Why Immigration Reform Has Become a Political Football

By Dr. Henry Flores, NewsTaco

By now you are probably dismayed with the amount of time dedicated to immigration issues in the media and the constant “blame game” being played out among this nation’s politicians.  Well, so am I?  There are good reasons, however, why our nation’s “leaders” can’t seem to even begin discussing immigration reform.  A look at the “immigration problem” will show how there is a great deal that cannot be done while, at the same time, there are policies that can be rewritten or devised to alleviate, not solve, immigration issues.

External Factors

            The forces within each country driving immigrants to the United States are completely out of the control of any country without taking some extreme measures. The social evils that are haunting Central America were the cause of the first waves of immigrants coming to the United States fleeing the ravages of the civil wars caused by military dictators we supported in the 1980s and 1990s.  Those refugees came to the United States and many of the youths formed gangs, in Los Angeles principally, such as La Mara Salvatrucha and the 18^th Street.  Many of these gang members were deported back to their home countries where they began linking up with the remnants of the Mexican Drug Cartels.  This unholy alliance has created a state of lawlessness in El Salvador, Guatamala and Honduras driving many innocents from their homes to our southern border.  This migration is the most recent edition of the immigration issue the United States is currently facing.

Other Issues

Although it is estimated by the Department of Homeland Security that almost 100,000 Central American young immigrants have arrived on our border in the last year and a half this phenomenon is not the only immigration issue facing our nation.  We have immigrants that have arrived from many countries for many reasons since the 1960s that are covered by antiquated laws.  For instance, we have a large labor force that has come across our southern borders that have proven to be the backbone of both our agricultural and construction economies.  We’ve been turning our back on these workers and ignoring their situations because it is to our economic benefit to do so.  These workers are not seasonal, they remain in the United States buying homes, educating their children, paying taxes and serving in our military honorably.  What do we do about them?

How about the undocumented children who were brought here by their parents who arrived to work in this country and have proven to be solid, contributing residents of our country, what do we do for these young persons who came here through no choice of their own?  These children have been educated here and are now going into the labor force, also buying homes and raising families and paying taxes.

There Are Immigrants and There Are Immigrants! 

            As I pointed out in an earlier piece here, this country was founded by immigrants and immigrants having been coming to the United States for over two hundred years contributing to its greatness.  So, why are people complaining about more immigrants entering to continue contributing to the economy and, why can’t the government seem to be able to “do anything about” the influx of undocumented people?

First of all, I agree with some who feel that the most recent rash of young immigrants coming from Central America aren’t immigrants per se, they are political refugees fleeing from a terrible and violent existence in their countries.  The problems of Central America are complex and impossible for us to do anything about except care for those fleeing the violence.  After all, we are the global exemplars of humanity!  Secondly, we need comprehensive immigration reform and I do mean comprehensive.  We need to create a policy that takes care of those who are already here regardless of reason and we need to create a policy for those who will come in the future.  Comprehensive, by the way, does not include securing the borders to keep people out.  Comprehensive includes securing the borders to insure qualitative controls on people entering and leaving our country.

We need to create a “Blue Ribbon Committee” with a great deal of fanfare who will present constructive research and information on the immigration issues of the day and propose a comprehensive package of actions that the government and private sectors can take that will lead to a comprehensive immigration policy.  The government, executive, legislative and judicial branches, must be part of the conversation and promise to be constructive rather than destructive of the process and any subsequent policies.

Leadership Required

             In order to achieve what I am proposing we need strong leadership, who will have the courage to stand up to the nay-sayers, racists, bigots, and extreme screamers who don’t want to see good immigration laws solving a problem that has been festering ever since we closed our borders in the 1920s.  We need leadership from all major institutions to take a real stand on this issue for the good of the country.  Immigration may not be the most important issue on the national agenda but it is a volatile issue that may have dire consequences if the national leadership does not act and act soon.

I’ll address border security in my next set of comments.

Henry Flores, PhD, is a Distinguished University Research Professor, Institute of Public Administration and Public Service; Director, Masters in Public Administration (MPA); Professor of International Relations and Political Science at St. Mary’s University.