Open immigration advocates love to cherry pick. They find a few valedictorians from the 800,000 illegal aliens who got Obama’s temporary DACA amnesty. Or the millions of so-called “DREAMERs.” You know, whose parents smuggled them into our country. They present these young people as representative. But the facts don’t bear that out.

Steve Camorata of the Center for Immigration Studies suggests that “perhaps 24 percent of the DACA-eligible population fall into the functionally illiterate category.” And “another 46 percent have only ‘basic’ English ability.” DACA recipients are supposed to be high school graduates. The Feds waive that routinely. Even worse:

DACA applicants may be convicted of up to two “non-significant” misdemeanors before they are deemed threats to public safety. After detaining a DACA recipient suspected of gang ties, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acknowledged earlier this year that it has had to revoke the status of over 1,500 DACA recipients owing to a criminal conviction or gang affiliation. How many other criminals have slipped through the department’s vetting procedure?

Statistics are likely to be as bad or worse for “DREAMERs.”

The Camel’s Nose Under the Tent

But let’s leave aside the merits of these illegal immigrants. What effect would granting them amnesty have? Is this a one-time mercy?

No, it’s the tip of a very large iceberg. And for one stark reason: chain migration. Every one of these amnestied illegals would be eligible to “sponsor” his extended family into the United States. As Numbers USA explains:

Chain Migration refers to the endless chains of foreign nationals who are allowed to immigrate to the United States because citizens and lawful permanent residents are allowed to sponsor their non-nuclear family members.

It is the primary mechanism that has caused legal immigration in the U.S. to quadruple from about 250,000 per year in the 1950s and 1960s to more than 1 million annually since 1990. As such, it is one of the chief culprits in America’s current record-breaking population boom and all the attendant sprawl, congestion, and school overcrowding that damage Americans’ quality of life.

“Chain” migrants get in not because of their skills. Or education. Or experience. Nor for any other rational criterion. They just benefit from immigration nepotism. That got enshrined in law by Senator Ted Kennedy in 1965. It pleased his Irish constituents in Massachusetts.

No Limits Nepotism Courtesy of Ted Kennedy

The 1965 bill set visas at 170,000 per year, with a per-country-of-origin quota. But there were no limits on immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. So an immigrant settles and gets citizenship. Now his whole family gets jumped to the front of the line.

These chain migrants often come from troubled countries. Or bring with them dangerous ideas. In December 2017, Bangladeshi immigrant Akayed Ullah was offended by U.S. attacks on ISIS. And by the Christmas decorations in Times Square. So he blew off his genitals trying to set off a bomb in New York City. Ullah was the nephew of an American citizen. That uncle came to the United States under our pointless “diversity lottery.” Ullah came via “extended family chain migration.” See how this works?

From Amnestied Illegal to Immigration Sponsor

The 1986 Amnesty worsened the problem. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) notes:

[I]llegal aliens given amnesty by Congress in 1986 are now fueling naturalization in record numbers. As these former illegal aliens become citizens, all of their immediate relatives qualify to come immediately to the United States, and start new migration chains of their own.

So for every DACA kid or DREAMER whom the Democrats want President Trump to amnesty, remember this: There might be 4, 6, 8, 10 or more new immigrants coming into the country on his invitation. Of course, once they’re here, they get to hand out invitations. The fun never has to end, till the country does.

The millions of future Democrats whom DACA and “Dreamer” illegals could invite here in future decades would make their mark. They’d seal the fate of the Republican party nationally. They’d turn states like Texas purple then blue. We might never have another pro-life president again.

Americans Want a Better System

Americans reject chain migration. Lifezette reports:

A new poll has found that Americans overwhelmingly favor curtailing “chain migration”…. The survey, commissioned by NumbersUSA and conducted by Pulse Opinion Research just before Christmas, had a 3 percent margin of error.

Some 57 percent of likely midterm voters favored ending the ability of new citizens to sponsor extended family members for immigration if Congress offers a path to citizenship for young adult illegal immigrants. Some 32 percent said they support continued chain migration.

Trump: The Last Pro-Life President?

What’s more, the new arrivals overwhelmingly tend to vote liberal and pro-choice. The millions of future Democrats whom DACA and “Dreamer” illegals could invite here in future decades would make their mark. They’d seal the fate of the Republican party nationally. They’d turn states like Texas purple then blue. We might never have another pro-life president again.

Don’t believe us? Ask the Pew Research Center, which found in 2012:

Hispanics are more likely than the general public to say they would rather have a bigger government which provides more services than a smaller government which provides fewer services.

Some 75% of Hispanics hold this view; just 19% say they prefer a smaller government. By contrast, just 41% of the public at large voice support for a bigger government.

Support for a larger government is highest among immigrant Latinos, with 81% holding this view.

President Trump has vowed to end chain migration. We must hold him to this promise. Without it, DACA and the DREAM Act will simply create a permanent, pro-choice liberal majority in the U.S. Trump must throw all his weight behind the Tom Cotton-David Perdue sponsored RAISE Act. It bases immigration on merit, skills and English proficiency, rather than nepotism. If we continue chain migration, the chain will become a noose.

This is adapted from the upcoming book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration by John Zmirak and Al Perrotta.