L&T Publisher Earl Watt
Communities like Liberal cannot ignore the important conversations surrounding immigration issues. We know better than most how to work together to function with a large number of first-generation immigrants.
That doesn’t mean we all agree on immigration policy.
We don’t.
But the hyperbolic claims that everyone who illegally enters the country is a dangerous criminal and anyone who wants a secure border is a racist won’t get us anywhere.
That’s the way Washington, D.C., has been addressing the issue, and neither party has been able to come up with a solution.
The clearest example was Democratic President Joe Biden allowing 12-plus million illegal entries, and Republican President Donald Trump shutting the border down.
Biden handed out notices to appear knowing that 95 percent never would, and Trump is rounding up illegals, albeit at far less numbers than Barack Obama did, and is being accused of being heartless.
We cannot continue to push these extreme views and believe we will ever solve the problem, and bringing up the issue doesn’t make one racist.
The fact is the people most hurt by illegal immigration are other immigrants. The jobs that will be displaced by non-residents are those who have tried to follow the rules, and it is unfair to expect those people to work for less or lose their jobs entirely under the false premise of compassion. It is not compassionate to bring another worker to compete for someone else’s job.
When I see those who are fighting for open borders, they do so from a position that won’t be challenged by an illegal immigrant, or they are trying to increase a certain demographic while claiming it is everyone else who is racist.
One side can make a case for compassion and the other can make a case for the rule of law, and neither will get us anywhere.
A bit of advice is needed for both sides.
For those who support liberal immigration policies, the argument that borders are racist needs to come to an end. That won’t win one person to the cause.
It would also be more attractive if those who are fleeing something they consider to be catastrophic in another country to show some gratitude for the United States. Joining in on marches demanding policy change while waving foreign flags won’t win anyone to the cause.
Asking to become part of American society is a much better winning strategy.
Another bit of advice would be to stop villainizing European groups that migrated centuries ago and instead share similarities. The Europeans left oppressive governments, famines, religious suppression or sought to escape crime in their native lands. What better way to show a kinship than to share a common origin story?
Let everyone know you aren’t looking for a handout but an opportunity to earn your keep and contribute to making the United States the best it can be.
And learn from the example of previous immigrants who came to America, assimilated by learning the language and became patriotic Americans, not looking back to another land as home but committed to building a life here. Immigrants can truly be the most patriotic of them all, and if you want to gain support for immigrants, show a willingness to embrace your new nation as your new native land. I promise you this approach will garner much more support than what the leftists are encouraging you to do right now, which is complain, demand rights and expect government assistance.
And for those who want to shut the door and never let anyone in, recognize that adding to the national gene pool isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Bringing in those who are willing to do the hard work has always been a necessity, and it also pushes us as a nation to sharpen our own skills.
This is an opportunity to show some compassion for those who aren’t seeking to sell drugs, traffic children or run a crime ring, because most of the people who want in are good people. We can’t take them all, for sure, but we can certainly take some with the idea that the United States is the beacon of freedom and the land of opportunity, and we have an obligation to make dreams come true for at least some of those seeking a better life.
It can definitely come across as cruel to want to kick out a 70-year-old grandmother who moved here 50 years ago. Surely there are bigger fish to fry, and it doesn’t bode well for policy to be rounding up senior citizens while trying to garner public support.
Both sides have optics issues, and you would think that would drive both to the middle, but it hasn’t.
Watch the comments to this, and you’ll see why it is so difficult. No one wants to budge.
But of all issues facing the United States, this is one where we should be able to find some common ground. That’s why I’ve put together an alternative that provides a residency program for those who are not documented and have not committed any other crime. It has some requirements to qualify and takes five years of meeting benchmarks, but it prevents deportation to those who participate in the program. It is not amnesty because it does not grant citizenship, and it doesn’t come without requirements. It leads to residency, but if someone is truly looking for a better life, residency is what they need. If they are willing to take the extra steps to become a citizen, that is encouraged as well but is a separate action to residency.
And border requirements are also part of the plan so that we never again have 12 million people flood across the border in a four-year period.
We can find a better path forward on the issue as soon as we stop vilifying the other side and practice a little give and take.
But sitting silent on the issue isn’t solving it. Opening the border will never be accepted. Deporting 15 million people will never happen.
The solution lies in the middle, and as soon as we have adults ready to bend a little, we can have this problem solved in no time.
