As with everyone else in this country, I am the descendant of immigrants. In my case, I’m fourth generation Irish and third generation Slovenian. In many other countries, my very existence might not have been possible.
Yes, even those we call the Native Americans or First Americans are immigrants. The Amerindians descended from nomadic tribes from Asis and Siberia, coming to North America over the land bridge which joined Asia and North America. And, like later migrations, the Amerindians did not all arrive in the same period, nor were they of a homogenous group. Archeology shows that even the modern Native American ancestors were predated by people from Southeast Asia. There also exists a theory that the “first” Americans were black.
In truth, in a modern construct, the whole argument about who was “first” is quite absurd. It’s a good exercise for a Saturday evening trivia game. Who was the first American? Who was the first female Supreme Court Justice? (Sandra Day O’Conner). Who was the first black member of the House of Representatives? (Joseph Rainey). Who was the first Ukranian-American member of Congress?(Victoria Spartz). Three out of four. Remember that for trivia night.
The point is, the United States is a nation of immigrants. Immigration is crucial to not only the wealth and dynamism of our country, but also to the existence of our very culture. It is that very amalgamation of ethnic and religious cultures which gives us our entire spectrum of thought. Our very Constitution and the Bill of Rights arise out of the recognition of our diversity. The Bill of Rights protects that diversity whether one is moderate, far left, or far right; whether one is Christian, Jewish, Islamic; whether one is Asian, African, Caucasian. And, yes, I’m sure I have not listed all the possibilities, but you get the point.
Recently a particular member of the House of Representatives (as wrong as she usually is) posted, “When it comes to people coming to New York City today, are nothing, I’m telling you, nothing, compared to the daily amounts of people that we saw coming in through Ellis Island in the first half of this century,” She said that a total of 12 million immigrants were processed at Ellis Island between 1892 and 1924, which “far eclipsed what we’re seeing right now.”
First of all, it’s “daily number” not “daily amounts”, but that’s just me.
She gets to be wrong, as usual, in so many ways. First, the Ellis Island immigrants averaged about 375,000 per year, while just in 2023, 2,600,000 crossed the Southern border. Second, while the Ellis Island immigrants came in through New York City, not all of them remained in NYC. Most had predetermined destinations across the country. Third, once in the country, they did not congregate in groups on city streets and parks. Fourth, and it’s a very minor point but illustrates her ignorance, Ellis Island opened in the 19th Century and closed in the first quarter of the 20th Century; it was never open “in the first half of this century”. Most importantly, the Ellis Island immigrants came through an established port of entry.
Predominantly, those immigrants who came in…now, come in…through ports of entry have destinations, sponsors, work prospects. It’s fair to observe that the current influx of illegal immigrants are, at least for the foreseeable future, going to swell our homeless population, a population we still have no way of coping with. They come without documentation or evidence of their work skills. While they struggle to establish themselves, what are they to do?
In all this, I in no way criticize the immigrant. In the main, I don’t judge their motivation for wanting to come to America. They see this country as an opportunity for a changed life, a better life. I see the long lines of people trekking across at least Mexico, hoping to be able to cross the border. I have a certain empathy for them. My grandfather left Slovenia, crossed much of Europe to arrive at the port of Marseille, France, and boarded a ship for America with six dollars in his pocket. He went to a small factory city in Central New York and established his new life: a job, a home, a family.
I am not so naïve to think that then or now every immigrant came here for noble purposes. We have always had those with nefarious intentions, but the system we had “back then” with controlled entry ports served to welcome those who came to build and reject those who came to do harm. And, yes, it wasn’t perfect, but it was surely better than what we are now experiencing.
What we are seeing now on our southern border and beginning to worsen on our northern border is not the fault of the immigrant. It lies totally at the feet of an irresponsible, permissive government. Yes indeed, we can say “well, we have always had problems there and no government has been able to solve it”. There’s truth in that. Is that a reason to now do nothing?
Let’s think about milk. There is this bottle of milk which has spilled over, and the milk is running out. Because no one picked it up and set it upright in the past means that we just wring our hands and say it was set upright before, so we will let it be? Pick up the damned bottle.
We have a government which Constitutionally is supposed to control the borders, yet they, first, refuse to see the milk has spilled; second, says the milk really is not spilling out of the bottle, third, says the milk pouring out of the bottle, dripping onto the floor isn’t really happening, and, by the way, someone else knocked over the bottle.
Our government is aiding and abetting a humanitarian crisis. In a very real sense, the government is actively participating in endangering the migrant population, with encouraging hopeful people to swarm to the unsecured border. Along much of the southern border there is desert. There is no good time of the year to “sneak” across that border. A person can die of thirst during the heat of the summer days or freeze to death in the cold of the winter nights. Many of the illegal immigrants spend every penny they can muster, leave family behind, brave sometimes unspeakable hardships, only to find themselves with a perilous crossing of the border. How is the United States not culpable in that.
In one section of our northern border, the frequency of illegal crossing is growing. A person may fly into Montral, Canada from any place in the world and be admitted under their permissive entry standards. Once in Montreal, they can take the Metro to the southern part of the city, across the river. Then they can get a taxi to the border, cross the basically unguarded border between the little villages of Mooers and Champlain, NY. Call for a taxi to drive them to Plattsburgh, NY. Now they are about 20 miles inside the US. In Plattsburgh, they can take the Amtrak to NYC, Baltimore, or DC. From the point you leave the Canadian ride to the border to Champlain is about 10 miles, through dense woods and brush. Sounds easy and may be easy, unless you are making the walk across the border in the winter time. The snow gets deep and temperatures can easily go well below zero at night, and sometimes during the day. And that’s just one crossing point.
We must get back to an immigration system which encourage immigrants to come to this country because we need them here, but we need them to come safely and legally. Unfortunately, now, because of the government’s dereliction, we must take possibly the least desired course. At present, it seems the only way to get to a logical immigration system is to seal both borders. We must seal the illegal crossing points and not allow people to step into the country. Those that attempt to cross illegally must be turned back. If they are from, for instance, Guatemala, and cross from Mexico, then they are returned to Mexico, from whence they came.
The Federal Government must allow the states to use their resources to seal the border. At present, Texas for example, places barriers along their border with Mexico, discouraging illegal crossings, but the Federal Government thwarts their efforts by demanding barriers be removed, thereby actually encouraging people to cross. The Federal Government drives individual states to take actions to protect their own sovereignty and all to often in opposition to the Federal Government.
We must overhaul the asylum claim or reinstitute what it once was. An illegal immigrant only needs say they fear for their lives at home. It’s easy, at present, to imagine that anyone fleeing Venezuela has great fears of life there, but it doesn’t mean they would be in actual jeopardy from the either the government or political/criminal elements. At one time, the immigrant needed to verify that, but now they say that and get a date for a court hearing and then released into the United States. Once absorbed into the 330,000,000 million of us, how many report for their court dates, knowing they may be deported? Illegal entry is a criminal offense whic can result in a fine and deportation. Once deported, they may not return to the United States. Under such a consequence, why would a person report for that court date?
Immigrants who meet the basic requirements of provable sponsorship, employment, prospective residence may be released to “go on their way”. Those who cross illegally cannot be allowed unfettered entry. Merely giving them a distant court date cannot be allowed. If they cannot prove claims of asylum, sponsorship, employment, residency, they must be returned denied admittance.
It’s not an easy thing to do because we value immigrants and we choose to think we are a benevolent society. It’s not an easy thing to do because we are, after all, talking about vulnerable human beings. But it’s not in reality, a moral dilemma. We do no service to our people or to the immigrant to place them in what is all too often tenuous life situations.
If there is a moral choice then that choice can only be to have a controlled process which welcomes immigrants into a better life.