The Mystery of Our Nations Borders
Musings
I don't understand the problem and consternation with our nations borders. We seem to have way too many people coming across the borders and they are not tabulated or documented as they come across the border. Some stop at the border stations and get acknowledged as someone who is seeking asylum, usually for economic reasons, and others cross swimming rivers, crossing a desert or in some other manner. The odd part is particularly the way we treat this migration of people into our country. There is a migration of poor people toward richer countries all over the world. Europe also seems to have a serious problem of people that are looking for a new country for economic reasons and coming from Africa in the Middle East on a large scale but I do not believe it is as uncontrolled as in the United States.
Regardless, even with our large number of people on border patrol, and even though we have very extensive borders, we do very little to document, control or turn back these people. Indeed, it seems to be that when they reach the border and claim asylum for economic reasons, in some manner they are given a designation and told to go ahead and enter the country and return at some point in time to be considered for immigration. And that system is years behind schedule.
As I read some of the information on this the numbers seem to exceed 100,000 in some years of the Biden administration but are now down to approximately 60,000 new immigrants a year, I find those numbers mind boggling. Can it be that our government is happy that the new immigrants only number 5,000 a month most of whom have not been approved for immigration.
What else is mind boggling is that Congress seems to feel that this is a great issue to treat as partisan and squabble and not reach a resolution on the issue. The Republicans and Democrats apparently are too incompetent to resolve this issue when it seems to me it is simply a question of having people apply and only allow a certain number of people into this country each day based on our population needs.
Contemplations
There was apparently an agreement between the Republicans and Democrats in Congress on some type of resolution to the border problem that was approved by both parties and ready to pass when Donald Trump inserted himself and insisted that the Republicans back out of the deal and leave the border problem unresolved. That should not be a surprise to anyone. Donald Trump wanted the border as an issue he could exploit in the election and he didn't want it to all of a sudden be solved before he could try and use that to win votes. The sad part is that the Republicans in Congress didn't have enough fortitude to tell Donald to find other issues to run on and go ahead and pass the border agreement.
As I understand it the border agreement was kept confidential so that it would not cause a flare up between the parties. Therefore as it was killed by Trump's inserting himself we don't know what might have been put forth except that it was a supposed resolution.
Having missed that opportunity to address the border problem, we still have the question of why this is an issue that can't be solved. While he was in office Trump supposedly came up with ways to reduce the number of people crossing the border even though many of those ideas seem to be somewhat absurd such as separating children from their parents. His efforts brought the monthly number of people crossing the border and seeking asylum to approximately 60,000 per year. I believe the most recent analysis of crossings suggests that number is once again down to about 60,000 per year. It is suggested that this is due to some new rules imposed by president Biden that limited the number of people that could be accepted as seeking asylum if the number crossing the border fell below1500 per day for 2 weeks ! As I read about this new more stringent policy I was confused. If Trump with his brash policy only reduced border crossings to 60,000 per year and Biden has achieved the same number and believes this is a policy victory I don't understand what is the policy of the United States. There is even the suggestion that if the current efforts cause the number of people crossing the border to fall too low then we might have to open up the border to get more people to cross into the United states to assist in the job market!
All these numbers seem to me to be bureaucratic babble from Washington DC by both parties. There should be a logical program and structure for those from other countries that want to enter the United States. They should apply and if they are found eligible, they get in line to be allowed into the United states to work. They want to come here to earn money to take care of their family and or themselves and so they're coming here for economic reasons. If they are allowed in then it seems to me it would be something more akin to the green card policy in which someone has a card allowing them to come into the United States to work and then they must return home periodically. If they're coming here to earn money for their economic purposes there's no reason why they should be considered for citizenship or other issues that seem to get bogged down in this discussion. If they come here and live permanently for a certain number of years, and handle other matters that are beneficial to the country, then perhaps they can apply for citizenship otherwise there is no reason why citizenship follows from someone who comes here to work for economic reasons.
I also don't understand why any person who is allowed to cross the border is not booked in the computer and given an identification number and told where they should go and how often they should report back at a government office. If they're interested in going to North Dakota fine or if they're interested in going to East Los Angeles fine but the computer should know that and if they change that location they should report in. There is no reason why a series of simple requirements like that cannot be made clear for people if they want to come into the country to work. If they come into the country without receiving a designation/number from the border patrol they should be escorted back across the border and not be considered for entry.
It is a mystery to me why 60,000 is an acceptable number of people to allow into the country that are undocumented. As much as the Republicans like to complain about undocumented immigrants and the need to have a decent immigration policy they seem to be just as much as fault as the Democrats. I don't understand why they can't put a program in place, close the border and start over to review the people who have applied and anybody who wants to come into the United States must get documented with an ID number and given a limited series of instructions on where they can go and what they can do. If they violate that they will be sent home. On a parallel track the huge number of undocumented immigrants must be directed to get an ID card and go through a review process or they will be sent back across the border.
It is appropriate to declare a moratorium on new immigrants. We have lost control of the immigration process. Shut it down until we have caught up with the immigration already in the country and that awaiting at the border.
Finally, the existing laws should be reviewed and eliminate those that don't work. For example, it does not seem to make sense to have a category for economic hardship as a reason to admit people. That group includes billions of people. We can't take them all. A group to expedite their entry is those with skills we need, say micro chip engineers. Merely being a relative of someone already in the United States should not be a reason for admission. Those people can visit on a visa. The existing laws must be sorted out.
Thoughts
It is obvious that Congress has played games with the migration and border issue for many years. It has gone on so long that it is now not just a problem but pathetic. Supposedly we have approximately 12 million or more people in the country that are undocumented. I don't care if they're working at very important jobs or what else they're doing for our country they should be identified, receive an ID number either through a state or the federal government and be known individuals who are paying their taxes, receiving the government benefits and working for the economic reasons that they identified when they entered the country. The members of congress are afraid to face the consequences of fixing the issue because they fear it will cause a loss of political status with their party. I think we should let all of the congressmen and senators know if they don't solve it they will not be reelected. There's no reason to keep sending these people back to Washington and have them complain that this is a difficult issue and it is not easy to solve. It is easy to solve, both sides need to compromise and move forward. They just have to sit down in a room, perhaps lock the door, and not come out until they have a solution. Some such attitude is needed and right now it is lacking.
Silence Dogood
All prior postings of this blog can be found at: thoughtscm.com