Published: Goldendale Sentinel, March 13, 2024
Most Americans agree there is a crisis, but not an invasion, at our southern border. We are not at war with poor people, climate refugees, or those seeking asylum from violent, corrupt regimes. Meanwhile, I still see help wanted signs in shop windows, but we can’t expect immigrants to fill these jobs immediately. Nor can we expect the taxpayers of this country to shoulder the burden of receiving them and supporting them indefinitely, but we can expect our Government to establish and enforce a fair, safe process to connect aspiring immigrants with American communities and employers who need them, and create legal pathways to get jobs and start businesses.
This problem has vexed our nation for generations with no clear solution. It will only be solved with bi-partisan compromise between Congress and the Administration . Unexpectedly just such a bill was hammered out earlier this year. However it was tanked by one person: Donald Trump, who acted for purely political purposes. Although this immigration bill may not be perfect, it’s a start. Congress should pass this bill and then roll up their sleeves and keep doing the hard work it will take to work out a plan for the future. A former president once said: “I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here, even though sometime back they may have entered illegally”. That was none other than Ronald Regan, during a televised debate with Walter Mondale in 1984. Regan understood that we are a nation of immigrants, that we need immigrants to work in unfilled jobs, start businesses, buy homes and pay taxes that support Social Security and other programs we all want and need. Ronald Regan would be sickened by what has become of the republican party, but what would really turn his stomach is someone like Donald Trump even being nominated for president of the United States of America.