The state of illegal immigrants in the United States is tragic. Not just because people are being separated from friends, family, and community, but also because of how we got here. A significant reason these people are now facing deportation is because they were lied to for years and told it was okay for them to break the law.
They are definitely still culpable for the various crimes associated with illegally entering and living in the country, that's all on them. But these people are also taking the fall for the failed administrations of the past.
Hacking at the leaves
Yes, everything happening with immigration right now is sad and terrible. Some are blaming immigration enforcement, but that is like blaming the firefighter when your house is on fire. ICE is there to cool the flame caused by years of failed policies and corrupt politicians who thought they could outsource popularity, among other things. The arsonists are screaming that somebody is putting out their fires.
Those enforcing immigration laws are not to blame for the riots, for the heartache, for the instability. They are not causing it, they are doing the messy job of fixing it.
The open borders pipe dream
The messiest part of the cleanup is the disillusionment. Arguments supporting open borders are all very compelling on emotional grounds, but are ultimately illogical and nonfunctional (truth is function! And rule 4) and unjust. A logical approach to immigration reveals that these are basic and essential laws that must be enforced, and the alternative is not pretty. In fact, after years of gaining ground on us, we can see its face in all its ugliness.
Some people don't like to hear slippery slope arguments, but here we can all see the bottom of the cliff after years of sliding. And what is in the chasm? High crime, gang violence, human trafficking, separating loved ones, drug wars, rampant fraud, elevated housing prices, labor dependence, corporate espionage, threats to national security, property damage, to name a few.
Close the dang door!
But what is there to gain from open border policies? You get the satisfaction of knowing that somebody can have a better life in a new country.
Or can they?
As it turns out, when you throw open the door to a better life, a lot of mosquitoes come in too. Before you know it many of the problems people have been fleeing to begin with have followed them right across the border.
What makes a country great are its people. And what makes a country horrible are its people. Therefore, logically speaking, if you want to maintain a great country it's not good enough to let good people in, you must keep the bad people out. If the door is open, you've gotta close it, and squash the bugs. Otherwise, it is no better than the swamp outside.
A rose by any other name
But maybe there are tradeoffs that offset the bad people that come in with the good? A common argument is that illegal immigrants are good, inexpensive unskilled labor, and are important for farming, manufacturing, construction, landscaping, etc. and removing illegals will drive up costs and kill supply.
Maybe all that is true, but there is a certain irony to this fearmongering argument. Here a group says we want to give immigrants a better life, and yet they foster an expectation that immigrants can do the dirty jobs for less-than-legal wages and benefits. If you can't legally exploit labor, why not just normalize it happening illegally, right? Historically, stuff like this doesn't turn out well. Because, you know, it's wrong and unfair.
The elephant in the room
So why not just remove the violent illegals, and leave the good families alone or grant them citizenship? Because that is inherently unjust and unfair. Maybe some people are okay with double standards or two-tiered justice, but for anybody who truly cares about justice and fairness, if somebody skips the line you can't reward them with a fast pass, even if they seem like good people.
The United States of America has laws for a good reason. It is the culmination of research into millennia of human governance, finding what works, and what does not. It has a system of checks and balances designed to keep the people safe and in power. A crucial part of that is the law. The law protects us. If we do not enforce the law just because doing so makes us sad, then we lose that protection.
Sowing seeds
The cleanup is horrible, but essential. But perhaps history will find a bright side to the heartache caused by righting the wrongs of the past. Some of these people have been entrenched in American life for decades. They may understand a bit of what makes America so desirable. Perhaps they will return to their less-than-desirable home countries and think, you know, maybe it is time for us to fix some things.
If America is where the good people of the world go, then does that not mean we have deprived the world of the people who will stand up against the cartels and dictators in their home countries? Who is left to drive a change? The United States was born because good people stood their ground instead of fleeing.
But is this what they want? I have seen interviews of refugees who have fled terrible situations. Unanimously, they all wish they could have the peace of America in their home country. That is where they grew up, and that is where they want to live. There really is no place like home.
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