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| The President visits the border wall in Calexico, California, (USA Today) |
Those refugees ended up returning to Europe where they were finally
permitted into some Western European countries rather than return to Germany. Their security didn’t last long as Nazi
Germany overran one European nation after another, rounding up every Jew they could
find and sending them to concentration camps. 254 of those passengers were
eventually killed.
Had
those passengers been allowed entry, their lives would have been saved. But
America had strict immigration quotas. Jews were not going to be given special
treatment and allowed in. That they were a persecuted minority didn’t matter.
It is hard think about those times and not be sympathetic to the illegal immigrants of today. Anyone seeking refuge from persecution should granted it. Even if they came in illegally. How can I then justify limiting immigration? Is that not a contradiction of values based on the experiences
of my own people during the Holocaust? Wouldn’t I have supported illegal Jewish immigration back then? You bet I would have! Besides, America is a nation of immigrants. Why limit it at all?
The answer lies in our own success as a nation. Opportunity for prosperity United States has been the
hallmark of our success. Why wouldn’t
anyone want to come over here and take advantage of that? Especially people
form countries where the standard of living is so much lower than ours. With not much hope of getting any better. They all want in. Why not just let them in? Isn't that our very credo? Our very mission? Immigration is embedded into our very soul. As the words of Jewish Poet Emma Lazarus on the Statue of Liberty (in part) read:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
That is exactly the way it was. The United States had an open policy inviting everyone to come in
and participate in the great American experiment. And it bore fruit beyond all
expectations. We are the envy of the world, despite our imperfections.
The problem was that numbers increased to the point of hurting Americans already here. The influx of so many immigrants
overwhelmed the system. Congress began limiting immigration in the late 19th
century. Quotas were established. That’s pretty much the way it has been ever since. Much as it would be nice to live up to the
words emblazoned on the base of ‘Miss Liberty’ the demand just became too great.
Which brings me to now. We are in the middle of one of the
greatest demands on immigration in recent memory. Mostly from impoverished South American
countries. Immigrants are coming in record numbers through the Mexican border. Many
with their entire families. Immigration officials are overwhelmed. They do not
have the manpower to deal with them all. What should be our policy today
if we are to honor our credo?
For me the answer has to be based on whether or not those
seeking entry are being persecuted. That should be the standard. Just as it
should have been during their Holocaust. Anyone fleeing for their lives should
be granted asylum. However they need to be carefully
vetted. Their claim of persecution needs to be verified. Otherwise every
immigrant will claim persecution.
Those seeking to simply better their lives financially cannot be given automatic entry. If we open the gates they will overwhelm the system and hurt everyone. They need to do so legally.
Immigrants are entering the
country illegally. They want to get in – and asked questions later. That is why
immigration officials are so overwhelmed. And why it is imperative that it be
stopped. If America wants to retain its status as a prosperous country it has
no choice but to do whatever it takes to stop illegal immigration.
It is high time that Democrats allow the President to do what’s necessary. They ought to concede that
they were wrong and that there really is a crisis. Which until it became obvious
was vehemently denied by them.
That they are willing to use drones and sophisticated electronic monitoring
and tracking devices along the border with Mexico is a good idea. But only if
it is supplementary to an actual wall. If
Mexico’s long open border with the United States is not closed off by a wall - illegal
immigration will only increase. The hard line opposition to a wall and even ridiculing the idea as unnecessary and too expensive may have
been the conventional wisdom before. But I don’t think it is anymore.
USA Today columnist, Michael J. Stern, an active liberal Democrat who was an enthusiastic supporter of Hillary Clinton and voted for her says it best:
Democrats should support Donald Trump's border wall. It's a mistake for them to fight it…
Securing the border is not racism. Democrats need to stop pretending it is. The right battle for my party is over where to get the money for a wall…
Why, then, have Democrats gone ride or die against a border wall? I know the talking points: A wall will not end illegal immigration; our economy relies on work performed by immigrants; U.S. citizens commit more crime than people illegally in this country. All these things are true, but none supports the logical springboard that Democrats have relied on in their unbending opposition to “the wall.”
While a physical barrier will not end illegal immigration, it will surely be a deterrent. If more immigrants are needed to work jobs Americans won’t take, legal immigration can be increased. Most important, it is not fair to argue that a barrier to illegal immigration will not reduce crime because Americans commit more crime than people who are illegally in the country. One does not follow the other. Infinitely more people die in car accidents than plane crashes, but no one is advocating that we end efforts to ensure air safety…
While most immigrants do not pose a risk to our safety, the ones who do are a ticking political time bomb. At some point, a person illegally in this country is going to make use of our laws that allow easy access to an assault rifle. The days of news coverage that follow will be political catnip for Trump and the GOP. An event of this kind that detonates in the approach to the 2020 election could change the trajectory of the election for the worse. It’s a risk Democrats cannot take.
I could not agree more.
