The Immigration Debate: The Emergency at the Border

Comprehensive immigration reform is dead.  There will be no action on this until Democrats regain control of Congress - an impossibility in the upcoming midterm elections given the gerrymandered and "safe" House districts. Only an overwhelming Democratic victory with strong Congressional "coat-tails" in the 2016 presidential race will change the composition of the House.  Otherwise, we'll need to wait until after the 2020 census and hope Democrats at least regain control of state legislatures in swing states.

Let's admit it.  The Republican stance on immigration is driven by the same political calculation that led to the voter suppression laws passed in Republican-controlled states.  People of color, with good reason, usually do not vote for Republican candidates.  Republicans are in the minority in terms of registered voters.  They cannot win future elections if the white male portion of the electorate dwindles significantly.  Throw in a bone to those in the Republican base that are racist and the development of their position becomes clear.  Republicans would rather continue in power and continue to represent the wealthy and corporate interests than do what is right.  Contrast this with Lyndon Johnson's enactment of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts in the mid-1960's.  He did the right thing in spite of the knowledge that, in his words, "we [Democrats] have just lost the South."

The most pressing immigration issue right now is the large number of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the United States.  Conditions in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Salvador are driving this. The flow of children seeking refuge has overwhelmed the ability of border officials to deal with it.  The Republicans are making much of it - the former half-term governor of Alaska even calling for President Obama's impeachment.

Unaccompanied immigrant children in a holding cell in Texas
(Image appeared on ThinkProgress website)

Data from the Pew Research Center for the 20 month period between October 1,2012 and May 31, 2014 shows that more than 85,000 unaccompanied minors have been apprehended at the US-Mexico border. The best analysis of the crisis I've seen is the July 24 article by Alice Speri on the VICE News Website. Speri correctly notes that the unaccompanied minors crisis is not really about border enforcement.  It's about managing an emergency refugee flow. "Most of these minors — as well as most of the families also crossing the border, usually mothers with young children — are arriving through Mexico from other Central American countries, and especially from Honduras and El Salvador, where they are fleeing poverty and some of the worst violent crime in the world."

A Federal anti-trafficking law mandates that, unlike their Mexican peers, the Central American children cannot just be turned back at the border.  The law requires that they receive temporary relocation, assistance, and an immigration hearing.  President Obama has asked for $3.7 billion to deal with the influx of minors.   Competing proposals for dealing with the situation have been made but the Republican and Democratic proposals are so far apart that there is little hope of action being taken.

Speri notes that "as the numbers of unaccompanied minors and anti-immigrant protests across the country have grown, some have called for those provisions — or 'the Central American exception,' as some critics of it have dubbed it — to be repealed."

Referring to the "downright racist and xenophobic reactions of some Americans (and politicians) towards the Central American children", Jose Antonio Vargas, an advocate for undocumented immigrants, asks, “I understand the argument that a civilized country needs to determine and protect its borders. I get that. But with all the billions of dollars and manpower that we’ve spent on the ‘border’, what exactly are we protecting ourselves from? Who exactly are we fearing?”

Mary Giovagnoli, director of the Immigration Policy Center, is also quoted in the VICE News article: “It is really imperative that we do not overreact to this situation by thinking that changing laws that are designed to protect kids is the solution. The protections are there because we know just how grave the circumstances can be....The children and families that are from Central America are coming because of extraordinary violence and threats to their wellbeing. That can’t be overlooked.”

As xenophobes and right-wing politicians mistakenly treat this as a border security issue, Pope Francis delivered a clear message for the world's political leaders: "This humanitarian emergency requires, as a first urgent measure, these children be welcomed and protected. These measures, however, will not be sufficient, unless they are accompanied by policies that inform people about the dangers of such a journey and, above all, that promote development in their countries of origin."  Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin added, "Whether they travel for reasons of poverty, violence or the hope of uniting with families on the other side of the border, it is urgent to protect and assist them, because their frailty is greater and they're defenseless, they're at the mercy of any abuse or misfortune." [Huffington Post, July 16]

Links
The Hill: "We should help children at the border, not criminalize them"

Think Progress: "Why kids are crossing the border alone to get to America"

Daily Kos: Who are you and what have you done with George Will?   (Something you probably didn't expect to hear on a Fox News show)