1. The Border under previous administrationS was out of control. Far too many people, by orders of magnitude, were entering the US illegally or with specious asylum claims. The burden of this influx of humanity fell mostly upon border states. Housing, education, medical care, social services, and community resources were strained beyond capacity. With approximately 12 million undocumented immigrants already living in the US, the influx of tens of thousands more per month was both overwhelming and alarming. Something needed to be done.
2. Enter the Biden program, aka CHNV. It did ease the border pressures a little, as was the intent, but not without predictable processing congestion and chaos. On the heels of the successful and orderly admissions of Ukrainians and Afghans,- people who were unquestionably in extreme distress- the Biden administration inexplicably expanded the list of populations it would admit to the US. Suddenly millions of Cubans, Haitians, Nicauraguans, and Venezuelans were added to the already critically backlogged USCIS application rolls. Pandemonium ensued. Cities and States all over the contiguous US absorbed the swelling number of immigrants placing extreme stress on their local and state services. Unfortunately, the entrance of Ukrainians and Afghans slowed to a trickle due to the glut of applications for visas from these new populations. US citizens began to resent the newcomers, fear them (mostly due to racist memes), and grow increasingly reactionary. Initially happy to welcome Afghans to whom we owed a debt, and Ukrainians who were mercilessly attacked by Russia, citizens of the US soon felt submerged by a flood of immigrants from countries that were not experiencing war or devastated by natural disaster. As Americans’ resentment grew, so did their resistance, their anger, and their vulnerability to anti-immigrant propaganda. And, to make matters worse, the border was still out of control with no end in sight.
3. Enter Trump. And, the pendulum swung. The US has always been a welcoming nation for immigrants from every corner of the earth. All Americans, save the Native Americans, are themselves products of immigration. But, too much of a good thing can quickly become a bad thing and this was just such a case. Anti immigrant fears and resentments were ignited and stoked by cynical politicians, racist idealogues, YouTube prophets and christian nationalist preachers. They exploited Americans’ feelings of grievance and fear by suggesting that the new immigrants would soon earn citizenship, vote for communist radicals, and destroy America. (And, they ate our pets!) The immigrants had to go or be expelled by any means necessary. The anti-immigrant rhetoric grew darker and darker. All immigrants, even those here for 40, 50 and 60 years, were dehumanized, vilified and soon terrorized and brutalized. Fear and bitterness metastasized into hate. What should we do?
4. Firstly, we should resolve, once and forever, that concentration camps and an American gestapo are NOT the fix. Cruelty is neither corrective nor constructive, and is patently un-American. Secondly, we should admit that we have a real immigration problem. For reasons I do not comprehend, but I don’t believe for entirely altruistic ones, far too many immigrants were absorbed into America in too short a period of time. Many, of course, were most deserving, and many more were simply opportunistic. The managers of immigration policy did not manage it very well. We messed up.
We have to find our balance, our moral compass, preserve our decency and humanity, restore some order to the immigration system, and own our mistakes. Then and only then will we begin to deal humanely with the immigration problem that WE created.
5. Recommendations:
a. Immigrants already admitted under CHNV should safely remain in the US with work authorizations and a pathway to residency or citizenship. (They are well absorbed into society now, are working, paying taxes, and are benefits, not burdens to their communities)
b. Expedite the reception of Afghans who are STILL waiting for us to honor our commitment of protection to them, as they did for us.
c. Pause CHNV except for Haiti. Expedite the admission of Haitians under extended TPS, or better, asylum with a pathway to residency. Haiti is hell on earth.
d. Naturalize DACA recipients.
e .Either defend Ukraine, or open a permanent pathway to safety for Ukrainians. But, do not abandon them to the horrors of Russian occupation.
f. Deport genuine criminals. Do not fabricate crimes for the purposes of justifying mass deportation. Driving with a broken tail-light is not murder. We know the difference.
g. In the same way that tech industry immigrants receive a special visa classification, grant farm, hospitality, construction, and services workers a similar classification.
h. STOP BEING SO MEAN!
Brigid's Blog 