http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10 ... z1bR6Okvnk

Any one else think this is a dangerous move if drug cartels or terrorists come up with cash?

I'm not worried about cartels. There's already 10,000 visas set aside every year for job-creation: if a foreigner invests $1,000,000 and employes at least 10 people in the US, there's a fast-track for them. And there isn't much of a line; we never use more than 1,500 of those every year.

We also have higher preferences for professional athletes, extraordinarily talented artists, and extraordinarily-talented managers and executives, all of whom trend to be wealthy. The "buy a mansion, get a visa" thing isn't any riskier in that regard as any other immigration preference.

Whether it's fair is another issue entirely.

The class discussion we just had summing up the history of restrictions on immigration that we've had since the late 19th century kinda leave you with a bad taste in your mouth. The highlights:

In 1875, the first restrictions are applied. In an effort to get Chinese laborers to leave, we pass a law saying that no convicts or prostitutes can come into the United States. This is applied pretty well solely to Chinese women, so that Chinese men working here wouldn't be able to get their wives/girlfriends/fiancees in, and would be more likely to leave.

In 1882, we pass the Chinese Exclusion Act. No Chinese person can come into the United States without proof that they were already here. Amendments are passed repeatedly to make it more strict. No Chinese person can become a citizen until 1943, when we make an exception for them because they were our ally in WWII.

In 1924, we pass a quota system, to try and maintain the status quo of our American racial make-up. A limited number of Europeans are allowed to enter. No Japanese allowed. Oh, and that status quo? It was based on the 1890 census because it was whiter.

In 1952, we passed the law we have now (though there are various amendments), in spite of Truman's visa (he wanted a more liberal law). We still had racial quotas, but we ditch absolute racial bars. We get a series of preferences for different kinds of immigrants, and we get family reunification priorities. The racial quotas would disappear in 1965.

Throughout all of it, every opponent to immigration said, "They're not like us, and they won't ever assimilate!" This was said about Germans, Irish, Chinese, Italians, and anyone else you can think of. Perspective for today's opposition?