Obama’s Amnesty Further Fractures America

President Obama’s decision to ignore the law by granting de facto amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children and those who are parents of children with legal status was a terribly foolish act. It will only serve to exacerbate racial tensions in the country.

Polls indicate the overwhelming majority of whites view illegal immigration as threatening. Many see immigrants as taking jobs from native-born Americans, pushing down wages and contributing to cultural decline.

While many may silently harbor racial bigotry, the adverse economic consequences for white Americans are real and palpable. Illegal immigration increases the supply of low-skilled workers and that drives down wages for less educated whites and African-Americans.

Under Obama’s plan, millions of illegals will qualify for work permits and will be able to take more visible, better-paying jobs. As a result, native-born Americans will face more competition for positions paying significantly above the federal minimum. An example is those positions paying between the averages for the hospitality and construction industries — $17 and $25 per hour, respectively.

Also at the top

It would be an error to assume that racial tensions are prevalent only in the lower rungs of the U.S. income scale. They can also be experienced among the ranks of future highly skilled professionals.

Elite universities, reflecting years of pressure from the U.S. Department of Education, divide admissions along informal racial quotas – and that practice disadvantages white applicants.

A group called Students for Fair Admissions has brought suit in federal court against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. The suit charges that the current practice discriminates against Asians, who tend to be the best academically qualified racial group.

If this suit is successful, given the inclinations of the Obama Administration to pressure schools to admit African-Americans and Hispanics, even more white applicants would be squeezed out of top universities their forefathers founded and endowed.

Already, many academically qualified children of successful white professionals find that they are denied admission to universities of the same status their parents attended. Consequently, they face diminished career and lifetime earnings prospects.

In a nutshell, President Obama’s recent actions will increase the pools of Hispanic and Asian college immigrants and applicants. And they will further exacerbate intergenerational downward economic mobility among whites.

Last fall, when asked if he had the authority to end the deportation of illegal aliens, Obama responded, “Actually, I don’t” and that he could not appease immigrant advocates by violating the law.

It is only fitting in this context that many Hispanics and Asians now in the United States come from countries with recent histories of authoritarian governments or governments where a single party has maintained control. In those countries, national leaders simply do what populist sentiments requires — the law be damned.

Appeasement in action

Appeasing Hispanic and Asian voters is exactly what President Obama did with his executive order granting de facto amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.

It is not difficult to see why many white Americans would perceive illegal immigration as undermining their culture and the rule of law. No wonder either why they increasingly see Democrats as opportunists prepared to trash the U.S. Constitution in order to maintain their grasp on power.

No one should be surprised that large majorities of white Americans voted for Republican Congressional candidates in the mid-term elections in November 2014 and for Governor Romney in 2012.

Given the concentration of Hispanics, Asians and African-Americans in New York, California and several swing states such as Virginia, the Democrats have a good shot at winning most presidential elections in the years to come.

However, given that white voters still account for about 70% of eligible voters in the United States, there is a countervailing factor in place.

Given the Republican Party’s particular dominance in more-sparsely populated states around the country as well as in the south and their over-representation in the u.S. Congress, Republicans will likely continue to hold the House and Senate most of the time.

While that creates a suitable political balance, the U.S. Constitution still does not provide white Americans with a remedy when a President bypasses Congress. Thus, they cannot challenge Obama’s abuse of executive power to satisfy a constituency that puts its agenda above the rule of law.

Impeachment is not a viable option, and Republican lawmakers face uncertain prospects at best for successfully challenging executive orders in federal court.

Conclusion

White Americans face a federal government that is explicitly working against their interests, the economic prospects of their children and democratic processes they have spent more than 200 years defending.

If that is not a recipe for racial animus, I don’t know what is.