There are sensible positions on immigration on both sides of the political spectrum. And there are crazy positions on both ends. Open borders is just as untenable as violating due process to deport people.
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
There hasn’t been an “open border” in a century. It’s a GOP buzzword. What they have never done is define what “closed border” means and tell us how much it would cost to accomplish it.
One legit argument against unchecked migration is to protect residents being undercut by undocumented workers. No real effort has been made to hold corporations (donors) to account for exploiting this cheap labor supply. Until anyone makes this a true priority, it's all racism and scare tactics.
It's why I get so frustrated when people say, "They can come, they just have to follow the rules." The current rules are ridiculously complex, hard to navigate, and expensive.
At risk of being labeled a fan of "open borders" I can imagine a North America where citizens of Mexico, USA and Canada have freedom of movement, like the EU. Throw in a common currency and it would be an unstoppable economic powerhouse.
I happen to be a centrist on this issue. And I think the left has it wrong in a lot of ways. It's a legit question why there was an increase in migrants crossing during Biden's term & whether that was due to a perception on their part that they'd have a better chance of staying.
Of course the data shows they got expelled at a higher rate than during Trump's term, but perception matters. It's also not crazy to think that we should have some limits on immigration or to care about whether the people coming here are law-abiding and have useful skills.
It's not crazy to think that people coming into our country should assimilate into our culture and adopt our values. And it's not crazy to insist that they come through legal channels.
And if Democrats deny that there are any problems with immigration policy, they only gaslight the right and fuel the conspiracy theories and misinformation that come back in response.
I wish we had a sensible conversation about immigration, and I wish that I wasn't receiving messages wishing rape and murder upon myself and my children because I stand *in all cases* for due process.
I'm not sure if there is a path back from this place or what it looks like, but I know what it doesn't look like. It doesn't look like lying about the number of migrants who've entered the country or spouting baseless and incoherent conspiracies about importing voters.
Comments