People like to complain about the immigration problem in the United States: The crime — both non-violent and violent — the threat to low-wage jobs, and the impact on the country’s debt are often cited as consequences of a lax policy. But Straight Arrow News contributor Ruben Navarrette argues that the truth is far different, and it’s time we are talk more honestly and openly about immigration:
In the Southwest, the South and the Midwest, immigration remains a big concern. People complain about it all the time. One member of Congress even declared that in 2022, “every state is a border state.” Ironically, the states where you hear the loudest complaints are the same ones where businesses and individuals are most addicted to immigrant labor — places like Missouri, Georgia, Kansas, or Arkansas.
Oddly enough, these days, the concerns about the border aren’t focused on illegal immigrants as much as they are on illicit drugs. More and more Americans are getting sucked into the fantastical narrative that evil Mexican drug traffickers are corrupting innocent American teenagers by forcing them to swallow opioids laced with fentanyl. That claim is just about as far-fetched as the line that somehow immigrants are stealing American jobs. If your kid falls prey to drug abuse, there are a lot of people you can blame, starting with yourself. But Mexico? No way, Jose.
People make choices, sometimes bad ones, and they suffer consequences, sometimes terrible ones. Whether we’re talking about American’s thirst for workers, or drugs, the principle driving the whole thing is still the same. It’s called supply and demand. As long as we have demand someone’s going to step up with the supply. Is it too much to ask that politician in either party, every once in a while, to have the guts to say that to an angry crowd at a town hall, sitting there with their arms folded? Apparently so.
in this country, we don’t have an immigration problem. It’s worse than that. We have a “can’t talk honestly about immigration” problem.
