s easy now for newcomers to live “transnational” lives. 

Immigration will be in the headlines through Election Day and beyond, and this controversial book will help drive the debate.

Genres: Politics, Political Science, Education

304 pages, Hardcover

First published July 3, 2008

Reviews

[Amora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m about to read Bryan Caplan’s book on open immigration so I figured I should review this book before I do that. Honestly, this book was just okay. Krikorian, who runs the Center for Immigration Studies, uses mostly research from George Borjas and his own think-tank as sources for why immigration should be cut. Unfortunately this comes off as cherry-picking and I wasn’t a fan of that. At other times I do appreciate that he cites third-party researchers but this is only rarely. I think Phillip Cafaro, a progressive scholar at the University of Chicago, made a stronger case for reducing immigration.

[The American Conservative]

'Krikorian’s excellent New Case Against Immigration is a lucid elaboration of arguments made by CIS during the past decade. What will strike many as new is his insistence that the trouble is not that immigrants aren’t as smart, industrious, or able to assimilate as the storied Ellis Islanders but that America has so changed as to put mass immigration in an entirely different context. Krikorian explicitly rejects the notion that the predominantly Mexican ethnicity of the new immigration is an issue, pointing out that America has always had an elastic definition of “white” (which used to exclude Germans and later Irish) and has steadily expanded it. But the volume of the current influx is a problem, and so are other factors that make the present immigration more problematic than the past.'

Read the full review, "Assimilating to the GOP," on our website:
http://www.theamericanconservative.co...

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explores the problems of increased immigration, both legal and illegal, in recent years and why it has happened. What I learned and consequently found disturbing is how much influence the Mexican government has on our laws by having their officials in consular positions in our major cities. The author did a very good job in explaining the different ways immigration hurts our national interests ie. employment, social services, innovation and security. I had to push through it in parts due to all the data/statistics the author uses but that also illustrates how much a problem immigration has become. Overall I found the book very informative and I agree that something needs to be done and soon.

[Kyle Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I read this in 2024, it was fascinating (depressing?) to see that many of the problems around immigration were still uber-relevant in 2008, yet very little had been addressed. Thankfully, most, if not all, of Mark Krikorian's solutions are still possible and necessary today. However, the current level of immigration is likely to surpass even Mr. Krikorian's worst nightmare. Nonetheless, Mr. Krikorian's compelling case for lower immigration levels still applies. As he suggests multiple times, he is "pro-immigrant"-- insofar as immigrants are not at fault for Americans' policymakers' poor decisions--and believes the system must be reformed to treat native-born Americans and immigrants better. However, he (correctly) argues it can only be achieved through decreased levels of legal and illegal immigration. Politically, the sentiments expressed by Mr. Krikorian foreshadowed the rise of Donald Trump as Mr. Trump focused on an issue that many Republican voters had felt betrayed on for far too long.
Now, as Mr. Krikorian argues in 2024, Mr. Trump is not at all a restrictionist and rarely addresses the overly heightened levels of legal immigration; however, legal immigration reform is on the back burner due to the explosion of illegal immigration during the Biden presidency. All in all, Mr. Krikorian's diagnosis and synopsis of America's immigration problems are very insightful, respectful, and increasingly mainstream. Any president seeking to do the will of most Americans and reform our immigration system to reduce legal and illegal immigration should work closely with Mr. Krikorian. His views in 2008 were likely outside the Overton window, but are now a majority prospect for Americans. Mr. Krikorian's commitment to fairly covering one of America's hot-button issues makes him a great asset to our political discourse.

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

With a title like this you have to expect some bias.

[Alexa]

The cover of this book says it all. This should be interesting - and by interesting I mean contrary to my notions of what America was, is, and should be.

[John Crippen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and scary. See mini-review at http://relaxandhavefun.com/?p=61