Immigration Foibles
The U.S. immigration “system” has been broken now for longer than anybody can remember, and the fiasco just keeps getting worse. The pundits scream we need to “fix” the problem, and the politicians point fingers at one another, and the taxpayers get the bill. Send in the clowns.
Meanwhile the refugees, mostly from Central and South America and the Caribbean, just keep coming - millions of them. Their stories of misery, death, starvation, and exploitation are heartbreaking beyond comprehension.
So, what are our political leaders doing about it? Mostly nothing, actually. Here are some “solutions” that have been tossed out, albeit sporadically:
First, try to disincentivize it. A plethora of actions attempt to do just that. Make would-be immigrants suffer - big time. Inflict unremorseful cruelty at the hands of government agents. Split up families, take the children away. Herd them all into tightly-packed areas with no food, water, shade, shelter, or bathrooms, exposed to blazing summer heat and Mother Nature ‘s wrath. Or behind bars.
While we’re at it, spend piles of taxpayer money to “seal” the border. Make it harder and more dangerous to attempt to cross it. The standard-bearer is Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and his $10 Billion Operation Lone Star. He has put his floating barriers into the Rio Grande River, and lined the river bank with lots of razor wire. The (formerly sleepy) town of Eagle Pass is now overrun with a veritable army of government enforcers. As per the plan, these actions have caused much death and injury to immigrants.
Also, hurl insults at them. Pour out the racism and the exaggerations. The standard model here is Former President Trump. His exact words were: “... people from shithole countries.” He and his minions have called the influx of immigrants an “invasion.” That is false. An “invasion” is when armed and violent aggressors enter the U.S. with intent to commit evil. These people are coming here merely to work for a better life. Seeking asylum is not a crime.
Ok, so that’s some of the negatives that are supposed to control immigration. At the other end of the spectrum, what is happening? Well, the government is providing free buses and planes to transport immigrants to “sanctuary” cities, where they get free food and shelter at hotels. Read about it here. The taxpayers, of course, foot the bill (although there are some churches and charities who also help out, as best they can).
So basically, the government enacts both positive and negative immigration forces, simultaneously.
Now get ready for the real zinger: while immigrants are in this “limbo” phase, and the overwhelmed and backlogged Immigration officials try to figure out what to do with them, they are not allowed to work!! Read about that here. It seems that gainful employment is a crime if the proper authorization and verification is lacking, and acquiring said authorization takes a great deal of time. If all goes smoothly, it takes several months, but usually it takes years. So for that entire length of time, our immigrant family is totally dependent on charity and/or government handouts for food and everything. Hilarious, yet disgusting. You can’t make this [redacted] up!!
Let’s take a moment to review why these immigrants come to the U.S. in the first place: They are leaving their homes and everything behind to escape poverty, oppression, and violence. They come to America, a Shining Beacon of Freedom and Opportunity, to seek out a better life for their families. They trek across vast jungles and deserts, on foot or whatever transportation they can find, some for a thousand miles or more. They’re not coming for free handouts or anything. In fact, immigrants tend to be more family-oriented, more religious, more entrepreneurial, and less likely to commit crimes than their American native-born counterparts.
Ok, so I have summarized the immigration foolishness. My faithful readers should know by now that I never just gripe about government foibles and leave it at that. What is the answer?
First, as I pontificated in my article, step #1 is to properly identify the guilty party. It is not the immigrants themselves. Neither is it Biden or Trump or the politicians or the Border Patrol. No, the real guilty party is the evil, incompetent, inept, socialist, fascist, despotic rulers in the immigrants’ home countries that are driving them away by the multitudes.
No politician (that I am aware of) has brought this up. At the recent Republican Presidential debate, all the clowns candidates on stage spouted the usual tax-supported “solutions”: build the wall, empower more border agents, deport the illegals, yada yada. Nobody so much as mentioned the real root cause of it all. This would have been an excellent opportunity to do so and win broad, international support.
But there’s another potential positive force out there that, if not a full solution, would certainly help: Employers.
As mentioned above, immigrants come to American to work. And we have lots and lots of businesses who need labor. Let’s break down barriers so that these two groups can get together for their mutual benefit. Abolish the laws and regulations constrain employment. Instead of transporting them around the country at taxpayer expense, let employers pick up the tab. Company recruiters can meet them at the border, scoop up a bunch (families and all), and take them where needed. Then the employers can be responsible for the paperwork and other legal minutia, on their own time. It’s a win-win for all.
Now the biggest potential problem here is verifying that these “employers” are who they say they are, that they have real jobs to offer, and that they will actually pay promised wages. It must be verified that they are not sex traffickers or smugglers or some other criminal enterprise. But vetting employers is much easier that vetting immigrants, because of the quantities. Immigrants number in the millions; employers, much fewer. And legitimate employers are already established, with an address and contact info and such.
All of the current actions to the immigration mess are but a fool’s errand. I’ve put forth ideas that could really make a positive difference. Remember: you read it here first.
Open borders and a generous welfare a catastrophe make
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