America's greatness begins with immigrants, not with a wall
Responding to President Trump's call to "choose greatness," former New York Mayor and potential 2020 presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg said "greatness begins with immigrants."
"Choosing greatness starts with
understanding that," he tweeted. "And it means choosing real solutions to our broken immigration system over gimmicks like a wall."
Source: Twitter posting on 2019 State of the Union address
, Feb 6, 2019
Reforming broken system is most important step for economy
More than ever before, immigration is our economic lifeblood. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, himself a wildly successful businessman, says that "reforming a broken immigration system is the single most important step the federal government could
take to bolster the economy." Among the many steps we need to take to restore American economic growth and prosperity, none offers a more immediate return than improving our immigration system.
Source: Immigration Wars, by Jeb Bush, p.101
, Mar 5, 2013
Normalize status of otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants
Bloomberg is a supporter of immigration reform to secure the rights of illegal immigrants. He argues that deportation breaks up families and scares illegal immigrants away from cooperating with law enforcement or accessing vital social services;
as such, he supports proposals like those put forth by Senators Ted Kennedy and John McCain, which would normalize the status of otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants already present.
Source: Wikipedia.org entry, “Michael_Bloomberg”
, May 2, 2007
Border controls fight natural forces of supply and demand
Bloomberg believes that border enforcement is somewhat futile. He told the Senate hearing on Immigration Legislation on 5 July 2006: “It is as if we expect border control agents to do what a century of communism could not: Defeat the natural forces
of supply and demand and defeat the natural human instinct for freedom and opportunity. You might as well sit on the beach and tell the tide not to come in.”
Source: Wikipedia.org entry, “Michael_Bloomberg”
, May 2, 2007
