The editors of Bloomberg are encouraged by the Biden Administration’s actions to protect our southern border:
Now, with Title 42 set to expire and migrants massing at the border, the administration is scrambling to respond. Among new measures announced last week, the government plans to open regional centers, initially in Guatemala and Colombia, where migrants will be urged to apply to determine their eligibility for entry into the US. The policy aims to deter people from crossing the border by processing claims before they get there — an approach the administration is also using with migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Haiti. Meanwhile, the administration plans to remove those who fail to demonstrate a credible asylum claim, impose a five-year ban on migrants whose initial entry is rejected, and increase criminal prosecution for subsequent border violations.
Taken together, the administration’s new measures are welcome — and long overdue. If adequately funded and enforced, they have the potential to ease burdens on border authorities, reduce overcrowding in detention facilities and undermine the business model for smugglers. While Biden’s embrace of harsher enforcement policies has infuriated some members of his own party, it reflects a political reality: This crisis is no longer just a border issue, as cities like New York and Chicago face strains on resources and services that border communities like El Paso have dealt with for years. The prospect of further chaos risks souring the public on immigration of all kinds and jeopardizing any chances for comprehensive reform.
I did want to comment on their concluding paragraph:
America needs more immigrants — but also a better system for controlling the border and enforcing the law. The expiration of Title 42 offers a window of opportunity to implement much-needed fixes. Both parties should seize it.
I think that’s legerdemain. We do need immigrants—just not the immigrants we’re getting and, particularly, not the immigrants who are streaming across our southern border and are the primary subject of the editorial. In particular we don’t need unaccompanied minors. By law they should not be deemed workers and each one of them adds considerably to our tax burden. We don’t need families with children for similar reason.
The additional reason to doubt the need for more people who cannot read, write, or speak English fluently and have less than a high school education is that the incomes of such people have been flat or declining for over a generation.
It is no longer 1883. We don’t just need “immigration reform”. We need immigration reform that encourages the workers we want to come here and discourages those who will be a burden to taxpayers and the needy who are already here.
