Pro-Democrat Immigration

More enforcement at our southern border is inefficient and irresponsible.

In the past thirty years, the US Border Patrol budget has ballooned from 262.65 million dollars to a whopping 4.068 billion dollars, increasing a staggering 1531% since 1990. One would think that such a dramatic increase in spending would lead to a corresponding decrease in illegal immigration, but that’s simply not true. Illegal immigration has gone up in the same period; US Border Patrol reported nearly 200% more illegal immigrants in 2021 than there were in 1990, which means 200% more strain on men and infrastructure and 200% more work for an already frazzled judicial system.

Something’s wrong.

While the statistics above may be boring, they lead to one inescapable conclusion; that our current method of enforcement-first border policy doesn’t work. Even after four years of a Trump White House and the most hawkish immigration policies the country has ever seen, there is still no improvement in the situation, no long-term solution for the problem, and no end in sight.

It’s time for a new approach to our borders—one that relies, not on political showboating or fiery rhetoric, but on compassion, love, and Christian charity.

In order to fix the problem, we must first understand how the situation got out of hand to begin with. According to National Geographic, there are two main factors behind migration; push factors, that drive people away from their homes, and pull factors, that attract the migrants to a specific region or country. In this case, worsening conditions in Central and South America mean that more and more people want to escape the vicious cycle of crime and poverty left by centuries of exploitation and mismanagement. Push factors for those eager to leave include dramatic increases in gang violence and lack of economic opportunity in their home countries.

The reason the US looks so appealing to migrants—those “pull” factors—are relative safety and economic opportunity as opposed to Central America. In the past few years, the demand for cheap manual labor has increased dramatically, especially in the West and Southwest. Immigrants know that if they can get into the country, they will have their pick of jobs, and will work shorter hours for much higher wages than they would in their home countries.

The reason our current border system is failing is that tougher enforcement does nothing to address the underlying factors behind illegal immigration. We can throw as many migrants in jail as we like, but as long as Central and South America stay underdeveloped and poor, and America enjoys economic prosperity and security, the immigration problem will continue to worsen.

Thus, enforcement isn’t just the wrong solution—it’s not a solution at all. Current methods of arrest and deportation are just treating the symptoms of a much larger issue—an issue that will continue to grow and mutate until we finally learn our lesson.

So, with all this in mind, how do we fix the problems at the southern border? How do we stem the tide of illegal immigration, and lessen the constant strain on Border Patrol officers and relief workers? After consulting multiple op-eds, nonpartisan statistical reports, expert opinions, and the statement of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), I have engineered a five-point plan that would greatly reduce illegal immigration, provide a path to full legal status for law-abiding illegals already in the US, and stimulate our own economy in the process.

1. Invest in more processing and crossing point infrastructure that can handle the millions of immigrants coming from Central and South America. There can’t be any real reform at the border until we have a more reliable infrastructure in place. Right now, thousands of migrants are being held for months in overcrowded detention facilities with no immediate trial date, a clear violation of their rights under the Sixth Amendment. Investing in more infrastructure at the border would help ease the burden on an already overworked staff, and would provide the necessary groundwork to any further relief efforts taken.

2. Streamline the process for legal immigration into the United States. Part of the reason that illegal immigration has skyrocketed over the past years is that shockingly few opportunities for legal immigration are available to migrants. Right now, a complicated system of green cards, visas, and impossible requirements make it next to impossible for many migrants to legally enter the United States. No one crossing the border wants to break the law, but unfortunately, circumstances have forced their hand. This isn’t just a humanitarian problem—it’s an economic one as well. Demand for cheap, unskilled labor has risen dramatically in the US, and yet there aren’t enough legal residents willing to work at those jobs. Increasing the number of green cards and temporary worker visas, as well as making it easier for prospective workers to meet the visa requirements, would go a long way towards solving the immigration problem, but would also solve the labor shortage crisis in the process.

3. Provide a path to citizenship for law-abiding illegals already in the US. Once we’ve fixed the immediate problem, we must next figure out what to do with the large population of illegal immigrants already living and working here. Most of these people are hard-working members of society, with no criminal history, and yet they have no legal status and no path to full citizenship in their adopted country. The government must create opportunities for deserving candidates who entered the country illegally to gain citizenship.

4. Cut Border Patrol spending and repurpose the money for infrastructure and humanitarian projects. To pay for the infrastructure upgrade, the government would need to greatly reduce spending on enforcement programs, and the Border Patrol is a prime example. In this plan, their funding would be significantly reduced, and their purpose changed from that of catching illegal immigrants to one of helping to keep the peace at major crossing centers

5. Finally, a “Second Marshall Plan” that would help struggling Central and South American countries. If America is going to fix this problem once and for all, it must cut it off at the source. While how we would do this is a question for economists, there is no question that a series of vibrant, growing young economies so near the United States would greatly benefit our own financial situation too. Helping struggling countries isn’t just a moral duty—there is real economic advantage.

In conclusion, more enforcement is not the answer to the problem at the border. Instead, an approach based on charity, love, and kindness is morally and economically superior.