Immigrants, legal and illegal, are here because we need them. We invited them, and our communities and businesses suffer when we suddenly rescind that invitation.
Immigrants don’t commit more crime. Just the opposite, as born out by reseach from people of all political stripes.
Immigrants aren’t taking your jobs. They’re doing the jobs we don’t want (poultry processing plants) or the jobs we don’t have to patience to attain (doctors). When they’re deported en masse, US towns suffer. In fact, one Tennessee town fought back against ICE.
“Oh, but we want legal immigration.”
Do you?
Or do you realize that your votes are making this impossible? Even on issues such as giving legal status to people brought here as children, something the vast majority of Americans want?
In fairness, neither party has made a serious effort to solve the problem and make legal immigration easier. But the Trump administration, led by Stephen Miller, made it more difficult to let people in. (See readings below.)
And they ramped up the cruelty toward desperate people.
That includes refugees. Somehow, the people who take the Bible more literally than anyone else have no trouble turning away people in need. We sent them back to face death and abuse.
If you think refugees need to be thoroughly vetted, fine. I’ve seen it first-hand, and I can tell you —they already are. But you’re welcome to suggest improvements.
You’re NOT welcome to tell Americans they can’t see their families any more. And you’re NOT welcome to deny basic human decency to people fleeing for their lives. And you’re not accurate to call yourself “Christian” when you flee from your obligation to love your neighbors.
Instead of humane policy, Trump offered up the ultimate in virtue signaling, something far more expensive than the virtue signaling we see from the woker-than-thou progressives on Twitter. He offered up The Wall, sadly without David Gilmour’s guitar. The Wall is ineffective, drug smuggling comes through ports of entry, people can tunnel under it or climb over it, we’re disrupting Native American burial sites and the ecosystem around the border, and it’s being paid for not by Mexico but out of the Pentagon’s budget.
You’re welcome to say Democrats have pretty bad on this issue as well. You have a point, actually. And one prominent voice on humane immigration reform is the previous Republican president, George W. Bush.
So whether your local Congresscritters have an “R” or “D” by their names, you can give them a call and tell them to do better.
FURTHER READING
- April 2022, The Bulwark: More Immigration, Less Inflation
- December 2020, The Bulwark: Uninstalling Stephen Miller: How one man’s mastery of the dark bureaucratic arts made life a living hell for immigrants and refugees.
- October 2019, New York Times: Sharp Cuts in Immigration Threaten U.S. Economy and Innovation
- June 2018, Washington Post: There’s no immigration crisis, and these charts prove it
- April 2017, Cato Institute: Why the Wall Won’t Work
- February 2017, The Conversation: Want a stronger economy? Give immigrants a warm welcome
OLDER READING
This is how our economy functions
- Want a stronger economy? Give immigrants a warm welcome
- While it has become a popular notion in the West that immigrants jeopardize the job prospects of natives, over 30 years of economic research (including my own) give strong reason to believe otherwise.
- The poultry industry recruited them. Now ICE raids are devastating their communities. – The Washington Post
Why are “illegals” here? Because we invited them - ICE Came for a Tennessee Town’s Immigrants. The Town Fought Back. – The New York Times
“All 97 workers taken into custody in the Tennessee raid now face deportation, though several have been released pending hearings. And much of the town is reeling. Up to 160 American-born children have a parent who could soon be ordered to leave the country; many families are relying on handouts.” - Coronavirus has slammed the door shut on highly skilled work visas – Axios
- The U.S. is taking in fewer refugees than ever, and it’s our loss – Los Angeles Times
- Sharp Cuts in Immigration Threaten U.S. Economy and Innovation – The New York Times
“Moody Analytics analyzed the data and estimated that if annual United States immigration stayed at only 200,000 rather than a more normal one million, gross domestic product would be $1 trillion lower a decade from now.”
This is who we are
Immigrants are falsely demonized
- Myths and Facts About Immigrants and Immigration
- UNHCR – US Resettlement Facts
- President Trump’s claim about immigrants ‘immediately’ collecting ‘welfare’ – The Washington Post
There are legitimate concerns about immigration. This solves none of them. - There’s no immigration crisis, and these charts prove it – The Washington Post
- The ‘caravan’ of migrants is not a threat. But Trump would rather ignore real crises. – The Washington Post
“Like many a would-be authoritarian before him, Trump ignores the real threats that his country faces, preferring to manufacture nonexistent crises that enable him to play on popular prejudice to consolidate his own power.”
Trying to “close the border” backfires
- Why the Wall Won’t Work | Cato Institute
“The wall is more than a symbol. It will harm the lives of thousands of border residents and immigrants while wasting billions of tax dollars” - People are sawing through and climbing over Trump border wall. Now contractors are being asked for ideas to make it less vulnerable. – The Washington Post
- Border Wall Is Out of Sync With the Southwest’s Changing Politics
- Nixon and Reagan tried closing the border to pressure Mexico – here’s what happened
We can do better to solve problems
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