America Doesn't Have Europe's Immigration Problems

Assimilation works here because the emphasis is on shared ideals instead of aloof tolerance.

Back in the 1980s John Tanton, a little-known activist behind several of the country’s most well-known nativist outfits, including the Federation for American Immigration Reform and the Center for Immigration Studies, sent a memo to supporters expressing alarm about high Latino birthrates.

“As whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night? Or will there be an explosion?” wrote Mr. Tanton, a retired physician. He added: “Perhaps this is the first instance in which those with their pants up are going to be caught by those with their pants down!”

Those comments came to mind after Rep. Steve King’s weekend endorsement of Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician known for his inflammatory remarks about immigration and Islam. The Iowa Republican wrote Sunday on Twitter that “Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilization with someone else’s babies.” The message was attached to a retweet of a political cartoon depicting Mr. Wilders using his finger to plug a damaged dike labeled “Western Civilization.” Behind him, a group of scowling Islamists—one wears a suicide vest—approach, holding signs that read, “Infidels, Know Your Limits,” and, “Freedom of Speech Go to Hell.”

Mr. King later told CNN that “I’d like to see an America that’s just so homogeneous that we look a lot the same.” He said that Western civilization in Europe and the U.S. is under threat due to low birthrates among natives and from immigrants who are “refusing to assimilate.” Fellow Republicans quickly distanced themselves....

Read the entire piece here at The Wall Street Journal

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Jason L. Riley is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a columnist at The Wall Street Journal, and a Fox News commentator.

This piece originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal