It’s easy to be frustrated with the present status of our nation’s immigration policies, or lack thereof.
We read of thousands of foreign nationals who are headed to our southern border or who recently entered without much or any screening process.
In fiscal year 2022, the number of U.S. border encounters totaled 2,214,652. According to the Customs and Border Protection website, on an average day: CBP personnel have 6,068 enforcement encounters nationwide between the ports of entry (including apprehensions and expulsions), 1,152 enforcement encounters nationwide at ports of entry (including inadmissible migrants and expulsions). Additionally, on an average day CBP seizes $217,000 in illicit currency and 2,895 pounds of drugs.
The notion of opening our borders to everyone who can get here is not an immigration policy. Rather, it is an abdication of responsibility. Allowing an unrestricted flow of persons leaving Latin American countries is not fair, practical, sustainable or successful. It is a Band-Aid approach for a problem that is much more complicated.
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On one hand, we as a country seem to be saying, just get here and we’ll admit you, few questions asked. On the other hand, we have a present immigration policy that places insufficient numerical limits for persons who are waiting legally to immigrate.
A few specific examples: Immigrant visas are being issued for unmarried sons or daughters of U.S. citizens who had a petition filed on their behalf on or before Dec. 15, 2014. That means there is a waiting time of approximately eight and a half years to legally immigrate as an unmarried son or daughter of a United States citizen. For a spouse or child of a permanent resident, the petition date is Sept. 8, 2020. Lastly, the petition date to immigrate as the brother or sister of a U.S. citizen is April 22, 2007.
In my opinion, we are treating the relatives of U.S. citizens and the spouses and children of lawful permanent residents disrespectfully with these exceptionally long waiting periods.
If treating the relatives of lawful permanent residents and U.S. citizens isn’t bad enough, how about the manner we are treating interpreters and former U.S. government contract employees in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere who risked their lives by assisting our military and our government agencies?
The processing of these compelling and deserving cases should be expedited more so than present efforts. Likewise, let's increase the number of refugees admitted into the U.S. In recent years we have seen a dramatic reduction in the number of persons admitted into the U.S. as refugees.
In FY2016 the United States admitted 84,989 refugees into the U.S. The numbers have subsequently decreased to the extent that in FY2021 the U.S. admitted 11,454 refugees.
The men and women of CIS have the personnel and know how to make the screening process expedient, efficient and secure. Let’s allow them to do their job, and let’s make a lifesaving difference for those fleeing persecution on account of their race, religion or nationality.
As a nation, we have long been a beacon, welcoming persons who are fleeing civil war or persecution. Indeed, our Statue of Liberty is inscribed with these words written by Emma Lazarus in 1883: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.”
Congress should overhaul our immigration system to allow for an increase in legal immigration for employment-based nonimmigrants and immigrants and for family-sponsored immigrants. This is especially important in areas that support our national interests, i.e., technology, medical providers, national security, etc.
America was built and has thrived on the contributions made by millions of immigrants. Let’s honor that tradition by increasing legal immigration. At the same time, let’s uphold the rule of law and protect our borders.
Protecting our borders and being a safe haven to those seeking a better way of life for their family, do not have to be mutually exclusive. Rather, we can be a cohesive, law-abiding country whose fabric is interwoven with rich, diverse cultures united as one nation, valuing our American freedoms, and working together for the common good.
