U.S. Immigration System: Republicans are as Much Responsible for Current Border Crisis as Democrats

Elon Musk’s dire warnings about Democrats and immigration are meant to stoke fear among voters.  U.S. Immigration policies are complex so it is not surprising that the average American does not understand it.  But when a man responsible for some amazing innovations and cutting edge technology resorts to false “tweets” to spark fear among Americans, it is worth taking note.

Our immigration system is indeed broken.  In my class, “Why Our Immigration System is Broken and How We Can Fix It,” I offered a few solutions to manage the influx at our border.  A student walked out at one of my suggestions, which was to end “birthright citizenship” for children of those who entered illegally or those here on tourist visas, as most developed nations have done.  The possibility of having a U.S. citizen child is one incentive for individuals to enter illegally or to participate in “birth tourism,” a multimillion dollar industry that results in an estimated 33,000 U.S. citizen births annually.  The dangers of having a U.S. citizen who is not raised in the U.S. are obvious.

It is simply wrong to say that illegals are being naturalized in large numbers to change the voting outcome.  “Illegal immigrants” cannot just become citizens, unless amnesty is announced. The last time was under President Reagan, when 60,000 undocumented immigrants obtained legal status from 1986 to 1989 alone. DACA, TPS, and most other temporary statuses do not provide a path to citizenship.  A grant of Asylum does.

Musk is perhaps referring to the Biden Executive Order that permits spouses of U.S. citizens to apply for parole-in-place, a process that grants the ability to remain in the U.S. while applying for a waiver to the immigration bar for those who entered unlawfully.  This waiver is not guaranteed.  The individual must meet certain conditions before a green card can be granted. It is a long process. Currently, such individuals can still apply for a green card under the waiver process, but must leave the country to apply, posing immense hardship to families with young children.  This is not “amnesty” as is widely touted.  And there is currently a stay on implementation due to legal challenges.

Republicans are as much responsible for our current border crisis as Democrats.  No significant changes have been made to our immigration system since the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.  A comprehensive immigration reform bill, crafted after much negotiation by the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” – a team of four Democrats and four Republicans — passed the Senate with bipartisan support in 2013 under Obama.  It would have substantially strengthened the border, but House Majority Leader John Boehner refused to bring it to a vote.  As advocacy chair of my AILA Chapter, I spoke to Republican representatives about the issue.  Congressmen who had previously supported the bill said they were withdrawing their support because of “Obamacare”.  

The Biden Administration introduced the Immigration Visa Efficiency and Security Act of 2023, crafted by a team of Democrats and Republicans, to strengthen our border and eliminate the per country caps on employment-based visas so that we could continue to attract the best and the brightest.  It was blocked by Republicans.  It would have been the most sweeping immigration bill of the century, and included a much needed overhaul of the Asylum process.  

The benefits of immigration are many. In a country facing declining fertility rates and an aging population, immigrants provide an economic boost and some states have welcomed them as a vehicle of economic revitalization.  Studies show a strong link between the immigrants and innovation in the U.S.  

We want and need immigrants.  But we want them to come here legally.  Our current laws, with huge backlogs and obstacles, incentivize illegal entry.  Those who enter legally have a long and arduous path to entry and ultimately citizenship. It took my cousin’s son, an engineer in the petroleum industry who graduated top of his class from a US university,15 years to finally get his green card and then five years later, citizenship. 

I am in the U.S. because my father, a well-known mathematician in India, was invited here on a full scholarship to study astronomy and help put man on the moon.  In those days, we sought out the best and the brightest.  Today, it seems our policies favor those who choose to skirt the law to enter illegally.  

Most developed nations have moved to a preference system where individuals with skills that are in short supply, who have made an effort to learn the language of the country they want to call home, have an easier path to residency and ultimately citizenship.  This is beneficial both for the country and the migrant.  

Due to the per country caps on immigration, immigrant visas per country are limited to a certain percentage of the total number, regardless of population.  That means Nauru, with a population of 11,000, can get the same number of immigrant visas as India, with a population of 1.3 billion.  The result is that individuals from more populous countries have to wait for as long as 20 years to immigrate.  Most give up and move to Canada or the UK instead.  Both have much more favorable immigration policies for the well-qualified. Our policies, sadly, often lead to long family separations and untoward consequences.  One story that resonated was the Jacinta Mary Story: https://pittsburghimmigrant.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/a-family-torn-apart/

But unskilled workers also provide a valuable service.  They clean our homes, tend to our gardens, and pick our crops.  The pay is low and the work difficult.  Unskilled workers from other countries, here primarily to earn money and secure a better life, do these jobs, work hard, and keep prices low.  But temporary visas for the unskilled are virtually impossible to get, so these “economic migrants” often enter without inspection or abuse the Asylum system.  

Once they enter without inspection, they cannot leave or they become subject to a bar to re-entry.  Finding a streamlined way for employers to hire temporary workers from overseas and holding them responsible for ensuring that they return to their countries after the temporary work ends, is critical to securing much needed workers and keeping prices low for Americans.  Offering legal avenues would drastically reduce illegal immigration.

So who is better on immigration policy?  Trump during his presidency implemented several poorly thought out and unevenly implemented immigration policies, including several iterations of the Muslim ban and building a multi-billion dollar border wall that did little to curb the influx.  While Title 42 Covid provisions that denied entry at the border due to Covid helped curb the influx, there was a surge when it ended last year.  The Biden administration implemented restrictions on the number of Asylum seekers and other measures to strengthen enforcement that did reduce the influx.  But significant policy changes are needed if there is to be a long-term solution.

I believe Trump’s biggest appeal to voters is his promise to deport the undocumented.  How he will do that is not clear.  Mass deportations will not only be costly and difficult to implement, they would likely be ineffective.  Many of those deported seem to find a way back into the country within days through the massive array of tunnels and smuggling networks. 

I would ask both candidates to devise and share their detailed plans to address the border crisis in a way that is both humane and protects American interests.  Tightening our arcane Asylum system, restricting the use of parole to truly deserving cases, providing legal pathways to work temporarily while strengthening enforcement against those who try to game the system, and possibly replacing “birthright citizenship” for children of those here unlawfully or on tourist visas with some kind of temporary status they can maintain as long as they obey our laws are just a few ideas.

It bears mentioning that despite Trump’s loud protests about illegal immigrants, the Trump Organization employed dozens of undocumented aliens at 11 different properties.  Melania Trump got her residency through a visa meant for “Outstanding Ability” aliens although it is unclear that she had gained the “international acclaim or recognition” required to qualify.  Melania’s parents likely got their green cards through the “chain migration” that Trump has frequently blasted. 

Musk’s own path to citizenship is suspect. Musk’s brother, in an interview, said “When they did fund us, they realized that we were illegal immigrants.”  Musk admitted their path to citizenship was a “grey area.”  As are many things in life.

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Kamana Mathur is an Immigration Attorney and former Asylum and Community Relations Officer with USCIS and Consular Officer with the Dept. of State.  She is an immigrant herself.