"That's not who we are" Is the Wrong Answer to Immigration Issues

Immigration is a hot button issue in the United States, especially when the migrants are labeled "refugees" and come from war-torn Middle East countries. President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and many other Democrats use the phrase "that's not who we are" to try to shame those who oppose their open-door policies for Middle East refugees. They use the same phrase to attempt to justify doing nothing to deport the 11 million illegal immigrants now in the US or to secure America's southern borders. ~~~~~ There is one European country that has already gone down the path favored by Obama and Clinton. France has long had an open door for North Africans of former French colonies, most of whom are Moslem. This, combined with little effort to halt illegal immigration or keep Moslem enclaves under French law has led to no-go zones and increased religious tensions and jihadist terrorist acts in Paris and other large French cities. ~~~~~ Consider this. In 2012, French President Hollande carried out a campaign promise and created a 75% tax on millionaires. Some high-profile rich Frenchmen left the country, including Bernard Arnault, chief executive of luxury group LVMH, who applied for Belgian nationality, and actor Gérard Depardieu, who also moved across the border to Belgium before obtaining Russian citizenship. Obviously, the tax took in much less than predicted and was dropped. And, despite the high-profile exits, there was no mass exodus of rich people from the country. ~~~~~ But leaving because of terrorism is another matter. Last year, 10,000 rich people left France -- an amazing 3% of all the millionaires in the country. The data is in a report compiled by New World Wealth, an agency that publishes data-based reports on the global wealth sector. The report, Millionaire Migration in 2015, showed France topping the list of countries with maximum millionaire outflows, losing 10,000 millionaires, or 3% of its millionaire population. Among the cities with maximum millionaire outflow, Paris was at the top, losing 6% of its millionaire population, that is 7,000 millionaires in 2015, to the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and Israel. The report warns : "The large outflow of millionaires from France is notable -- France is being heavily impacted by rising religious tensions between Christians and Moslems, especially in urban areas. We expect that millionaire migration away from France will accelerate over the next decade as these tensions escalate." After France, the list of countries with millionaire outflows includes China ranked second, followed by Italy, India, Greece, the Russian Federation, Spain and Brazil. Millionaire inflow data showed Australia as the favorite destination with maximum inflows in 2015 -- a total of 8,000 new millionaires. The US was ranked second with 7,000 inflows, followed by Canada, Israel, the UAE and New Zealand. Australian cities Sydney, Melbourne and Perth saw significant millionaire inflows in 2015 from China, Europe, the UK, the US and South Africa, with Sydney topping the chart with 4,000 new millionaires, or 4% added to its existing millionaire population. According to the report, Melbourne and Perth had 3,000 and 1,000 new millionaires in 2015, respectively. Tel Aviv, Dubai, San Francisco, Vancouver and Seattle were also among the top eight cities with millionaire inflows. ~~~~~ It is often said that people vote with their feet, so the rich leaving France is a strong "no" vote for the French government's handling of its much publicized "Moslem question." Recently, Hollande dropped the proposal to take away French citizenship for convicted terrorists, sending a greenlight to terrorists and a negative signal to the French people, who, in growing numbers, don't want to live in a place where political correctness is more important than their security. ~~~~~ Dear readers, attitudes toward immigrants to the United States have cycled between favorable and hostile since the 1790s. Tomorrow we will look at US immigration history to show how false the phrase "that's who we are" really is.