Stop Using Title 42 and Fix not Exploit the Massive Immigration Problem
On Monday, the Supreme Court dashed a glimmer of hope for many immigrants hoping that Titled 42 would be lifted this week. Chief Justice John Roberts put a temporary hold on the termination of Title 42. Whatever is in place will stay the same, and Title 42 will not end this week. Many immigrants from different countries stranded at the southern border were anxious and hopeful that Title 42 would be lifted this week so their application for political asylum could move forward.
Lawyers representing families seeking asylum had filed a lawsuit, and a federal judge ordered President Biden to stop using Title 42 by this coming Wednesday, December 21, 2022. It was claimed in this case that Title 42 is “arbitrary and capricious.” The Biden Administration tried to stop using it, but a federal court in Louisiana immediately blocked it. States controlled by Republicans argued that Title 42 was needed and that if it were lifted, that would create chaos in their states.
Title 42 is a public health order that the Border Patrol enforces. It gives the power to detain and immediately expel immigrants trying to enter the US. Title 42 is used to keep diseases out of the United States. The head of the executive branch of the government, via the Department of Homeland Security, uses this public health law.
Before October 2022, Venezuelans were exempted from Title 42. Because both countries, Venezuela and Mexico, wouldn’t accept them once they had been expelled. Ukrainians who showed up at the southern border with valid documentation from Ukraine and would not pose a risk to this country’s public safety were also exempted. Undoubtedly, immigration advocates immediately accused Biden’s administration of racism.
Year in and year out, we see the immigration system in this country crying out for reform with no fix in sight.
Most Americans tell news organizations that our immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. Their demand for fixing this problem has fallen on deaf ears for the last three decades.
The political paralysis continues in Washington on the issue of immigration. This new surge of immigrants at the southern border has forced many cities to declare public emergencies while seeking federal financial help to accommodate these newly arrived immigrants.
It is reported by MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News that the number of immigrants currently crossing the southern border ranges from 6,000 to 8,000 daily. Border patrol people complain that they don’t have the resources to deal with this crisis and blame the Biden administration privately for their approach to this immigration problem.
Many states being led by Republicans fretted about what could happen if Title 42 were lifted. That would be the end of the Republic as we know it, some of them assertively argue while being interviewed by the usual talking heads on Fox News and other conservative news outlets.
Both political parties use the immigration issue to campaign during elections, and they never legislate on it once the elections are done. This issue has been debated for over two decades. Leaders from both political parties never went beyond posturing to serious deal-making.
Both political parties have disgustingly exploited the issue to advance their political goals. When we had Trump in the White House, we saw Democratic Congressional Representatives going to the southern border and engaging in partisan grandstanding. Now that we have President Biden, we see Republican Congressional Representatives doing the same thing.
It has been reported that the new incoming Republican Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, will be holding hearings at the border next year and is planning to impeach the secretary leading the Homeless Security. Another partisan-political grandstanding that offers no real proposal to deal with the immigration issue.
Florida and Texas governors have removed recently arrived immigrants from their states and sent them to other state municipalities unapologetically.
Republicans use the immigration issue to mobilize their base and offer draconian enforcement, while Democrats use immigration to mobilize the Latino vote. Trump’s evil approach to immigration flipped the foundational belief about immigrants. Their hard work and contributions to this country were questioned. President Trump literally cast them as an imminent threat to the well-being of this country.
Democrats are just as guilty, President Obama promised immigration reform, and Latinos who voted for him got draconian immigration enforcement instead. He even used the scriptures in his speeches when discussing the immigration issue. Obama told crowds not to oppress the stranger while deporting 10,000 hardworking non-criminal immigrants daily.
The immigration issue is very complex, and finding common ground or compromising on this issue is nearly impossible. Activists, non-profits, and other advocates must abandon whatever they have been doing for the last three decades because it has not worked. Their advocacy needs a deeper level of thinking to help this country’s 11 million undocumented people.
President Biden and Republican leaders in Washington need to be lectured that the 11 million undocumented people in this country are a source of income for their home countries back in Latin American countries. The yearly remittances these undocumented immigrants send are in the billions, vastly exceeding the US aid to these countries.
The Biden Administration pledged $5 or $6 billion over four years to countries in Central America. In this very same year, immigrants from just Guatemala sent more than $10 billion in remittances. It can also be argued that these immigrants’ remittances stop massive waves of immigration heading north. The eleven million undocumented immigrants send money to their relatives back home. Hence they don’t have to head north. If these immigrants get some legalization, they will make more money and send more to their relatives back home.
If our political leaders in Washington use the virtues of common sense, they will legalize the eleven million undocumented immigrants.
Thank you for reading.
Chamba Sanchez
Lecturer of Politics at LACCD
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Photo Credit: Pictures used purchased from Stockphoto.