There are valid reasons to limit the flow of immigrants into the country and to control our borders. Many have advocated better border security and yes, a wall in the recent past. Democrats, especially those aligned with the labor movement have pushed for border security under the theory that increased immigration depresses wages and forces citizens to compete with undocumented people for scarce jobs. As a matter of national security a country should control who crosses its borders and be able to keep track of immigrants once in the country. These are all valid reasons for improved border security and interior enforcement.
However, there are other forces at play here. Mexican citizens may not even be the largest group crossing our southern border as more people flee violence in Central America. Some of these are "economic immigrants" seeking a better life while others are "asylum seekers" fleeing violence and repressive governments. Either way thousands brave hardships that most of us would have nightmares about and risk crossing the border illegally or presenting themselves at legal entry points claiming asylum.
In any case these are for the most part ordinary people taking extraordinary risks to get here, many saving for years to pay someone to smuggle them across the border. Most are not criminals, rodents, insects, or animals. Most are not drug dealers or gang bangers. I have met thousands of such people in the last decade, and while some might fall in the "bad" category, the vast majority are hard working people seeking a better life. Many work physical jobs in roofing, carpentry, sheetrock, or concrete, or clean the offices in our gleaming high rise buildings at night. My anecdotal experience may not meet a definition of proof, but it is undeniable that millions of such immigrants are in the workforce now, many for decades.
One can make an argument that more needs to be done at the border to restrict illegal immigration or that the legal immigration system needs to be revised. At some point in the future a "grand bargain" needs to be made in a bipartisan way to address how to deal with the border, legal immigration, and the status of the millions of undocumented people living within our borders right now. Right now the political will is not there as both parties would rather have the issue rather than solve the problem. No one has clean hands on this issue.
It is not necessary to demonize or dehumanize hundreds of thousands of people in an effort to move public opinion, make people angry, or harvest cheers at rallies. The national interest can be addressed while recognizing the humanity of people who have crossed or attempted to cross our borders. A great nation can do both. A president should. Congress should. We should.
Where are the statesmen when we need them? Not in the White House. Not in Congress, at least not in the leadership. It would be easy to blame this entire problem on a coarse, vulgar president who likes to whip up the crowd, truth be damned. However, this was going on before Trump took office in 2017. President Obama had a Democratic Congress, including a filibuster proof majority in the Senate for awhile and failed to move legislation. The "Gang of Eight" valiantly tried, but the House refused to act. Our daily outrage machines (otherwise called cable news, talk radio, and various internet sites) ensured that this would die in its cradle.
This points to a problem that has festered in recent years as it appears that our parties have forgotten how to govern, how to make the trade-offs and compromises necessary to enact national policy that makes a good faith attempt to balance competing interests.
We need to secure our borders. We need to acknowledge the human rights' crises taking place south of us. We need to treat people with dignity and compassion even has not all of them will be allowed to migrate here. We need to address the fate of DACA young people along with the others who have made a home here...yes, illegally. We need a legal immigration system that meets the needs of the country now, not the country in 1965.
We can do all that without slandering entire groups, making up statistics, or denying their humanity.
In any case these are for the most part ordinary people taking extraordinary risks to get here, many saving for years to pay someone to smuggle them across the border. Most are not criminals, rodents, insects, or animals. Most are not drug dealers or gang bangers. I have met thousands of such people in the last decade, and while some might fall in the "bad" category, the vast majority are hard working people seeking a better life. Many work physical jobs in roofing, carpentry, sheetrock, or concrete, or clean the offices in our gleaming high rise buildings at night. My anecdotal experience may not meet a definition of proof, but it is undeniable that millions of such immigrants are in the workforce now, many for decades.
One can make an argument that more needs to be done at the border to restrict illegal immigration or that the legal immigration system needs to be revised. At some point in the future a "grand bargain" needs to be made in a bipartisan way to address how to deal with the border, legal immigration, and the status of the millions of undocumented people living within our borders right now. Right now the political will is not there as both parties would rather have the issue rather than solve the problem. No one has clean hands on this issue.
It is not necessary to demonize or dehumanize hundreds of thousands of people in an effort to move public opinion, make people angry, or harvest cheers at rallies. The national interest can be addressed while recognizing the humanity of people who have crossed or attempted to cross our borders. A great nation can do both. A president should. Congress should. We should.
Where are the statesmen when we need them? Not in the White House. Not in Congress, at least not in the leadership. It would be easy to blame this entire problem on a coarse, vulgar president who likes to whip up the crowd, truth be damned. However, this was going on before Trump took office in 2017. President Obama had a Democratic Congress, including a filibuster proof majority in the Senate for awhile and failed to move legislation. The "Gang of Eight" valiantly tried, but the House refused to act. Our daily outrage machines (otherwise called cable news, talk radio, and various internet sites) ensured that this would die in its cradle.
This points to a problem that has festered in recent years as it appears that our parties have forgotten how to govern, how to make the trade-offs and compromises necessary to enact national policy that makes a good faith attempt to balance competing interests.
We need to secure our borders. We need to acknowledge the human rights' crises taking place south of us. We need to treat people with dignity and compassion even has not all of them will be allowed to migrate here. We need to address the fate of DACA young people along with the others who have made a home here...yes, illegally. We need a legal immigration system that meets the needs of the country now, not the country in 1965.
We can do all that without slandering entire groups, making up statistics, or denying their humanity.
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