-=> Quoting Shoshona Bieman to Jean Halverson <=-
 SB> The following is a re-post:
 SB> Jean, please don't be offended by this, but I feel you are being
 SB> quite naive on the subject of immigration & quotas:
 
 JH> That is just the problem. Each country should not carry its
 JH> own quota. There should be an overall quota. Do you honestly
 JH> believe that x amount of people will _ever_ immigrate from
 JH> Sweden or Norway? Make those set apart places available to
 JH> those who desire to come.
 SB> [...snip...]
 
 JH> That's what the quota system does. It unfairly tips the scales
 JH> toward those who don't desire to come here at all.
 SB> [...snip...]
 
 JH> And why do you have a problem with non European immigration?
 JH> Could you live with an overall quota or do you favor the
 JH> country by country quota? Yeah like the entire nation of
 JH> Luxembourg could immigrate in what 2 years?
 SB> Jean, you have fallen into a snare here -- your statements imply that
 SB> you think ONLY (or MOSTLY) third-world nationals would want to leave
 SB> their homelands & immigrate to the USA... Your comments indicate you
 SB> cannot fathom Europeans having the same dream of a better life that
 SB> would culminate in their leaving their European homes and immigrating
 SB> to the USA ... And, to top it off, I would say that attitude is far
 SB> more "racist" than what you are accusing the quota system of being.
 No, at this prsent time mostly non-europeans want to come here. I am saying
 end the "quota by country of origin", make it a "first come, first served,
 regardless of origin" type of thing. Because in the future it may be that
 _mostly_ europeans want to come here. I feel that this is fair. The various 
 folks who have been replying to my answers are against having an 
 immigration standard which _might_ tip the racial balance in this country. I 
 say that this is a racist attitude. So far no one has been able to sway me
 with any logical argument in favor of the current system.
 
 SB> As for the quota system being racist -- that is hogwash. The quota
 SB> is the same across the board, for EVERY nation... as John said:
 
 JS> Limitations are set by Congress and are equally aportioned
 JS> between ALL countries with no consideration of race, religion,
 JS> etc. So Mexico has the  same number of preference category
 JS> visas each year as does England.
 SB> If the gov't selectively gave tiny numbers to third-world nations
 SB> then gave exorbitant figures to a non-third-world nation, then you
 SB> could make a case for racism -- BUT by EQUALLY dividing the numbers
 SB> between ALL nations, we can assure that every nationality will have
 SB> ample opportunities for legal immigration, which is MORE than FAIR!
 SB> Does this all make sense? (I hope you're not offended)
 I'm not offended but I don't think that you got the gist of what I was 
 trying to say. Re: above statement.
 
 Jean Halverson
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