A lot of what the supporters of massive/illegal immigration say has a Fahrenheit 451 feel to it, and today's example is offered by the Washington Post blog post by Steven Levingston entitled "Immigration's strain on democracy" [1]. Most of the post consists of a guest comment by Robert Koulish [2], and from the title and from the title of Koulish's book ("Immigration and American Democracy: Subverting the Rule of Law") you might think that they were going to discuss how illegal immigration continues despite most Americans opposing it. Or, you might think they were going to discuss how illegal immigration is an indicator of massive government corruption and that if most politicians weren't corrupt they could move to reduce it. Or, maybe they're going to discuss how illegal aliens being counted in the Census reduces the power of U.S. citizens, or how many politicians think of illegal aliens as their constituents.

But, of course, this is the Washington Post, so these firemen burn books. From Levingston:

The United States has always been enhanced and challenged by immigration. America’s democratic ideals have kept the gates open to those seeking a freer, and more prosperous, life. But the flood of undocumented immigrants has put pressure on American tolerance and the preservation of civil liberties. Robert Koulish, a visiting senior fellow at the Center for American Politics and Citizenship at the University of Maryland, worries that U.S. efforts to control the influx of undocumented immigrants has resulted in undemocratic policies. In "Immigration and American Democracy: Subverting the Rule of Law," he points to excessive use of private contractors in immigration roles, social control measures in the name of state sovereignty and unconstitutional surveillance activities.

As it turns out, Koulish is only concerned with the role that necessary enforcement plays in reducing some freedoms and his goal appears to be to reduce immigration enforcement. His point about private contractors receiving billions and not being overly effective is a good one. But, instead of reducing the problem by encouraging immigration enforcement, he would only make it worse. Those who encourage anarchy shouldn't be surprised when the backlash arrives. Most Americans oppose massive illegal immigration and will vote for those who'll clamp down on it, and the more illegal immigration there is the greater the clampdown. See, for instance, "Thanks, liberals & libertarians: 71% support "foreigners-only" ID card".

[1] voices.washingtonpost.com/political-bookworm/2010/05/
immigrations_strain_on_democra.html
[2] Koulish is a "visiting senior fellow at the Center for American Politics and Citizenship at the University of Maryland".