Conservatives say border security is sound policy, not racism

On Thursday afternoon at the National Press Club, a panel met to discuss the role that immigration played in the Republican defeat of 2008. Marcus Epstein, executive director of the American Cause and Team America PAC, coordinated the event and sat on the panel. He said that immigration policy should be based not on hate, but on sound policy, a sentiment echoed by the rest of the panel. Panelist Jim Pinkerton, senior fellow of the Free Market Fund and New American Foundation, said that border security is the same thing as homeland security. Pinkerton highlighted the threat of terrorism, and insisted that securing the borders (in particular the one with Mexico) was a high propriety in ensuring that America's threats were minimized and managed. Pinkerton insisted that a border fence would help us maintain our national identity, and said this kind of cultural struggle is an issue "in every sovereign country". Pinkerton went on to say that a border fence would help the economy by creating jobs to construct it, as well as protecting Amerian jobs which may otherwise be taken by immigrants.

Peter Brimelow, columnist at CBS Marketwatch and former senior editor of Forbes and The National Review, stated that demographic shifts are "steadily weakening the GOP". He said that the influx of immigrants, both legal and illegal, is helping the Democratic Party. He continued that the number of people in these growing demographic groups turning out simply overwhelmed the Republicans white base in 2008. In the context of future elections in which Republicans are competing, Brimelow said that, "the projections are quite grim" for a Republican victory.

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service