ERIC H. WESSAN ZACHARY T. REYNOLDS MARCUS S. BAUER JAYSON A.

PARSONS
Chairman Secretary Chief Whip Chancellor

30 January 2018

The RAISE Act solves our immigration woes: cut quotas, break immigration chains, and court
only the best. Instead of being a porcelain receptacle for other nations’ wretched refuse, the United
States should again put America first. Yet slamming the golden door may well send America back to
the Bronze Age, and the shining city on a hill must not hide its light under a bushel.

If the essence of a nation is its people, allowing foreign bodies to enter is inviting disease into
the body politic. For decades, however, our elites have admitted about a million immigrants every
year, diluting national unity and letting corporate leviathans crush domestic wages. The old country
buffet has served America a cultural salad. From Chinese-Americans to Italian-Americans, we have so
many subcultures that it’s hyphens all the way down. Meanwhile, chain migration is only as strong as
the weakest link; no engineer is worth the drag of a freeloading cousin. At minimum, we should admit
only the educated and energetic, but preserving America’s cultural and moral identity likely requires a
moratorium to absorb the present flood. If the goal of immigration is assimilation, disallowing
sufficient time to transform sojourners into citizens puts us on the path to national suicide.

But waves of industrious immigrants have not swamped our Republic; instead, the rising tide
has lifted all boats. Migrants and refugees founded this country, joined this nation’s coasts with steel
and coal, and helped launch many Fortune 500 companies. Even if there can be too much of a good
thing, reform, not restriction, is the answer. Putting a tourniquet on migrant labor will close a vital
artery of commerce, while quitting H-2As cold turkey will cause enterprising aliens to withdraw to less
legal channels of entry. Besides, without foreign labor and grit, who will build the wall? Let America
continue as the melting pot of the western hemisphere. From Irish farmers fleeing potato blight, to
Mexican workers seeking refuge from violent cartels, to Chinese entrepreneurs pursuing Fortune’s
cookie, this land of opportunity has welcomed countless newcomers in search of the American Dream.

Unsure whether to filter foreigners or cast a wide net, the Chairman invites Members and
Friends to consider:

Resolved: Raise the Bar.

The Society will gather in the first-floor Library of Ida Noyes Hall on Tuesday, the 6th of February. Ida
Noyes Hall is located at 1212 East 59th Street, at the intersection of East 59th Street and Woodlawn
Avenue. The Chancellor will make available the wares of the Provostery at 7:00 p.m., and the
Chairman will gavel the caucus to order at precisely 7:30 p.m. Gentlemen wishing to speak on the
floor should wear a tie; ladies should observe a comparable sartorial standard. The Chairman invites
Members and Friends to join him at the Pub after the debate.