THE SOLUTION TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IS LEGALIZATION:

As Eric Kaufmann wrote in his 2017 bookWhiteshift, "I cannot stress enough that national perceptions are far more important in shaping people's views on immigration than local experiences." I would take it a step further. American's understanding of immigration in their community is linked to their perception of global migration. What people believe is happening in the world overshadows what they actually experience in their own neighborhoods, much less the numbers of immigrants who actually enter the country. When it comes to immigration, perception is reality for many.

Well-funded and powerful opponents of immigration understand this. So, as the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and various immigration processes restart, anti-immigrant forces will use the playbook of years past. They will want the American public to think global migration is out of control, and that the Biden administration's immigration policies take away freedom and opportunity.

For them, an inclusive nation with people from different ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds is a threat to their way of life. In this way, the opponents of immigration become opponents of democracy as well. They will use immigration to turn cities against suburbs, rural against urban.

But those divisions may not be as deep or wide as they expect. Seared into the mind of voters who elected Joe Biden, from progressive activists to conservative suburban parents, were the travel ban, the slashing of refugee resettlement, the separation of children, the deep cuts to legal immigration, the cruel treatment of Dreamers. This broad coalition that supports Biden seeks a different path on immigration.

Herein lies the opportunity. Reforming our immigration system is much greater than the needs of Latino and Asian voters, and much more consequential than our economic competitiveness.

After the incidents of January 6, reforming our nation's immigration system is about America's leadership role in the world, the strength of our democracy, and our belief in freedom and opportunity. Offering refuge to victims of persecution, while marginalizing their persecutors on the world stage, is the historic and proper role of the U.S. Creating equal and legal immigration pathways for workers and families serves the interests of the American worker and their family. Creating an opportunity for the millions of undocumented immigrants toiling in the shadows of our economy to earn citizenship sends a clear message that work is valued.

This modernized immigration system tells the autocrats, and the people living under their rule, that the United States may not be aperfect country, but, at our best, we share a deep belief in the idea that all people have--and should be treated with--dignity.

Tweet   @brothersjudd