The United States is known as a nation of immigrants. Immigration has been good for our country. But despite the widely recognized benefits, America is also a nation of xenophobia. As historian Erica Lee carefully describes in her book, “America for Americans,” the irrational hostility toward immigrants has been part of our history. Germans were ridiculed by Benjamin Franklin, discrimination against Irish Catholics turned xenophobia into a national political movement, Chinese immigrants were excluded, Japanese incarcerated, Mexicans deported, and Muslims banned. It’s no different today.
Americans have mixed feelings. Everyone agrees that our immigration system is broken. Republicans want to just shut it down, and don’t want to compromise, so that it will remain the centerpiece of their 2024 campaign. Democrats understand the importance of immigrants to our country’s prosperity – they want to pass immigration reform to make it safer, faster, and more efficient.
The immigration issue at the Mexican border is primarily the result of two factors: 1) it’s nearly impossible to immigrate to the U.S. through the bureaucratic application process, and 2) the Border Patrol, USCIS and ICE are insufficiently staffed and resourced to handle the number of immigrants seeking asylum.
Libertarian think tank Cato is a strong proponent of increased immigration. Their analysis of the visa application process clearly shows how difficult it is. “Immigration law is second only to the income tax code in legal complexity.” [The Most Common Arguments Against Immigration and Why They’re Wrong,” Alex Nowrasteh, 2021]. Their immigration flow chart is totally mindboggling. They also created the Green Card Game to show how much luck and subjectivity determine whether a person can legally enter. It can take decades to obtain a visa.
This leaves most immigrants with little choice – come to our border and request asylum – that is their right. These people are not trying to evade detection. They are turning themselves in for processing. It is legal, if they are able to cross at a port of entry. A big “if” with current restrictions and interview backlog. It becomes illegal only when asylum seekers select a more expedient crossing – one other than an official entry location. They have the right to request asylum without being criminalized, turned back, used for political stunts or separated from their children.
Why are there so many immigrants seeking asylum? It’s no different at our southern border than many other parts of the world – families are trying to escape the violence and persecution in their home countries. Asylum is a form of protection granted to individuals who can demonstrate that they are unable to return to their country because of well-founded fear of persecution.
A majority of American citizens support increased immigration, recognizing the importance of providing humanitarian support, the need for additional workers, and the cultural value from increased diversity. Democrats have offered legislation to promote order at the border. Hoping for a partisan advantage, Republicans continue to spread xenophobic immigrant myths about drugs, crime, economic impact and other issues. Their rhetoric, for the most part, is wrong.
Drugs
Myth: Asylum seekers at the southern border are responsible for smuggling fentanyl into the US.
Facts: “The vast majority of illicit fentanyl — close to 90% — is seized at official border crossings. Immigration authorities say nearly all of that is smuggled by people who are legally authorized to cross the border, and more than half by U.S. citizens …. Virtually none is seized from migrants seeking asylum.” [NPR, “Who is sneaking fentanyl across the southern border? Hint: it’s not the migrants,” Joel Rose, August 9, 2023]
“In 2021, U.S. citizens were 86.3 percent of convicted fentanyl drug traffickers—ten times greater than convictions of illegal immigrants for the same offense.” And, “The location of smuggling makes sense because hard drugs at ports of entry are about 97 percent less likely to be stopped than are people crossing illegally between them.” [Cato, “Fentanyl Is Smuggled for U.S. Citizens By U.S. Citizens, Not Asylum Seekers,” David J. Bier, September 14, 2022]
Crime
Myth: Immigrants are a major source of crime.
Facts: “Immigrants, including illegal immigrants, are less likely to be incarcerated in prisons, convicted of crimes, or arrested than native-born Americans.” And, “It’s important to clarify that merely being an illegal immigrant in the United States is not a crime, but rather a civil infraction.” [Nowrasteh, 2021]
Research by Stanford’s Ran Abramitzky and co-authors shows that immigrants are 30% less likely to be imprisoned than U.S.-born individuals who are white. When expanded to include Black people, the likelihood of an immigrant being incarcerated is 60% lower than US-born. [Stanford website, “The mythical tie between immigration and crime,” Krysten Crawford, July 21, 2023]
A study led by the University of Cincinnati “shows immigrants in America are associated with fewer homicides and drug overdose deaths,” contradicting the xenophobic rhetoric. The study notes that immigrants tend to be motivated, not particularly crime prone, with conventional values and goals and higher than average levels of education, resources and resilience compared to others in their home country. [UC News, “Forbes: More immigrants, fewer drug-related deaths,” Angela Koenig, November 30, 2022]
Economic Impact
Myth: Immigrants are a drain on the U.S. economy and reducing immigration would make our economy stronger.
Facts: Research by economist Michael Clemens, finds “immigrants, including those with less than a high school degree, provide enormous fiscal benefits and a significant subsidy to U.S. taxpayers.” And, “Clemens found the entry of refugees and asylees are also a net positive for U.S. taxpayers.” [Forbes website, “Immigrants Provide Huge Benefits To U.S. Taxpayers,” Stuart Anderson, October 3, 2022]
After billions of dollars in required taxes, immigrants have funds to purchase goods and services that stimulate local business activity. Proposed cuts to our legal immigration system would have devastating effects on our economy, decreasing GDP, shrinking growth, and cutting millions of jobs. [FWD.us, “Immigration Facts: The Positive Economic Impact Of Immigration – Immigrants and Immigration Mythbusters: Addressing Common Misconceptions,” July 21, 2020]