American Immigration Standards and the Misunderstanding of Family Separation
Every industrialized nation has immigration laws in place. America is one of those nations and has controlled the influx of people since British colonization. The British registered all people who came to America by ship rosters. Ports required registration and taxes to be paid when a boat arrived. After the revolutionary war, immigrants were required to report to Ellis Island to register. With that being said, people still argue that America should have open and free borders.
The American deficit at the end of 2017 was $665 billion. The largest amount paid towards undocumented immigrants is through health care. A total of $18.5 billion of federal funds was spent on undocumented immigrants in 2016. In addition to those medical services, immigrants are able to partake in public school, utility services, housing services, food programs, etc. The money received from the federal government is in addition to the allocated funds from each state which varies based on that state’s budget and allocation to each program. Frankly, America cannot afford to open borders to all immigrants without those immigrants coming to our country legally and being eligible for employment and taxation to support themselves. If they are not registered, they do not obtain identification numbers. Without identification numbers, they cannot participate in employment or taxation.
A common argument against open borders references crime rates. It is difficult to support this argument because every immigrant who passes the border without completing the required registration is, by definition, a criminal. Therefore, every undocumented immigrant has committed a crime. It is understood that the major thought processes focus on murder, rape, etc., but do you want to share your community with someone who lacks the ethics and morals to make the decision which best suits that community? With that in mind, we should not forget that Mexico, the country which provides the most undocumented immigrants to America, has the second highest homicide rate in the world, second only to Syria. If we allow everyone from Mexico to cross our borders, are we not then allowing them to bring their crime with them?
Many Democrats are calling for The Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be removed. Many Americans don’t seem to realize that the day to day function of ICE also consists of stopping human and sex trafficking rings and illegal drugs from passing through our borders unchecked. Because they are also the leaders in border control, political parties are calling for the complete culmination without thought to the effects that this action will have on other areas of oversight.
National security remains at the top of most governmental agency agendas. The world sees hundreds of terrorist attacks a year from ISIS alone. I fear that today’s millennials are too young to remember the fear, grief, and determination that every American had after that day. Those in their 30s and older have no excuse for not understanding the need for safe and secure borders. Without these measures in place, America would be much less safe than it is in its current state.
Lately, it has come to the media’s attention, possibly as a result of the May 2018 zero tolerance decision, that immigrants are being separated from their children at the borders. While many are just discovering this, those of us familiar with government legislation and the law have known that this has been the law for over twenty years. In fact, the memorandum specifically references laws that were already in place in the United States Code. It is also important to note that this was not POTUS’ order, but a decision from Attorney General Sessions based on the 203% rise in illegal immigration between 3/2017 and 3/2018.
In 1996, The Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act was passed. This Act outlined when, why, and how deportations would occur. The Act specified that undocumented immigrants would be incarcerated in the project facility which was built in Anaheim, California while they awaited trial. In the midst of the adult incarceration, children were being left unattended. The Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act never specified the treated of accompanied children unless they were refugees under the battered women and children clauses.
Yet, before the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act, the Flores Settlement Agreement was imposed in 1987. The Flores Settlement was overseen by the Human Rights First non-profit in California. The case originated in 1985 based on immigrant children being detained. This settlement specified that when a parent is incarcerated as an illegal immigrant, the child was to be sent to be with family within the United States. If there was no family in the United States, the child would be released to a licensed agency for foster care. In principle, America was already using the standards of detainment, it just wasn’t enacted until 1996.
Zero tolerance policies and standards in law enforcement are not a problem. All laws should be followed with a zero tolerance policy. Undocumented parents have been being separated since at least 1985 when the Flores case originated. Are the masses only just realizing that this is occurring and now they have a problem or have they never cared until it was an item of discussion under the current POTUS? I have shared the links to The Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act, The Flores Settlement Agreement, and the Attorney General Memorandum for you to peruse at your leisure. I have also left you some quotes to ponder.
© Dr. Caitlin P. Stein, DPA
https://cliniclegal.org/sites/default/files/attachments/flores_v._reno_settlement_agreement_1.pdf
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/ocomm/ilink/0-0-0-10948.html
https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1049751/download
“We are a nation of immigrants. But we are also a nation of laws. It is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws we have seen in recent years, and we must do more to stop it.” (Bill Clinton, Remarks At State Of The Union, Washington, D.C., 1/24/95)
“Real reform means establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship – a path that includes passing a background check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty, learning English, and going to the back of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally. (President Barack Obama, Remarks At State Of The Union, Washington, D.C., 2/12/13)
“While Congressman Huffington voted against new border guards, Dianne Feinstein led the fight to stop illegal immigration. I’m Dianne Feinstein and I’ve just begun to fight for California.” (“Feinstein’s TV Attack On Immigration,” Los Angeles Times, 7/10/94)
“The American people are fundamentally pro-legal immigration and anti-illegal immigration. We will only pass comprehensive reform when we recognize this fundamental concept.” (Senator Chuck Schumer, Speech At The Immigration Law & Policy Conference At Georgetown Law, Washington, D.C., 06/24/09)
“The bipartisan taskforce of seven has been hard at work on legislation that echoes the spirit of the Senate bill and upholds our basic principles: to secure our borders, protect our workers, unite families, and offer an earned pathway to citizenship.” (Press Release, “Pelosi: Senate Action Moves Us One Step Closer To Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, 6/27/13)
Quotes are courtesy of https://gop.com/flashback-democrats-talked-tough-on-immigration-rsr/
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