Submitted by DaveinHackensack, Aug 18, 2008 09:56

"For it's not unheard of for an unskilled immigrant, or his children, to acquire skills." The question isn't whether it's unheard of, but how likely it is. A study by the National Academy of Sciences found that unskilled immigrants consume more in government services than they pay in taxes. As for the likelihood of an unskilled immigrant's children to acquire skills, have you looked at this issue empirically? I realize that the editors of the Sun are ideologically committed to open borders, but if you look at the educational and economic attainment of the descendants of unskilled immigrants over the last few decades, the data doesn't give any encouragement. These immigrants' children and grandchildren haven't climbed the socioeconomic ladder in any way like the descendants of the Ellis Island immigrants did. There isn't a Federal Reserve Chairman in the bunch.

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.