Proof that GOP hand-wringing about border an act
If you would have told me a month ago that a restrictive immigration reform bill would be largely supported by Democrats and opposed by Republicans, I would not have believed it.
However, this is exactly what happened. The GOP opposed the Senate bill that would tie border security and restrictions to aid for Ukraine and Israel. They stopped it going forward for one primary reason: Former President Donald Trump told them to. This reversal, however, does reveal that the immigration crisis has largely been exaggerated for political reasons.
I am glad the bill failed.
I do not think we need highly restrictive policies at the border, and I certainly would not want it tied to more money for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which is facing charges of war crimes. However, I do find it ironic that Sen. Ted Cruz and other representatives who daily scaremonger about the border would not vocally support the bill.
They opposed the bill because they feared it would give President Joe Biden a political win, as Trump warned. I do not think it would be that much of a win, but it reveals that all the handwringing about the border is primarily theater.
As someone who has worked extensively at the border the past four years and met hundreds of asylum-seekers, I can say without a doubt they are not endangering our country. They are largely seeking safety and a better life for their families. The language people such as Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott use to describe the border and immigrants is dishonest and dangerous.
The talk of “invasion” has already brought armed vigilantes to the border, and we should never forget how that language inspired a young man in 2019 to shoot up a Walmart in El Paso, leaving 23 dead.
Many of these politicians who run ads about the dangers at the border know this portrayal is exaggerated, if not totally fraudulent. They know these are not terrorists. They also know that crime rates for immigrants, including undocumented ones, are lower than for natural-born citizens in the U.S.
What they certainly must know is that in a time of a dwindling birthrate in the U.S., we are in need of immigrants, including many of the working-class immigrants currently crossing our border. Perhaps more than anything, the increased immigration at the border has helped a little with our labor shortage and skyrocketing inflation. Our legislators should know that increased immigration means economic growth, which helps their own stock portfolios.
It is time for the scaremongering and xenophobia to stop. It is not only disingenuous and a distraction from the real issues facing voters, it is dangerous. Trump saying undocumented immigrants are poisoning the blood of our nation sounds like something that would be in a far-right European campaign in the 1930s, not something acceptable to a nation that prides itself on the ideas of freedom and equality.
The immigrant crisis is largely invented, but it still is having horrific effects on our body politic, the lives of immigrants and our national values.