Pro-Illegal Immigration Crowd Is Afraid that 'Attrition Through Enforcement' Strategy Might Work

by FAIR Media Director Ira Mehlman

One of the interesting things about the lavishly funded pro-illegal alien lobby is that they all claim to be in favor of immigration enforcement, even as they work assiduously to undermine immigration enforcement. Now they seem to recognize that there is a serious hole in their strategy.

While they claim to be against illegal immigration, the pro-illegal alien network has been pushing amnesty as the only practical solution for the 13 million or so illegal aliens already here. From both the left and the right we have repeatedly heard the argument that we cannot deport millions of people, therefore, we have no choice but to provide them with some form of amnesty. This argument is repeatedly proffered in spite of the fact that no one has ever seriously offered mass deportation as a way to deal with illegal aliens living here.

Since its inception in 1979, FAIR has argued that the most effective strategy for bringing illegal immigration under control is to eliminate the reasons why people come to and remain in the United States illegally. In the past several years, we and other immigration reform groups have boiled the strategy down to a three-word description, known as 'Attrition Through Enforcement.'

With the American public's resolute rejection of amnesty in 2007, Attrition Through Enforcement is gaining traction in the political arena, and this scares the Birkenstocks off of the pro-illegal alien network. They worry that Attrition Through Enforcement might actually work, and they have no answer for it.

The Center for International Policy, a Washington think tank with a reputable staff and board, is sounding the alarm. A recent article by Tom Barry, a senior policy analyst in their Americas Policy Program, warns that, "'Attrition through enforcement' represents an aggressive step forward for restrictionism. The 'attrition through enforcement' strategy signals the advance of the anti-immigration advocates from defensive and hold-the-line positions to a long-term offensive aimed at definitively taking the battlefield." http://americas.irc-online.org/am/4816

You're right, Tom. That is our strategy and has been all along. It's the approach favored by the overwhelming majority of Americans, when that option is included in polling questions. And, judging from early results, it is working! The American public now understands that their options are not limited to mass amnesty or mass deportation. And the beauty of it all, is that this effective strategy entail enforcing the laws that the pro-illegal alien lobby has disingenuously claimed to support.