The issue of immigration in the U.S. politics is arguably bizarre. According to Gallup polling, 70 percent of Americans believe that immigration is a good thing, but 69 percent of Americans also believe that the levels of immigration should stay where they are at or should decrease. This sort of confusion ends up in U.S. discourse on the topic, as well. A common argument I have heard from the anti-immigration crowd is "I am against illegal immigration, but I am for legal immigration." As the libertarian Reason Magazine illustrates, the argument comes off as evasive. Imagine if one were to make the argument for marijuana, "I'm for legal marijuana, but I'm against illegal marijuana." It sounds peculiar. It does not advance the discussion and it does not answer whether or not current restrictions on immigration are valid or what the costs of those regulations are.
This dodge often forms into another argument: "Immigrants are great, but they need to come through the front door. The people thinking about crossing the border illegally should wait in line and do it the right way." It sounds like a nice argument. After all, it is how my ancestors arrived to the United States. The catch is that they arrived here before the Immigration Act of 1924, which was the beginning of the United States government putting limits on the number of immigrants that can enter the country. 1924 was the beginning of a trend of stricter and stricter immigration restrictions to enter the United States. For my ancestors, the immigration process was lax. It was that lack of restriction that allowed for them to live the American Dream. Immigrants today really cannot hope to live the dream that my ancestors did, which is disheartening.
I knew our immigration system was crippled with needless regulations, but I did not know the extent of the problem until I read a report released by the Cato Institute last month. Entitled Why Legal Immigration Is Nearly Impossible, this detailed and comprehensive report shows how there really is no line for prospective immigrants to join. One of the shocking findings of the report is that 0.9 million out of 158 million, or less than one percent of those who would like to immigrate to the United States, are legally able to immigrate to the United States. The author, David Bier, goes in great detail with the various types of legal immigration showing how the system is self-contradictory and how it is set up for many potential immigrants to fail. If you need a depressing and sobering chart of how difficult it is to navigate the legal requirements to become a permanent citizen in the United States, look below.
This flow chart is so convoluted that you need to go to the actual report to read the text of the entire flow chart. That is how daunting and enigmatic the current "legal immigration process" is. As you can see, the system excludes the vast of majority of would-be immigrants by design. Do you honestly think your typical immigrant could navigate this eyesore? Do you think it is honest to say "wait in line" when this is what being in line looks like? When legal immigration is this hopeless, should it honestly surprise anyone that illegal immigration is often a course of action, especially for those fleeing a dire situation in their homeland?
There are ways to reform this fiasco. After all, we reduced the illegal alcohol sales and the associated crime in the industry by ending the Prohibition. By making immigration easier, we can reduce the illegal border crossings and the problems that come with such crossings. Bier suggests such reforms as abolishing discriminatory country-based caps for employment visas, eliminating long waits for visas, removing the caps for family sponsorship, or expand the national interest waiver to include other measures of contribution to the country. If people say "I am for legal immigration, but not legal immigration," you should want there to be an actual path to citizenship. Otherwise, they are hiding the fact that, much like former President Trump, they do not want immigrants of any kind in this country.
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