Ask almost anyone and they will tell you that our Southern Border is out of control. In fact, a bipartisan group in the U.S. Senate hammered out bill to address border issues. After weeks of negotiations and labor, they presented the bill only to have it torpedoed by Candidate Trump. His negative response to the bill led his party to reject it out of hand, further exacerbating the problems on the border. Every president in my political memory, which goes back to Nixon, has asked for a comprehensive overhaul to our border and immigration policy. Congress has steadfastly refused to seriously address the issue. They have given a variety of minor adjustments and tweaks to the system; but, have not provided a serious body of legislation to address the issues surrounding our border. I believe that with a little creative legislation we can leverage the border issue towards the best interests of our nation.
Our national population trends
towards slipping below replacement level. If things continue along current
trendlines, in a few years we will join many of the developed countries and
find our population shrinking. There is no conspirital cause. As nations become
more industrial and wealthier, families no longer feel the need to have large
numbers of children. Even farming families no longer need to have many hands to
do the work. As our farmers have become more efficient, the number of acres
needed to support a family has grown. Many, if not most, farmers do not own
enough land to leave multiple children enough to run a profitable farm. Much of
what drives the shrinking of small agricultural towns in America stems from our
agricultural efficiency. As we develop greater agricultural efficiency, it
takes more land to support a family. As we witness a shrinking of small farming
communities, we also witness a shrinking of the labor pool.
Today, many sectors of our
economy struggle to find enough workers. Our declining birth rate will only
exacerbate this problem. While some, especially gray-beards like myself, like
to blame lazy youth, the truth is that a shrinking labor force enables workers
to be more choosey in what they consider acceptable work. We see a workforce
that is more able to demand and get better wages and more generous benefit
packages, and I believe that is a good thing. We all should want to see a
workforce that is well recompensed for their labor. Wage earners should be able
to secure their livelihood by working one job for forty hours a week. This
would leave them enough time to build a decent life for their families. But who
will fill these jobs?
The United States has built our
world-class economy using several waves of immigrants. At various times in our
history, waves of men and women have arrived on our shores, eager to carve out
a future in our country. The Irish, Chinese, Eastern Europeans, Africans
(non-slaves), Northern Europeans, Spanish and other Hispanics, and Anglos, just
to name a few, have sought to better their circumstances by immigrating to our
nation. Their sweat and labor have built our industries, railroads, cities, and
cultivated our prairies. We are a nation of immigrants. These successive waves
have invigorated our national tapestry and enriched our culture as well as our
bank accounts. Sadly, previous waves have generally viewed contemporary waves
with suspicion and disdain. Each generation has had its own version of “Irish
Need Not Apply;” however, that has not stopped those who long for a chance at
the “American Dream.” And this is where our border situation comes into play.
Instead of seeking to close the
door, why not open it further? Various studies and statistics show that most
immigrants use far less in governmental aid than they pay in taxes, especially
those who are undocumented. The mass of people seeking to cross our border also
seek work. If they were fundamentally lazy, they would not undertake the
dangerous, arduous, and expensive journey to get to the border. Those who do
manage to slip into our nation immediately seek employment, willingly accepting
the lowest paying most menial jobs available. As non-English speaking
individuals, these are the only jobs truly available. When I taught school,
none of my students aspired to menial labor: such as roofing, picking
vegetables, or pouring asphalt. Yet, we desperately need to fill these jobs.
When my roof needed replacement, I did not care what language the workers
spoke. I wanted a high-quality new roof. So why, in a time when so many jobs go
unfilled, do we turn our back on a willing labor force?
Some will say that nerdowells and
other miscreants fill the ranks of these hopeful immigrants. While some
criminals and criminal organizations seek access to the United States to engage
in nefarious activities, the vast majority of immigrants, documented or
undocumented, seek to work. They take the worst jobs, keep their head down, and
work hard to carve out their piece of the American pie. They labor, pay their
taxes, and careflly seek to avoid any contact with the government.
Others will make the claim that
these people make the journey to our country to tap into supposedly generous
welfare programs. Despite these claims, research shows that immigrants,
documented or otherwise, use far fewer welfare resources than
nonimmigrants…those of us who’ve been here for a generation or so. If they are
motivated enough to make the arduous, and dangerous, journey, they usually seek
out some employment to gain the better life they dream of. (See links below)
So, I would say, we ought to increase
the number of immigrants we let into our country. They bring fresh energy and
vitality to our culture. They willingly work those jobs most of us would not
want to fill. They are value added. Letting them in with a short path to full
citizenship seems to make good sense to me. I remember standing in the rotunda
of the Al-Faw palace in Baghdad, watching several hundred young men and women
take the oath of citizenship. My heart swelled with pride at the great display
of patriotism and sacrifice displayed by my fellow comrades in arms. In a like
manner, when I was a company commander, one of the proudest moments I had was
being invited to the citizenship swearing in ceremony for one of my young
soldiers. He and his wife made the long journey from a foreign shore to
citizenship. Though I do not know the end of their story, they are value added.
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