Disorder at the Border
by John Lawrence, November 27, 2018
Immigration should not be a political football stoking Trump's base and causing cries of shame among the Left. Now in addition to crying children separated from their parents, we have the visual of young children being tear gassed at San Ysidro. Let's get real, folks. Trump has a point and the Democrats should address that point. You can't have thousands of people charging the border to get across and seek asylum. There needs to be an orderly process for asylum seekers and getting into the US illegally and then asking for asylum is not it.
The asylum laws need to be changed for one thing. People should apply for asylum while remaining in their home country or they should apply for a visa, come here and then apply for asylum. Visa holders need to be tracked so they don't just simply overstay their visas like a lot do. Trump is right that the "catch and release" method of processing asylum seekers is a lost cause. People coming in illegally, then being caught, given a court date and then released doesn't work because many never show up for their court date. They just disappear into the vast sea of society.
The refugee crisis is a world wide event. As the earth shrinks in terms of habitable area due to climate change and as people from poorer countries gain access to the internet and realize how people live in rich countries and as continual wars wreak havoc and destruction, people from poorer countries and war ravaged nations want to get in. Europe has been relatively lenient in letting refugees in from war torn areas of the Middle East and Africa, many of whom are fleeing US caused wars and the results of those wars. Now Europe has a big problem with the rise of fascism because the local citizenry is rebelling against this policy of letting huge numbers of people in. It is creating real problems for them among which terrorism is probably the least.
The US has been relatively unscathed in the refugee problem so far, at least from Middle Eastern refugees. But let's give credit where credit is do. Trump has articulated a real problem for the US. Millions want to come here from Central America because we have a land border with Mexico and they want a better life regardless of the threat from gangs in their home country. Although I give Trump credit for recognizing this problem, I don't give him credit for politicizing it and uasing it as campaign fodder. But Democrats need to come to grip with this problem; Congress needs to come to grips with this problem. A real solution needs to be developed that doen't include building a wall or tear gassing babies. On the other hand you just can't let them all in. That would lead to the same social upheaval that Europe is experiencing.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which ended the Mexican-American war in 1848 did not give Mexicans living in Mexico the right to move to the US. It gave Mexicans living in the territories ceded to the US (mainly Texas and the whole southwestern US) the right to remain and become American citizens although they had to declare their intentions within a year.
What the US should do is to give assistance to the peoples of Central America so they feel secure and safe in their own countries and do something to alleviate poverty there. Will the US do it? Not with Trump's attitude of "you're on your own, baby."
