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Immigration Reform

By Harrison Park

Mexican refugee children seeking shelter from a flood.

The United States immigration system is deeply flawed and needs to be reformed to ensure that immigrants can seek shelter in America in a safe and time-efficient manner. With the current system, it is far too difficult for immigrants to migrate into the country, and border security has been greatly compromised as a result. This topic has become greatly polarizing in modern American politics, but a compromise between Republicans and Democrats must be reached to ensure the security and efficiency of the immigration system of the nation.

Time Inefficiency

Firstly, the current American immigration system is incredibly flawed and impractical from a stance of urgency. Currently, it takes anywhere from 180 days to two years for a refugee to be properly screened to enter the country. Some may claim that, while it may take too long for refugees to enter the country, normal immigrants should have no issue with this wait, and there is not enough of an issue to elicit change. Upon examination of the statistical data, however, it is revealed that this is not the case. The number of immigrants stopped at the southern border coming from among the world’s top ten most violent countries rose from 13 percent to 42 percent from 2010 to 2016. An average of two years is too long to wait in the case of life-threatening circumstances.

Border Security

Secondly, America’s border security needs to be strengthened. While the vast majority of illegal immigrants are entering the country out of necessity, there is a percentage with malicious intent. Because of sex trafficking and drug smuggling, many completely “safe” illegal immigrants are deported to ensure the security of the nation. This wastes time and money, and correction of the immigration process could easily remedy this. “The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) has estimated there were about 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States in 2018.” Refocusing efforts on simplifying the immigration process could greatly lessen the number of criminals smuggling through America’s borders. If desperate refugees had a practical legal means to enter the country, the only people illegally crossing the border would be criminals. This, in turn, would greatly simplify and improve border security and make the immigration process more efficient.

Political Medium

Finally, a medium must be found between democratic and republican viewpoints. Without reform to the immigration system, border security becomes more difficult to maintain, and without increased border security, the immigration system becomes harder to enforce. Many on both political fronts claim that only their solution will work to combat illegal immigration, but there has been no proof of this. “Partisan bickering only delays progress. Let’s focus on areas of agreement rather than letting politics get in the way.” Precious time is lost in Congress when political squabbles prevent either side from working with the other. Every second wasted is one more that could have been used to aid a refugee family. While this reform would cost a great deal of the nation’s capital, any expenses would be fully repaid over time. This is made clear through the 4.4 million income tax returns from undocumented immigrants amounting to over 23 billion dollars.

Conclusion

The United States of America has always been a beacon of hope and opportunity to billions around the world. The current immigration process is far too lengthy and ineffective, and this taints this vision. Though the costs of simplifying background screening and improving border security would be high, the benefits would be far greater. No price can be placed upon the American dream. Only by embracing its roots can America truly grow to become everything its forefathers dreamed it would be.