President Trump fired Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security. I guess even Trump is subject to embarrassment or at least bad publicity. Noem unapologetically wrote about shooting her dog because he was untrainable. She wore a $60,000 Rolex while visiting the notorious Terrorist Confinement Center in El Salvador. She labeled the ICE protesters in Minneapolis who were killed by ICE agents as domestic terrorists despite video evidence to the contrary. And finally she refused to deny having an affair with Corey Lewandowski in testimony in a House Judiciary Committee hearing. So Trump fired her.
Hi, this is Richard Fields with this week's Report From the Fields. President Trump fired Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security. I guess even Trump is subject to embarrassment or at least bad publicity. Noem unapologetically wrote about shooting her dog because he was untrainable. She wore a $60,000 Rolex while visiting the notorious Terrorist Confinement Center in El Salvador. She labeled the ICE protesters in Minneapolis who were killed by ICE agents as domestic terrorists despite video evidence to the contrary. And finally she refused to deny having an affair with Corey Lewandowski in testimony in a House Judiciary Committee hearing. So Trump fired her.
Totally oblivious to the irony, Trump appointed Markwayne Mullins, a Native American, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, as the new Secretary of Homeland Security, the agency in charge of deporting "illegal Immigrants". Maybe he can start with deporting European Americans. After all, from a Native American standpoint, the Europeans invaded and stole their land. Perhaps he can start at the top by deporting the President. His grandfather, Friedrich Trump was an immigrant from Germany. He made a considerable fortune running restaurants, saloons and hotels during the Gold Rush era. Some reports indicate his hotel rooms were even used for prostitution. He took his money and invested in real estate in New York. But, you say, Donald Trump was born in America. Well, it's Trump who wants to do away with birthright citizenship. And if I remember right a couple of Trump's wives were immigrants. And, oh yes, for years Trump claimed his ethnicity was Swedish to ostensibly to avoid friction with his Jewish friends and business clients.
All of this is to illustrate the hypocrisy of our immigration laws. A Cato Institute study indicates that only around 1% of would be immigrants to America have the ability to do so legally. That means that 99% of those who want to come to America have to do so illegally. Until the 1880s immigration laws did not exist. At that time Californians decided they wanted to get rid of the Chinese laborers who had done the grunt work in mining and railroad building. The first anti-immigration laws were passed. In the 1920s nativist sentiment expanded. Northern Europeans decided they wanted to keep out Southern Europeans and the Irish. From there the immigration procedure has become a Kafkaesque bad dream. Legal immigration is for all practical purposes impossible.
Let's review demographic facts. The birthrate in America is below the replacement rate. Without immigration our population is declining. We need immigrants in the labor force. Let's review the argument that immigrants come here not to work but to get various welfare benefits. The fact is that people born in America use Federal, state and local public assistance of all kinds at a greater rate than immigrants. Let's review the argument that immigrants are mostly criminals. Again the fact is that people born here commit crimes at all levels of government at a greater rate than immigrants.
But let's make sure we understand the libertarian reason for welcoming immigrants. It's an issue of freedom. Anybody should be free to live anywhere they want as long as they pay their own way. That can easily be accomplished by abolishing the entire body of immigration law and replacing it with one simple, easily understood law. Any immigrant who comes to America and commits a felony or thereafter applies for any form of government welfare must be deported immediately. And here's a couple more benefits of doing away with the Department of Homeland Security. First it would reduce Federal spending by 1.3% based on 2024 figures. The percentage is probably higher under Trump. Not a mind bending amount but every dollar saved is good when we have a $39 trillion deficit. Second, it would most likely dramatically shorten security screening at the airport. Screening would no longer be a political football during budget negotiations. Third, it would be more thorough. After all airlines and airports have skin in the game. Government workers not so much. If they mess up it's just another excuse to up the budget for the following year. We know it can be done. San Francisco International and other airports are already doing it.
And a footnote: During his confirmation hearing, Mullins was queried by libertarian leaning Senator Rand Paul about remarks that he "completely understood" why Paul's neighbor assaulted him from behind without provocation breaking six ribs and damaging his lung. Mullins refused to apologize. This is the guy Trump wants supervising ICE agents who are known to manhandle and even kill people suspected of being illegal immigrants...or even bystanders who happen to be protesting against ICE? I'm Richard Fields and that's this week's Report From the Fields. See you again next week.