Both Parties Are to Blame for the Immigration Crisis

Republicans and Democrats alike would rather have an issue to rally around than work to solve the problem.

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When it comes to immigration, and especially at this moment in our politics, I’m a “bothsides-er.” These days, complaining about both sides—Democrats and Republicans—invites a lot of scorn and ridicule, usually from people on one side. On some issues that scorn might be deserved. But on immigration, I am happy to seethe with contempt on the sidelines.

Consider the brouhaha over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sending 50 migrants to the tiny liberal enclave of Martha’s Vineyard. I’m against using poor, desperate people as political props. The fact that DeSantis may have misled some migrants about what they were signing up for is even worse—though cries of “human trafficking” and “kidnapping” strike me as ridiculous, partisan-fueled nonsense.

DeSantis’ cynical stunt did everything he hoped it would. He upped the ante on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been sending busloads of (apparently consenting) migrants to liberal cities like New York and Chicago. Abbott’s efforts have a high quotient of “owning the libs” to them as well, as he has not coordinated with local officials, preferring to drop them off by surprise, most recently at Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence. Arizona’s Gov. Doug Ducey, another Republican, has been more responsible, coordinating with local officials to ensure migrants find support when they get off the bus.

But it was DeSantis’ move that sent Democrats and much of the media into a frenzy of outrage—which is exactly what he wanted. No wonder Donald Trump is reportedly furious that DeSantis is stealing the limelight from him. I will be surprised if DeSantis doesn’t get a bump in the polls among Republicans. Many Democrats won’t be surprised either, because they’ve convinced themselves that “the cruelty is the point” of Republican policies.

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  1. Alex Winkleman

    People are desperate to leave Venezuela. Isn’t that a talking point for the GOP?

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  2. David Savidge

    The immigration burden is quite evenly shared. Let’s stop enabling the South. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/20/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/#:~:text=Where%20do%20most%20U.S.%20immigrants,than%204%20million%20immigrants%20each.

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      John Parker Ford

      That's interesting (truly), but doesn't seem to directly address the problem. The problem is not that the U.S. has trouble taking that many people. The problem is that towns on the southern border are being inundated by large numbers of people each day. I doubt the metro areas with a high level of unauthorized immigrants received them en masse.

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  3. John McGowan

    Many of the comments below speak to the two big lumps of border security (stop people entering illegally with a wall) and provide a response to all the people who claim asylum often w/o merit in current definitions. Everyone now focuses on DHS various agencies charged with immigration control but overlook the Department of Labor who is supposed to assist in identifying what labor is needed. Most people recognize we need additional workers but right now I don't see or hear any discussion how to identify what that need is. Current administration agencies have no focus on this and Congress direction to the Administration and it agencies only provide self serving instructions.

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  4. Chazgeary03

    Well, I'll probably get smeared as a big meanie, but I'll go ahead and say it: they're not "migrants," they're not "undocumented," they are illegal immigrants. Maybe "unauthorized immigrants" is a nicer way to put it, but the simple fact is, they're not really supposed to be here.

    There are rules, *our* rules, and they're simply not following them. The fact that those rules are Byzantine -- and the fact that their home countries are farked up -- is neither my fault, nor, frankly, my problem. If you want to claim asylum, talk to the U.S. embassy first.

    Every country in the world has immigration laws, but somehow, only America is "racist" for even trying to enforce them.

    If a red state governor exports "unauthorizeds" to a Dem "sanctuary" jurisdiction, everybody wins, right? Red states end up with fewer "unauthorizeds" straining their resources, the "unauthorizeds" get "sanctuary" elsewhere, and the blue states, which can't really get any bluer anyway, get all those "unauthorizeds" that they theatrically & sanctimoniously claim to love.

    Blue presidents, governors, & mayors simply won't enforce immigration laws because
    (I believe) they're trying to import more Democrats under the guise of compassion; I'm guessing red state governors aren't legally allowed to close their part of the Mexican border nor to deport anyone; so what are red state governors supposed to do? Either tolerate it like a chump -- or give the "unauthorizeds" and the blue states what they claim to want. (Why all the tears all of a sudden, blue states? A hypocrite says *what*?)

    As I'm fond of saying, "Many Things Are Always True At The Same Time (tm)": I'm OK with *legal* immigration; I'm OK-ish
    with "unauthorizeds" who are here to do honest work and who are otherwise law-abiding; Venezuelans, Cubans, & Ukrainians have obvious & legit claims of asylum; I'm proud that the world still considers us their lifeboat, but I'm also aware that the lifeboat can't hold *everybody,* at least not comfortably; and I'm also pretty OK with a red state telling somebody who's not really even supposed to be here, "Hey, how'd you like a free bus ride or flight to NYC? Lots of jobs there! Maybe even to an island vacation paradise! Maybe even for a meeting with the Vice President!"

    (They're not being led to a trap door above a laser-shark tank, for God's sake. Get a grip, people.)

    I don't own a MAGA hat, and if Trump gets nominated, I'm leaving that part of the ballot blank, but: I'm still otherwise voting Republican. Because as messed up as the GOP is right now, at least we believe in chromosomes; that two plus two equals four no matter what your skin color is; that (good) police and a strong military will always be necessary; that it's stupid to give the ayatollahs a(nother) planeload of money; that *human* lives matter, even in the womb; that armed self-defense is a human right -- and that immigration needs to be regulated & calibrated to the needs of *American citizens.*

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  5. Robert

    Question for all of you:
    I think I understand the Dem’s motivations wrt immigration.
    The gop side is harder (for me):
    One faction wants illegal immigration stopped etc.
    Another faction wants it continued, or so I’m told. And they seem to have enormous influence inside the gop. Who are they and why are they always unnamed shadowy figures - “big money interests”, “greedy employers”, “big business”, etc?
    Can anyone apply some sunshine to this?

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    Paul Montagu

    It's funny to think that Trump could've had $25 billion for his wall in 2018 but pulled the plug because he wouldn't compromise on DACA.
    The complexity of the issue is probably why we won't see any serious reform in the near future because partisans on both sides will demagogue any bill out of existence.

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  7. aliciah

    Today I witnessed for a tiny moment in time the sad reality of one immigrant's life: he ran his car right through a stop sign, and I, with right-of-way and screeching tires, collided with him. It was a minor crash, and neither of us was harmed physically, thank goodness. What happened after, however, I'll be haunted by for quite some time: following a short conversation with the attending officer, he was frisked, cuffed, and whisked away to jail. He was very small in stature, about my age (not so young anymore), and very polite and apologetic. He offered again and again to pay for the damage - a promise that I doubted he could keep. When the whole episode had come to its abrupt end, I was left alone in my car with the memory of the accident, the small man, and our brief conversation. It was a poignant moment.

    I share Jonah's anger and dismay over how both sides have exploited immigration. There is far more incentive to nurture the problem than to solve it when the goal is to merely score political points. It is a cheap, selfish callousness that has no real regard for those who suffer the very real consequences of a defunct immigration process and an open order. The people that come here often have little or no understanding of the responsibilities or consequences of living in an ordered, first world country, and everyday Americans are, pardon the pun, often on a collision course with that reality. It is brutally unfair to either side. Tonight, as I sit alone and think back over my day, I ponder the different ways that it could be closing. Had I left the office to run my errand a few seconds later, he would have plowed headlong into me on the driver's side of my car, likely having far worse physical consequences for both of us. Had I left a few seconds earlier, the whole incident would have been avoided, and that quiet-spoken man would not be bearing up under his evening in a foreign jail.

    There are more than a few American politicians that need to engage in that same sort of what-if contemplation, for the good of everyone.

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    Rjosephpaquette

    Half baked idea for Jonah.

    Invite states of Mexico to join the US.

    Start with those states bordering the US.

    We’d get resources and young population. They’d get the rule of law. Why did manifest destiny have to stop at the coasts?

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    Dr. Livesey

    Jonah, maybe I missed the part that you'd write differently, as you said on That Flagship Podcast, but this is great.

    There are still some hard-core Democrats who are insisting (right here in the comments section of this very website, even on this very page) that anything bad about the immigration problem is do to the Evilness of the Evil Republicans in the Evil Republican Evil Party. I think a little more expatiation of recent history would be a great contribution to humanity, the universe and Martha's Vineyard.

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    Pat Riot

    Both parties are indeed supporting the wrong position:

    Republicans: Vile and complete pandering to our nation's worst impulses

    Democrats: Partial pandering to our nation's worst impulses.

    Despite the partisan rhetoric, Obama deported more people than any other president before him and the current situation is the furthest thing from "open borders" and the Biden administration is currently leaning on various countries to work with them to reduce the number of immigrants they send our way, along with trying to address the root causes.

    But neither party is taking the truly *American* stance of welcoming all of those who wish to come to our country.

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