Immigration – Not Really All That Complex

The Question is Who Wants to Not Solve It

Well, OK, There Is Some Complexity

I don’t want to be too flippant on this important topic. There are complications throughout this issue, and uncounted groups and organizations involved. Most of our laws and procedures are out of date by decades. But as will eventually (hopefully) establish here today, it is not complexity that keeps us from solving this. Its bad intent and bad communications that keep us in turmoil.

Three Groups Are Why We Have Not Solved This

We shall discuss momentarily why most people, of widely varying backgrounds should, and mostly do, want this solved. But three groups are holding us up, especially the first two.

First and foremost are those politicians who want to keep this problem as a problem, to stoke fear and anger, which translates into votes. Trump is the most obvious person in this group, but there are many, many more who see this simply as a tool to fan potential voters their way.

The second group consists of those who really hate anyone who is an immigrant, legal or otherwise. This is a vicious, racist component, calling up the very worst of America. Their hatred defies all logic and common sense; it is visceral for them. They could care less about the human impacts or the effects on our country in mass deportations. They crave the chaos and cruelty.  White House Vice Chief of Staff Stephen Millar is the most obvious face in this mob. He is the Josef Mengele of this mob.

The third group may be one that surprises some readers that I call it out, but I think it fair to do so. This includes those who really favor open borders and passionately believe that no one is illegal. I am quite sympathetic to immigration and fully understand why so many come here illegally (more on that shortly). But to say no one is illegal is to say a country gives up control of its own borders. It also plays into the hands of the hardliners, feeding fears of unchecked immigration. We need much better systems and more compassion, but we also have to meet our responsibilities to have some standards in this vital area.

 That the Numbers Are So Large For So Long Tells Us Something Important

People have been coming to live in America in huge numbers, almost since the birth of our country. Even now, when the Trump regime is hammering immigrants and trying to seal the Southern border, 10,000 a month are still being registered – the numbers actually crossing is likely several times larger.

And when they arrive, they find work almost always and immediately. Often it is work that others do not wish to do, but these migrants do it. Their importance, especially in agriculture and services, is overwhelming. We all heard businesses scream to Trump to knock it off, that farms, meat plants, and hotels would all shut down without these people.

So, we should recognize that millions of people want to be here for good reasons and thousands of businesses need them to survive. This has been the case for many decades – both the immigrants and the US benefit when immigration functions. In other words, if we manage this correctly, it can be a win-win for everyone, not the fear fest some are trying to give us.

Are There Some Key Points Most Of Us Could Agree Upon?

I would hope that most of us could actually find common ground on a fair number of components to this issue. George W. Bush offered a pretty good solution when he was president, but his own party rejected the initiative, preferring to keep the fear up front.How about something like the following for a foundation to resolution?

• America needs immigrants. Lots of them, from lots of places, with lots to contribute. Our economy would be badly hurt without them, even crippled. Let’s quit pretending these are invaders and start looking for win-win solutions.
• The country has an obligation to control its borders. Most people who cross, legally or illegally, are good people just hoping for better lives. But there are bad people among them, and it is the obligation of the government to deal with that. One key element to solving this challenge is to make it easier to apply and travel legally, so fewer feel pressed to come in illegally. other countries have better systems to do all this. No reason why we could not do as well.
• Many of these immigrants come for genuine needs for asylum, but many (many more, I suspect) are here for economic reasons. The US is about the only advanced country that does not have a guest worker program. Set up a vigorous, easy to join and administer guest worker program and much of the illegal problems with the border disappear. We do have a Green Card (Permanent Resident) program, and some special categories for a few skills, but this is a pitifully slow and small program. We need a comprehensive program that allows people of all skills to come in, work, pay taxes, travel back home, etc.
• How inadequate is the current system? The U.S. limits the number of employment-based green cards issued each year, and the backlog occurs because the demand far exceeds the available supply. At the start of fiscal year 2024, approximately 7 million green card applications were pending, according to the Cato Institute.
• Given the annual cap of about 1.1 million green cards, only about 3 percent of applicants were expected to receive permanent status last year. No one in the   services area could even apply for a Green Card. The system for approving or rejecting applications is overburdened. Waits are often measured in years, even decades. This does not work for the USA or for would-be immigrants.
•  It’s the same for applications for asylum. In my state of North Carolina at the end of 2023, the most recent data  available, there were 24,662 pending asylum applications in the state, and the average wait time for a hearing was more than four and a half years, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University. Resource this area to get it down to 1-2 years to process.
• No wonder people try to enter illegally. They have almost no realistic option to enter legally. This same backlog also results in some applying for asylum when they may not qualify, but they get time here while waiting on hearings. They are grasping at about the only option they have to try entering legally.

• Let’s debunk the nonsense that illegal immigrants are an economic drain on the economy. Quite the opposite is true. According to the American Immigration Council, undocumented immigrants in my state alone paid an estimated $1.8 billion annually in federal, state, and local taxes.  The Social Security Administration (SSA) estimates that undocumented immigrants and their employers nationally contribute around $12 billion per year to Social Security through payroll taxes, even though the workers are ineligible to collect Social Security benefits. They also contribute to Medicare through mandatory payroll deductions but rarely receive any benefits. These people seriously underwrite our social services costs, and get nothing in return, for the most part.
•  Undocumented immigrants also contribute billions of dollars in sales taxes  through everyday purchases of gas, clothing, services, and groceries, and indirectly pay property taxes, through rent payments, that fund local services such as schools, roads, police and fire protection, and infrastructure.

• While we are at it, let us put to rest the scary vision of masses of criminals and mentally ill people crossing our borders daily. Surely with this many crossing, there are some bad people in the mix. But research shows that immigrants — including those who are undocumented — are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born residents, according to the American Immigration Council.  As of Feb. 9, there were 41,169 ICE immigrant detainees in custody, according to TRAC. More than half, 54.7 percent, had no criminal record, and many more had only minor offenses, including traffic violations. People who came here hoping for a better life are looking to be as invisible as possible. There is not, and never has been, an immigrant crime wave. The occasional horror story does not change the facts.

What’s  Next?

With this Administration and this Congress, nothing is next. We will continue to waste money and energy, fan fears among citizens and immigrants alike, and continue to rely on undocumented immigrants to do important work. We will talk later about the problems ICE now presents.

Changing which party controls either house of Congress could at least slow down the waste and abuses now ongoing, but that is about all that could be hoped for in the near term.

One could hope that at the next national election, we get a president and a congress ready to finally deal with all this. Put a vigorous guest worker program in place. Upgrade the systems and staffing to get legal applications for visas or asylums done much faster. Does not have to be any easier, but it is inexcusable to take years to even get a hearing, much less a decision. Politicians keep wanting to add more guards on the border. How about instead getting more immigration judges and administrators at work and set a standard, say 5 years maximum, to get decisions.

Remember Who We Are

This country was founded on immigration (a point Native Americans can readily point out). It has been our “secret weapon” since the country was formed. The numbers of foreigners who came and still come here to work, to study, to do research are staggering – as are the long lists of contributions they have made, over and over.

America is a country that constantly reinvents itself. Immigrants are an important part of that success. Let’s build a system that encourages good immigration, protects our borders, and honors our aspirations to be the country we can be.

Bill Clontz

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