Many are concerned about the security of our borders and people entering our country without going through the procedures which are in place. There are plenty of valid concerns related to border security: human trafficking, illegal drugs and weapons, terrorism.

 

Some political opportunists will try to blame “the other side” in order to score political points, but if we look at the facts the picture isn’t so simple. Both of our country’s major political parties have allowed the situation to get steadily worse, and to truly solve the problem of border security we need to address its root causes, not just keep applying bigger and bigger band-aids.

Fentanyl is a dangerous drug which kills thousands of Americans every year. However, the vast majority of fentanyl being smuggled into the U.S. is brought through legal points of entry by U.S. citizens:

 

 

We currently have a divided government, with Republicans controlling the House and Democrats in control of the Senate and Presidency. In order to get things done for the American people we need our leaders to act in a bipartisan manner, yet there have been many times that bipartisan efforts have been stymied by a few extremist legislators who think that the tail should wag the dog:

 

 

These kinds of political games are responsible for holding up measures which would actually help curb the flow of fentanyl into our country:

 

 

Of course the root cause of the fentanyl crisis is a multi-system failure of government to regulate a profit-driven pharmaceutical industry. That’s a subject worthy of its own paper, but the point is that using immigration and border security to address the fentanyl crisis is like putting a band-aid on a gushing dam.

 

We certainly do need to protect ourselves from terrorism, but we need to do so by looking at the facts and determining where the danger is greatest and which methods are most effective. Since 1975, there have been zero Americans killed by terrorists crossing the southern border illegally:

 

 

After 9/11 we dramatically stepped up counter-terrorism efforts and airport security. Thanks to measures taken by both Democratic and Republican administrations we haven’t seen an attack on that scale since then. However, in recent years the risk of home-grown terrorism has grown. The FBI now considers the threat from racially-motivated domestic terrorists (white supremacists in particular) to be on par with the threat posed from groups like ISIS:

 

 

And what about violent crime and theft which doesn’t fall under the category of terrorism? Immigrants are still less likely to commit these types of crimes than U.S.-born Americans:

 

 

We need to be honest with ourselves about where the true dangers exist, and not use vulnerable minorities as scapegoats.

 

 

It is certainly valid to say that we are a nation of laws, and that includes upholding the laws related to immigration and border security. We do have a legitimate interest in knowing who is coming in and out of our country. However we also have a responsibility to make laws which are sensible and update them to meet the changing conditions which we face as time goes by.

 

In recent years we have seen more and more families crossing the border to seek asylum and escape persecution from their home countries. On the one hand, no reasonable person expects America to import everyone across the globe who is experiencing hardship, but on the other hand we can’t isolate ourselves from the rest of the world and pretend that these problems will go away.

 

We must address the root causes of why people need to flee their homes and we must uphold our legal and moral obligations when refugees arrive at our door. While the criticism is often made that releasing undocumented foreigners into our country violates the “rule of law”, detaining them in inhumane conditions or deporting them without due process is an even worse violation.

 

So, in order to maintain the rule of law, we must change the law to something which can be maintained. We should be allowing more people to enter the country legally. That should take the form of more visas being granted, relaxing evidence requirements for proving asylum claims, and increasing the number of judges and other staff necessary for processing these claims.

 

Immigration is a boost to our economy, not a drain. India’s population density is over ten times higher than ours, and their economy has been growing for decades. Some might warn of immigrants “straining our resources and capacities”, but the very simple answer is to spur economic growth by building more schools, hospitals, day-care centers, etc. It is well-known that immigrants often do difficult jobs which native-born Americans tend to avoid, but immigrants also are more likely to start up new businesses: 

 

 

 

The best way to stem the flow of illegal crossings is to promote prosperity and stability in their home countries. People don’t want to flee their homes and struggle to survive in the shadows of another country, but if that’s what’s necessary to protect and care for their families then that’s what they’ll do. Rather than spending money on prisons, walls, and guards we should spend money on creating economic opportunities that benefit everyone.