Big stick on immigration

The debate about immigration goes in the wrong direction. The anger – sometimes almost hatred – is oriented toward people who either do not harm anything or anybody (e.g., the children from South America) or are an asset to all of us (“undocumented” workers).

None of the immigrants caused our manufacturing to be almost completely lost to China, Thailand, Mexico and Vietnam. They did not force information technology and other big companies to outsource customer support and call centers to India. The deluge of H1B visas that is killing the future of our young technicians was certainly not caused by Hispanic immigrants.

I read about a conversation former Apple Chairman Steve Jobs had with President Obama. The president hinted at the thousands of Apple jobs moved from the United States to China. “Those jobs are not coming back, Mr. President,” a defiant Jobs announced.

What would Theodore Roosevelt do upon such a provocation? I can imagine tariffs, blockage of H1B visas, and the public would be massively for it: Jobs would have come to understand very soon who the boss is. And this is what immigration reform should be about: Minimize H1B, protect our manufacturing and leave the undocumented alone.

Peter Dolina

Veradale