“DISEASE-RIDDEN” “RAPISTS AND MURDERERS” ATTACKING OUR SOUTHERN BORDER

I've truly had more than enough of the Trump bigoted bullshit. Anyone who has been awake for the past three years knows about the “murderers and rapists,” and a few days ago he made up a myth that the immigrants at our doorstep are carriers of horrible diseases.

History Lesson

It's time to deal with the immigration question. So let's start with a bit of history that I assume most Americans don't know (I'm not an expert, but have done some reading).

The territory that those horrible immigrants from south of the border are trying to "invade" used to be part of Mexico until 1848. It's complicated, but here is a quick timeline:

• 1521 - Spanish explorer Cortėz conquered the Aztecs, enslaved most of the indigenous people, and European diseases killed about 24 million indigenous people between 1521 and 1605
• 1523 - Catholic missionaries arrived and converted millions of people
• 1821 - Mexico gained independence from Spain
• 1822 - Itúrbide declared himself Emperor of Mexico
• 1823 - Santa Ana overthrew Itúrbide and established the Mexico Republic
• 1836 - Santa Ana defeated the Texans at the Alamo (remember the Alamo?) thus squelching the Texan's bid for independence; the Texans had declared the Republic of Texas
• 1845 - U.S. annexed the Republic of Texas, which Mexico had not recognized as independent from Mexico
• 1846-48 - the Mexican-American War. U.S. President Polk, under his policy of Manifest Destiny (the United States should expand all the way to the Pacific Ocean), provoked the Mexican government by sending troop to a disputed area (both countries claimed it), and after Mexican troops won a few battles with the American troops, Polk asked for and received a Declaration of War from Congress
• 1848 - The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo - U.S. victory in the Mexican-American War resulted in the U.S. claiming all the Mexican territory shown in the map, above.  The treaty guaranteed a number of rights to Mexican citizens who lived in and/or owned property in the territory ceded to the U.S.; the treaty agreements have often been broken or ignored. 

Every Central and South American country has a complicated history of conquest and colonization by Europeans. With the exception of people descended from the many groups of indigenous people who lived in the Western Hemisphere before the Europeans "discovered" it, we are all immigrants. The United States of America is a country occupying land stolen from other people; how dare we now label people as "illegals" and "aliens" and "undesirables" who simply want to immigrate here like the rest of us did? 

And for a quick look at immigration to the USA, here is a good image:

The Present Reality

And now here we are in Trumpworld. The immigration laws in the USA are complicated and outdated, and include many biases. The problems we see today did not start with the election of Trump; however, the problems are being dealt with in much more draconian ways than under previous administrations. We now assume people are guilty of something just for showing up at the border. We now abduct children from their parents and put them in detention camps, many of which are cruel and brutal places for anyone, let alone for children. We detain adults and children for many months, sometimes years, while the wheels of the immigration process grind ever-so-slowly. We deport people without a fair hearing. We provide no legal counsel to people, including children, who are brought before an immigration judge under a system that immigration lawyers describe as extremely complex and unfair. We have deported parents while keeping their kidnapped kids, and even adopted out the kids without the knowledge of the parents. We do all of this, the United States of America, America the Brutalfull! 

My Immigration Policies

If I were Ruler of America, here are what my policies would contain (and note that I am searching for a comprehensive plan to "fix" US immigration policy, so far without any success):

• Foreign Policy. We need to address the core issues that are driving people north to our southern border, including poverty and crime. Instead of threatening to halt all foreign aid to countries like El Salvador and Guatemala as Trump has, I would instruct my Department of State to work diligently with Central and South American governments, individually and within the framework of the Organization of American States and the United Nations, to identify and implement key measures to improve economies, reduce poverty, fight and reduce crime, especially related to drugs, improve food, medical and educational programs, and other measures. Yes, the wealthy United States should be a leader in these efforts. 
• Immigration Law. Fix our immigration laws so they are modernized to reflect the realities of the 21st Century. Ensure that the immigration process is humane, compassionate, efficient, effective, and fair. 
• Immigration Policy. First and foremost, recognize and proclaim that America is a nation of immigrants, that immigration to the United States is a good thing, that we welcome and honor immigrants and will always give them a chance to become Americans if they meet certain universal criteria. Reconstruct our immigration and security services to serve the people who ask for asylum or apply for entry in ways that are kind and just. Guarantee that immigration and asylum applicants will be processed quickly and treated fairly. Never separate children from their parents, except under the most dire circumstances. 

I understand that our immigration system is overwhelmed along our southern border. No one, not even Democrats as accused by the Trumpsters, thinks we should have an open border and anyone can simply walk in. I heard on the news today, for example, that an average of 170 unaccompanied minors cross the border or show up at border crossings every day. These children are placed in detention camps, mostly operated by private corporations under contract to the US government (and, btw, they have been exempted from being vetted, so all kinds of people - good and evil - work in them). This is not sustainable, and it is certainly not good for the children who end up in this system. The first step is to rescue these children. The longer-term step is to fix our immigration system. 

My grandparents were immigrants who escaped poverty and bigotry in eastern Europe to find a better life in America. As the grandchild of immigrants, I welcome immigrants to our country.

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