The headlines critical of Joe Biden are justifiably rubbing his nose in the porous Southern border with hundreds of thousands of migrants coming into the United States without proper vetting or a sensible plan to accommodate them. Washington ignores the issue leaving it to border states to grapple with, and border state governnors are protesting by shipping a few thousand migrants to Democrat run cities to make the point that coping with thousands of newcomers without infrastructure and an orderly plan is crippling to their communities.
Mayors of the Democrat run cities seem to agree, whining publicly about the influx of migrants and taking shots at the border state governors for using migrants as “pawns” to make political points. The migrants have become pawns on both sides of the aisle, and are caught in a crossfire that is unhealthy. The hostile exchanges do nothing to improve immigration policy and the Biden Administration keeps claiming immigration is under control when it is patent that it is not.
In 2021, Canada welcomed over 400,000 immigrants and it was an orderly process with those immigrants accepted into Canadians society with no fanfare or political angst. For a country with a population of 37 million, immigration that adds about 1% to our population each year is manageable and valuable with the new Canadians adding to our rich and diversified country and filling gaps in our workforce. Sure, we could do a better job of planning our housing policies and making it easier for professionals among the immigrants to become certified to practice their professions in Canada, and we should, but our immigration policies and practices are well organized, sensible and serve Canada well.
The United States is another kettle of fish. About 1 million immigrants are granted lawful permanent residency in United States each year, a woefully small number compared to Canada’s experience. But another cohort that this year might reach 2 million enter the country illegally, seeking asylum or otherwise seeking to stay. This illegal migration is chaotic, disorganized and harmful to both the migrants and to American society, and is a political football. These people are largely not vetted, are dispersed into society with little more than a promise to appear at an immigration hearing some months away, and have included known terrorists, drug traffickers, human traffickers and convicted felons. This is a bi-partisan disgrace and not solely the fault of the Biden administration.
The organic birth rate (that is, excluding immigration) is not enough to maintain the population of the United States and is about 16% short. Health care, pensions, elder care and economic stability require a stable or growing population and there are about 8 million unfilled jobs in America today. Simply stated, United States needs immigration at higher levels than it now allows. And it needs to be selective in who is allowed to immigrate if only for security reasons.
The Republicans say Biden and the Democrats generally want unfettered immigration to continue as at present, hoping the newcomers will vote Democrat owing to the political divide between Democrats who are permissive towards the migrants. The Democrats say Republicans oppose immigrants entry owing to racism. Really?
This is political rhetoric not grounded in fact. Sensible leaders on both sides of the aisle want an orderly immigration process which, under former President Trump, was made more possible through the construction of the border wall not to keep people out but to control who came in. Biden saw the wall as a GOP emblem and immediately put an end to its construction on his election, making the process of border control far more challenging. The political football the stand off has created fills the airwaves with incessant videos of migrants risking (and sometimes losing) their lives to cross the Rio Grande on Fox News and plenty of left-wing anchors shoveling vitriolic anti-GOP rhetoric on CNN, MSNBC, or CBS. The shrill voices do nothing to bring common sense to bear on the problem.
The solution to the impasse is not rocket science. United States should set an approved number of immigrants for each year and put in place an infrastructure to ensure those granted entry have access to accommodation, job opportunities, health care and language training where necessary. The wall on the Southern border should be completed and the the Border security force expanded to ensure orderly entry, with all applicants for entry reviewed for criminal records, terrorist links and health needs as well as their education and work experience. With that information recorded and made available to prospective employers, job placement will be easier, while those with health care needs can be directed to health care providers in the communities where they are relocated after entry. Receiving communities need funding support and infrastructure.
If Canada can manage 400,000 immigrants a year without a daily diatribe finding its way into national news, the United States should be able to manage as many as 4 million and the current rate of migrants attempting to enter the U.S. is far less than that. It is time for the adults in Congress (if there are any) to act and the Biden Administration to drop the “if it was done by Trump, we are against it” mentality and deal with the problem. A properly managed system of lawful immigration would be as valuable to United States as ours is to Canada. Making it a political football is valuable to no one.
Disagreed. 400,000 during a pandemic is terrible for big city like Toronto or Vancouver where all new immigrants come. They contributed to the already very tight housing market and inflate the bubbles to bigger and higher rents. A fake gdp growth based on more people and not per capital growth. Gov also turned a blind eyes on the trillions of money laundering. Canada is becoming a country for the have vs the have not.
Totally agreed!