History shows that mass immigration can, and often has been, weaponized for conquest. Both Communists and Islamists are using it to subvert America. Critical Theory paved the way.
Poppycock. We are a prosperous nation of opportunity whose government historically followed the rule of law. THAT has been the immigration magnet not some master conspiracy by others to send their most striving and risk taking/bold people to undermine us. We are the land of opportunity and remain so for now.
Allowing for the coexistence of our theses . . . if what the piece asserts is a real thing then the strategy has been an epic failure. Certainly some perspectives that did not formerly rise to the level of general awareness in the public sphere are now there. That said they are true outliers. Assertions like "This mass psychosis helps explain the widespread support for unchecked mass migration among American-born citizens." are ridiculous. As you might guess I am surrounded by progressives. Literally NOBODY is in support of that agenda. Of course a nation of 370 million contains at least several thousand idiots who hold that belief but it also contains people who worship toilet plungers. If the material change in the public attitudes of Israel is the proof point the inconvenient fact is that changes in Israel's behavior and statements by their defense minister correlate far better with changes in public attitudes than muslim immigration. Lenin being sent to the Finland station only worked because Russia was already coming apart at the seams. That said I will admit that our unity and comity leave something to be desired these days.
"Nobody is in support." Uh-huh. Then why did Joe Biden let in 10 million illegal aliens, claiming he needed new legislation to do anything about it, and yet Donald Trump completely shut down the border in a matter of months, proving it wasn't hard at all? Clearly quite a few people recently in power supported it.
Perhaps you should listen to some of the speeches at the recent DSA convention, or to virtually any word out of the mouths of Zohran Mamdani, Gavin Newsom, or J.B. Pritzker. You might find doing so is quite surprising.
In any case, your domestic-only approach suggests you didn't read the piece very carefully, since its focus is largely on external enemies who have absolutely used our porous border to their advantage. And why wouldn't they? You don't have an answer because you're focusing entirely away from that question.
The article is an extension of the fifth column thesis. Your excellent explanation (in Comments) of the genesis of the fifth column illustrates my point. The fifth column had a basis in reality but the notion was totally out of proportion to reality; blame shifting and paranoia in equal measure.
I used AI and discovered that you were right about the DSA's support of open borders - stupid - their position illustrates my observation that there are thousands of idiots in the US. As for Mamdani, Newsom and Pritzker they are on record as opposing open borders. Their issue is the manner in which we are enforcing our immigration laws and the distinct roles and authorities that municipal, state and federal agencies have. In their minds they are upholding the rule of law. You or I may not like the immigration laws as they stand on the books but it is what it is. I for one would have preferred the passage of the immigration legislation that George W. Bush and James Langford supported. I would probably dislike any immigration legislation proposed by Trump but as you know there is no such legislation. Moreover there has been no effort by the Trump administration to use the biggest lever we have for immigration enforcement - the aggressive use of e-verify. Instead we have the supercharging of ICE via a 900% increase in its budget. It is impossible to spend that much more money without massive waste. As the article states: “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”
IMHO that is where we are with immigration enforcement in this country today. We have a real problem that could be significantly ameliorated (not entirely solved) by some common sense changes and aggressive use of existing authority. It is our problem not one that was designed or created by foreign actors to undermine the US. We have chosen a path where the cure may well end up being worse than the disease. Like the over prescription of opiates for pain we may not realize the full cost of our actions for many years.
I think you should explain to the Kingdom of Norway how there wasn't any real "Fifth Column". Vidkun Quisling would like to have a word.
And yes, Joe Biden was also on record opposing open borders...while he opened the border. Actions matter more than words.
Personally, I'm perfectly happy with our immigration laws. I would just like them enforced.
And as to that enforcement, ICE has deported about 500,000 people so far. The other 2.5 million gone since January 2025 "self-deported", frequently with the assistance of the U.S. government (quite a reversal from the preceding four years). By contrast, Barack Obama deported 5 million. Bill Clinton deported 10 million. And I don't recall anyone claiming that the cure was worse than the disease so long as the President acting wasn't named Trump.
I did not say that there is no such thing as a "Fifth Column" I said that "it has a basis in reality but the notion was "out of proportion with reality" in terms of impact. Note that Quisling attempted to seize power via radio AFTER the successful Nazi invasion and that they went with someone else (initially).
I too would like to see our immigration laws enforced - I'm very frustrated that e-Verify is not being fully leveraged to do so and that we haven't staffed the courts to handle the asylum claim workload. As you correctly note many people were deported under Obama which is why he was condemned as "the deporter-in-chief" by "immigration advocates". The reason his policies did not become an issue among the public as a whole is that they were not performative. I do not object to deporting non-authorized immigrants per se. I do object to the choice (and it is a choice) to do so in a manner designed to sow fear and to deny people their legal rights when equally (if not more) effective measures are not being employed. Never mind spending my tax dollars to incentivize/support Afrikaner immigration. Never mind running a ICE recruitment campaign targeting people who'd like to throw their weight around. Never mind not training those people adequately. Never mind lying when things go badly wrong rather than working to prevent future tragedies while still achieving the mission. In other words I find the cure worse than the disease when other more effective cures with less costly and less toxic side effects exist.
The first through fourth columns were literal military columns (advancing units) of Nationalist troops approaching Madrid during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The fifth column was metaphorical and referred to their secret sympathizers: traitors.
A fifth column (or internal enemy) is a group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. The activities of a fifth column can be overt or clandestine. Forces gathered in secret can mobilize openly to assist an external attack. The term is also applied to organized actions by military personnel. Clandestine fifth column activities can involve acts of sabotage, disinformation, espionage or terrorism executed within defense lines by secret sympathizers with an external force.
The term fifth column was used in Spain (originally quinta columna) during the early phase of the Spanish Civil War. It gained popularity in media in early October 1936 and immediately started to spread abroad.
The notion of a fifth column caught the popular imagination of the public across Europe at the start of the Second World War, especially when people were faced with the rapid occupation of Norway and Denmark by the Nazis, and then the collapse of Belgium, France and the Netherlands. The fear of betrayal was heightened by the rapid fall of France in 1940, which some blamed on internal weakness and a pro-German fifth column. Reports of treachery were common, and when the French premier Paul Reynaud announced that "the bridges over the Meuse had been betrayed", a BBC employee wrote, "I have no doubt that German thoroughness has succeeded in planting a fifth column at vulnerable points." On 23 May 1940, the month after Germany invaded France, the British government under newly appointed prime minister Winston Churchill banned the British Union of Fascists under the Treachery Act 1940. In a speech to the House of Commons on 4 June, Churchill reassured MPs that "Parliament has given us the powers to put down Fifth Column activities with a strong hand." In the United States, a series of photos run in the June 1940 issue of Life magazine warned of "signs of Nazi Fifth Column Everywhere". In July 1940, Time magazine referred to talk of a fifth column as a "national phenomenon".
👏👏👏 A terrific and comprehensive article by J. Michael Waller! One of the most important pieces written on Substack this year! Thank you, Dr. Martin for republishing! Please everyone, send this article to every red blooded patriot you know!
Well said! American need to understand this.
Poppycock. We are a prosperous nation of opportunity whose government historically followed the rule of law. THAT has been the immigration magnet not some master conspiracy by others to send their most striving and risk taking/bold people to undermine us. We are the land of opportunity and remain so for now.
Fallacy of the excluded middle.
Allowing for the coexistence of our theses . . . if what the piece asserts is a real thing then the strategy has been an epic failure. Certainly some perspectives that did not formerly rise to the level of general awareness in the public sphere are now there. That said they are true outliers. Assertions like "This mass psychosis helps explain the widespread support for unchecked mass migration among American-born citizens." are ridiculous. As you might guess I am surrounded by progressives. Literally NOBODY is in support of that agenda. Of course a nation of 370 million contains at least several thousand idiots who hold that belief but it also contains people who worship toilet plungers. If the material change in the public attitudes of Israel is the proof point the inconvenient fact is that changes in Israel's behavior and statements by their defense minister correlate far better with changes in public attitudes than muslim immigration. Lenin being sent to the Finland station only worked because Russia was already coming apart at the seams. That said I will admit that our unity and comity leave something to be desired these days.
"Nobody is in support." Uh-huh. Then why did Joe Biden let in 10 million illegal aliens, claiming he needed new legislation to do anything about it, and yet Donald Trump completely shut down the border in a matter of months, proving it wasn't hard at all? Clearly quite a few people recently in power supported it.
Perhaps you should listen to some of the speeches at the recent DSA convention, or to virtually any word out of the mouths of Zohran Mamdani, Gavin Newsom, or J.B. Pritzker. You might find doing so is quite surprising.
In any case, your domestic-only approach suggests you didn't read the piece very carefully, since its focus is largely on external enemies who have absolutely used our porous border to their advantage. And why wouldn't they? You don't have an answer because you're focusing entirely away from that question.
The article is an extension of the fifth column thesis. Your excellent explanation (in Comments) of the genesis of the fifth column illustrates my point. The fifth column had a basis in reality but the notion was totally out of proportion to reality; blame shifting and paranoia in equal measure.
I used AI and discovered that you were right about the DSA's support of open borders - stupid - their position illustrates my observation that there are thousands of idiots in the US. As for Mamdani, Newsom and Pritzker they are on record as opposing open borders. Their issue is the manner in which we are enforcing our immigration laws and the distinct roles and authorities that municipal, state and federal agencies have. In their minds they are upholding the rule of law. You or I may not like the immigration laws as they stand on the books but it is what it is. I for one would have preferred the passage of the immigration legislation that George W. Bush and James Langford supported. I would probably dislike any immigration legislation proposed by Trump but as you know there is no such legislation. Moreover there has been no effort by the Trump administration to use the biggest lever we have for immigration enforcement - the aggressive use of e-verify. Instead we have the supercharging of ICE via a 900% increase in its budget. It is impossible to spend that much more money without massive waste. As the article states: “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”
IMHO that is where we are with immigration enforcement in this country today. We have a real problem that could be significantly ameliorated (not entirely solved) by some common sense changes and aggressive use of existing authority. It is our problem not one that was designed or created by foreign actors to undermine the US. We have chosen a path where the cure may well end up being worse than the disease. Like the over prescription of opiates for pain we may not realize the full cost of our actions for many years.
I think you should explain to the Kingdom of Norway how there wasn't any real "Fifth Column". Vidkun Quisling would like to have a word.
And yes, Joe Biden was also on record opposing open borders...while he opened the border. Actions matter more than words.
Personally, I'm perfectly happy with our immigration laws. I would just like them enforced.
And as to that enforcement, ICE has deported about 500,000 people so far. The other 2.5 million gone since January 2025 "self-deported", frequently with the assistance of the U.S. government (quite a reversal from the preceding four years). By contrast, Barack Obama deported 5 million. Bill Clinton deported 10 million. And I don't recall anyone claiming that the cure was worse than the disease so long as the President acting wasn't named Trump.
I did not say that there is no such thing as a "Fifth Column" I said that "it has a basis in reality but the notion was "out of proportion with reality" in terms of impact. Note that Quisling attempted to seize power via radio AFTER the successful Nazi invasion and that they went with someone else (initially).
I too would like to see our immigration laws enforced - I'm very frustrated that e-Verify is not being fully leveraged to do so and that we haven't staffed the courts to handle the asylum claim workload. As you correctly note many people were deported under Obama which is why he was condemned as "the deporter-in-chief" by "immigration advocates". The reason his policies did not become an issue among the public as a whole is that they were not performative. I do not object to deporting non-authorized immigrants per se. I do object to the choice (and it is a choice) to do so in a manner designed to sow fear and to deny people their legal rights when equally (if not more) effective measures are not being employed. Never mind spending my tax dollars to incentivize/support Afrikaner immigration. Never mind running a ICE recruitment campaign targeting people who'd like to throw their weight around. Never mind not training those people adequately. Never mind lying when things go badly wrong rather than working to prevent future tragedies while still achieving the mission. In other words I find the cure worse than the disease when other more effective cures with less costly and less toxic side effects exist.
Its not about Trump.
Excuse my ignorance but what are columns 1 through 4?
The first through fourth columns were literal military columns (advancing units) of Nationalist troops approaching Madrid during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The fifth column was metaphorical and referred to their secret sympathizers: traitors.
A fifth column (or internal enemy) is a group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. The activities of a fifth column can be overt or clandestine. Forces gathered in secret can mobilize openly to assist an external attack. The term is also applied to organized actions by military personnel. Clandestine fifth column activities can involve acts of sabotage, disinformation, espionage or terrorism executed within defense lines by secret sympathizers with an external force.
The term fifth column was used in Spain (originally quinta columna) during the early phase of the Spanish Civil War. It gained popularity in media in early October 1936 and immediately started to spread abroad.
The notion of a fifth column caught the popular imagination of the public across Europe at the start of the Second World War, especially when people were faced with the rapid occupation of Norway and Denmark by the Nazis, and then the collapse of Belgium, France and the Netherlands. The fear of betrayal was heightened by the rapid fall of France in 1940, which some blamed on internal weakness and a pro-German fifth column. Reports of treachery were common, and when the French premier Paul Reynaud announced that "the bridges over the Meuse had been betrayed", a BBC employee wrote, "I have no doubt that German thoroughness has succeeded in planting a fifth column at vulnerable points." On 23 May 1940, the month after Germany invaded France, the British government under newly appointed prime minister Winston Churchill banned the British Union of Fascists under the Treachery Act 1940. In a speech to the House of Commons on 4 June, Churchill reassured MPs that "Parliament has given us the powers to put down Fifth Column activities with a strong hand." In the United States, a series of photos run in the June 1940 issue of Life magazine warned of "signs of Nazi Fifth Column Everywhere". In July 1940, Time magazine referred to talk of a fifth column as a "national phenomenon".
👏👏👏 A terrific and comprehensive article by J. Michael Waller! One of the most important pieces written on Substack this year! Thank you, Dr. Martin for republishing! Please everyone, send this article to every red blooded patriot you know!
America 250 Book Club 🇺🇸🫡❤️🤍💙🎆🎇🧨📚 This Edition: The United States in World War I.
* Forgotten Soldiers of World War I: America's Immigrant Doughboys by Alexander F. Barnes & Peter L. Belmonte
* The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I by Edward Coffman
* Miracle at Belleau Wood: The Birth Of The Modern U.S. Marine Corps by Alan Axelrod
* How America Won World War I by Alan Axelrod
* War's Waste: Rehabilitation in World War I America by Beth Linker
* The Hello Girls: America’s First Women Soldiers by Elizabeth Cobbs
* Over Here: The First World War and American Society by David M. Kennedy
* Democracy’s Prisoner: Eugene V. Debs, the Great War, and the Right to Dissent by Ernest Freeberg
* The Unknown Soldiers: African-American Troops in World War I by Arthur E. Barbeau & Florette Henri
* Wilson by A. Scott Berg
* Until the Last Trumpet Sounds: The Life of General of the Armies John J. Pershing by Gene Smith
* Bonds of Loyalty: German-Americans and World War I by Frederick Luebke
* Burning Beethoven: The Eradication of German Culture in The United States During World War I by Erik Kirschbaum
* Sons of Freedom: The Forgotten American Soldiers Who Defeated Germany in World War I by Geoffrey Wawro