WHAT OTHERS SAY

A DYSFUNCTIONAL SYSTEM

The scene at the border in San Ysidro, California, on Sunday was something no one wanted to see: hundreds of migrants on the Mexican side trying to charge across, with some allegedly throwing things at US agents, who then fired tear gas that enveloped children as well as adults. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the response was necessary “to ensure public safety in response to large numbers of migrants seeking to enter the US illegally,” but Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez tweeted, “Shooting tear gas at children is not who we are as Americans.” The two sides can debate whether there were better tactics for dealing with an unruly crowd striving to breach security barriers. But the situation should never have come to this. The ugly spectacle is a symptom of a US border and asylum system that is deeply dysfunctional. It should prompt Congress and the president to reconsider what they are doing — and what they have failed to do. The administration and its allies insist that the US has every right to control its borders and that those foreigners who want to come here should do so through legal channels. That sounds reasonable. At the same time, though, the current system makes it virtually impossible for many people to come — and the wait times for those who do qualify are often measured in decades. Accepting more legal migrants would remove much of the incentive to break the law. But the administration favors legislation that would reduce legal entries by half. It has also sharply reduced the number of refugee admissions. In his final year as president, Barack Obama said the US would take up to 110,000 refugees; next year’s ceiling will be just 30,000.

Chicago Tribune