Try living in Southern California. THEN you will know why!
4
As long as Mr. Trump is in the White House there will be no coherent solution to the problems of immigration. However, when I read that the deployment of National Guard troops could cost upwards of 12 million dollars per month it occurs to me that those dollars could be better spent helping our neighbors to the south combat their drug trafficking and criminal gang activity. If these countries had safer more secure places to live and work and go to school, their citizens would not need to flee to the U.S.
20
Like so many others here, I can't help but wonder why the standard practice is to just allow illegal immigrants to stay even when they're detained at the boarder?? I also can't help but wonder why it seems like we're all just hearing this for the first time? If people know they're going to be allowed in even if they are caught then OF COURSE they're going to keep coming.
It seems strange that Trump hasn't talked about that at all or done anything about it. If he is so serious about curbing illegal immigration that would be an excellent place to start.
13
The young mother holding her baby dont look scary, they dont look dangerous, they dont look like they want to commit crimes.
Yet, according to trump, the mother has to be a drug dealer and her son must be a rapist.
16
He sees some lunatic piece on Fox News and starts ordering the U.S. military all over the place to deal with imaginary enemies. The fact that he's deranged is not all that surprising, what is shocking is that tens of millions of Americans support someone who is clearly deranged.
22
If the US was serious about reducing the number of REFUGEES from Cent. America we would help stabilize the political and ecomomic situations in the most effected countries. The Obama administration had several programs aimed at just that. How efective they were & if they are being continued under Trump is not clear. Instead Trump wants to ramp up our fear of Brown people by militarizing the border.
19
Good for them, these people end up in my neighborhood, quietly raising their kids and working. The problem is generations of poor whites who haven't moved on from economic decline, blaming others for what they haven't got -initiative.
19
In my business career, I worked, at different times, for two men who practiced the same 'leadership' style we see on display today in Trump. Both men would cherry-pick information about a situation, make decisions, then return to the situation a week or two later, and make new decisions, often - no, usually - conflicting with the earlier ones.
I realized with the first man that he operated by the "activity" principle. That is, confronted with a complex situation, with no simple answer, activity provides one with some level of cover, some resemblance to leadership, and some level of self-gratification ("I'm the - the best, the most decisive - leader.") The necessity for someone else to clean up behind him was never acknowledged. Then, ten years, I met a clone.
Now, 22 years later, we have Trump, flailing away at immigration, trade, regulations of all kinds - and achieving nothing of substance. The activity principle is upon us. I didn't realize the three men knew other.
12
The U.N. issued a report, last August, titled "Food Security and Emigration” on the people who live in a “dry corridor” that cuts wide swaths through El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. In-depth interviews with over 700 people revealed that only about 1 in 10 said violence was a reason why a family member had emigrated to the U.S. or why they, themselves, had tried to do so. The rest were motivated to leave by economic hardship and/or poor working conditions.
Emigration to the U.S. often led to threats of violence against the emigrant's family. When members of the village realized that someone had left for the U.S., they started demanding payments from that person’s family. The villagers assumed the emigrant was making money in the U.S. and sending it home. They wanted a cut. (The article points out how the demands for money often start before any money has arrived, and that they continue indefinitely.)
If the emigrant’s family was receiving any kinds of aid (eg. food) from international aid groups via government channels, the community cuts off this aid when it learns of the emigration, also on the assumption that the emigrant is sending home money.
Unless the emigrant is consistently sending home a relatively lot of money, the family left behind is worse off for his or her having left.
13
Ann, so the people who leave for the US know this will happen? If so, then they don't care about their family. We don't need people like that here.
10
So many failed states in Central America. So little birth control there.
When will the US quit obsessing over the Middle East and Afghanistan and begin humanitarian and strategic planning assistance in Central America? These countries need something akin to the Marshall Plan. They can be helped. It's either going to be us or China. It should be us.
24
The gang violence behind this is largely drug based, and the largest market for those drugs is the USA.
If we want to stop the flow of migrants first we need to take action against OUR drug problem. Then we need to help those countries come out from under the sway of the gangs.
It's not a black and white issue. We are in part responsible for creating this mess. The migrants are not just seeking a better life. They're seeking a LIFE. My heart goes out to them.
At the same time, there are laws that must be respected. It is entirely reasonable to point out that other migrants respect the legal process, and end up having to wait for years to get in while these people cross the border illegally and are rewarded by being able to stay.
This is not fair.
However, to the extent that some of these people really are escaping from imminent death, they need to be considered "refugees" (in its legal sense) rather than "migrants".
In the short run, a solution is to separate out the real refugees. American and international laws recognizes the need for refugees to get preferential treatment.
Then we need to address the problem at its root, our internal drug addiction problem and the corruption of governments in certain countries to our south.
10
MS-13 is a Central American gang that was started by Salvadoran immigrants in Los Angeles. El Salvador is a poor, developing country which provides little education. It is difficult for the migrants who move here to learn English and make their way in our modern economy. Evidently, the young Salvadoran men who started MS-13 first did so for a sense of family and for protection from Mexican gangs, but then so enjoyed the violence and criminal activities that they achieved notoriety, which got many of them deported. Back in El Salvador, their gang flourished and spread to other countries.
Many of the young men who come here have gang tattoos. We do not know if they are fleeing from their gangs or if they have come here at the behest of their gangs. Just like the earlier wave of Salvadorans they are ill-educated, and have a hard time making their way here. Even those who have come to live with a parent may have a difficult time as their parent likely has a new family, and the new arrival does not fit in. The new arrival may turn to the gang for a sense of belonging, even if he came here to flee from it.
This article focuses on families, but most of those who are asking for asylum are without their parents. And those who started MS-13 came with their families. They do not have the education to make their way here without all kinds of expensive government programs. We cannot afford to accept them. The most we can do is help them improve their own countries.
16
Miltarizing the southern border makes perfect sense if you're one of the 80m or so who think Trump actually knows what he's doing. If you have a brain, not so much.
6
First of all they ARE NOT IMMIGRANTS. They aren't coming here LEGALLY. Why don't they go to any other Central or South American country where their language skills and culture will be the same? Why? Frankly I'm done with CC and Catholics for encouraging this behavior. Its disgusting. America has become the defacto dumping ground for South America and Central America.
14
Perhaps read some of the history of US involvement in Central America. El Salvador? Iran, Contra? Our policies have been of extremely damaging to Central America as a whole. I forgot to mention US policy in S. America (as long as you mentioned it). We could talk about the US support of fascist regimes in Argentina, Uruguay and the CIA's removal of the elected government in Chile.
10
Wow, the Russians have really stepped up their response on this article.
3
No, I think people really feel this way...sick of illegal aliens taking advantage. We have enough people. We are full. Let them fx their own countries. We have enough problems. Lets get rid of one.
9
Pailie, from earth, come back to the real earth. When someone expresses a point of view that differs from yours, it's ok. Kindergarten 101.
10
One of the primary drivers of emigration from Central America is violence perpetrated by drug gangs. Our insatiable need for illegal drugs is what creates the market. The problem is not the immigrants, it is us. Until we do something to reduce drug use among American citizens the exodus from Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico will continue. Trump's deployment of 2-4,000 National Guard troops along the border is as stupid as everything else he says. The border between the United States and Mexico is just short of 2,000 miles. Even if every guardsman deployed worked a 12 hour shift 7 days a week that would mean 1-2 for every mile of the border.
8
I've made this same point repeatedly.
In fact, I am going to write a letter to the White House about this. I write about once a week, a single page letter, polite but clear, on one topic. (His attention span is short.) I send it through the USPS.
Letters on paper get far more attention than emails and online petitions. I've actually gotten several letters from his office in return.
The way I see it, if we don't write, the only people our representatives ever hear from are paid corporate lobbyists. So who can we expect them to respond to?
3
SPOILER WARNING: SARCASM
Here's a good idea, Mr. Trump, which is far less expensive and far more effective than your border wall. Get your friends at the NRA to funnel all those members with assault weapons in their possession to travel to the border. Unleash them (they will be very, very excited) on the immigrant population approaching the border. Shoot the migrants and leave their bodies right where they fall -- this will discourage other illegals from approaching US soil, forcing them to "think twice' (if, in fact, they can think at all). The US saves 25 billion, you and your base get what y'all want, Catholic Charities saves precious dollars, and we solve the problem in less than a month.
2
What needs to be done? Revisit the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1968 Protocol. I believe the US is party only to the 1967 Protocol, perhaps the rules should be changed? What puzzles me is that migrant countries of origin are also signatories of the Refugee Convention and Protocol. El Salvador 28 April 1983. How can it be that the originating countries have signed up to provide international protection but their citizens are seeking it in the US?
8
I find distressing in coverage about illegal immigration and refugees there is no mention of overpopulation. There are simply too many people on the planet. I'm a progressive (child free) liberal and don't understand why the United States is seen as being obligated to accept the world's "huddle masses". (The Statue of Liberty isn't the constitution.) The world is vastly different now. Resources are scarce. Educating and empowering women, globally, would be part of a solution, but I'm afraid it's too late. I'm not optimistic about the future... Pope Francis? It would be great if you let your flock use birth control!
17
We might find that we have far more success in stemming the flow of immigrants from Central America if we actually worked with those governments on solutions. The flow from Mexico has declined sharply because, in large measure, Mexico's economy is strong and people have opportunity at home. Presto. The number of people wanting to make the dangerous trek declines sharply. In Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, they need support in reducing gangs and violence that force many to flee. If we had anybody left in the State Department perhaps they could work on solutions rather than bluff and bluster.
7
Do you really believe that the economic and political elites who control these countries aren't profiting from this? Where do you think the humanitarian aid funds these countries receive go, if not into the pockets of those elites?
(Also like to point out that these elites are *proudly* descended from the European colonists while they preside over a most poor population of indigenous background.)
6
Unfortunately the mixed messages being sent by Washington contributes to this. Although there are occasional success stories, on the whole this guarantees a permanent underclass.
7
This is my favorite part: "There is no security crisis, only the daily challenge of meeting the basic needs of migrants who keep filling downtown McAllen."
What is the definition of a security crisis for a country that claims to have borders if not millions of people streaming in uninvited?
Let those folks in McAllen pay for the public housing, Medicaid, food stamp, and Lifeline phone (a.k.a. "Obamaphone") entitlements for every migrant and his or her children, regardless of final destination within the U.S., and I am willing to bet that very quickly they would perceive the situation as a "crisis"...
11
It's almost like some conservative forwarded this story to his friends and told them to comment. Fools. Corporate America destroys this country and creates drug problems and crime more than immigrants.
They're people. Not profits nor money. The problem is not immigrants coming in, it's US profits before people. It's US citizens, born and bred, thinking they're making a life with their face stuck to a screen, needing to be a superstar on social media rather than a parent to their child. We have generations of people raised by television, social media and ads lacking morals with no clue about life's real priorities.
These immigrants may get some food in their belly and a paycheck but they're bringing their souls, family values, and work ethic. Perhaps there's something to be gained.
8
"The immigrants who step inside a Catholic Charities relief center in this South Texas border city ... "
Two words never mentioned in discussions of Mexico and its de facto policy of exporting its excess population: birth control.
15
Question remains, did Gov. Abbott ask for the National Guard's help, as I understand USC 10 requires?
Tom, illegal immigration has been declining since 2011. Increasing funds for border security have been passed with bi-partisan support since the mid- 2000s. Trump is like the guy who see a parade and gets out in front of it then claims he's the leader of the group. He knew this was a scab, which if picked, would create strong emotions. Yet he has convinced people that this is a crisis that needs extreme measures. The flow of illegal immigrants will never be totally stopped, a wall is a dumb idea and will not work, and drugs enter the US by air, boat and bought off DEA agents. Let's at least establish some facts before asserting that what Trump is doing makes much sense.
3
I have seen how easy it is to wade across the Rio Grande to enter the U.S. Let's do a better job of processing those who have legally applied to enter and stop the waders.
8
When you board a plane from the US to go to another country, they check to see whether you have the required documents to enter that country (e.g., valid passport, visa if necessary, etc). If you do not, you are not even allowed to board the plane let alone enter the country.
It seems like what's happening in McAllen, Texas is that people without proper paperwork are entering the US. They're being allowed in for some reason, spend days (maybe a few weeks) in a detention center and released into the US. This would never be allowed to happen in any other situation. If you don't have proper paperwork to be in a country, there is no reason Federal or state agents should be letting them into this country.
I understand that their countries are in turmoil and they're looking for a better life. But it's simply unreasonable to think that we could take all of the people who live in turmoil-filled countries or in poor conditions.
15
If people cannot claim asylum at the border, where are they supposed to claim it?
Many of these people are not just "looking for a better life." Their children are being threatened by gangs and their lives are immediately at risk. They aren't coming to the US to give their children a better education - they're trying to save their lives.
4
The people who come here from parts of Mexico and Central America come illegally because they earn $2-$5 A DAY and legal immigration will never be affordable to them. When Carrier moved to Mexico it paid $5.00 A DAY for work that was being done in the U.S. at $30.00 AN HOUR. This is why people still come to the U.S. illegally. This is not their fault but the fault of their governments allowing these companies to compensate these people at poverty wages.
12
These migrants, carrying their children, repeatedly say that the reason they are coming is for their kids. To give their kids a better life. That's an honorable motivation. But it doesn't mean that they have any right to enter the U.S.A. The main problem with DACA, and why it should be repealed, is that it sets a precedent that if one comes illegally and brings small kids, someday those kids will be allowed to stay, if they just hide long enough and don't get caught. That's dangerous, rewards the parent's original sin, and encourages more of them to try to jump the border.
As a policy solution, there should be no grounds whereby someone who shows up at the border can request asylum, such that there is no need for a lengthy court procedure, and no need to either house them or catch and release them. These people, and their kids, should be returned across the border with 30 minutes from being captured. That nearly 40k people A MONTH are released to where they don't belong is outrageous and needs to end. NOW.
15
Repealing DACA, which only applies to people who files paperwork by 2011, means we turn our backs on 180,000 people who we agreed would not be returned elsewhere. By "repeal" do you mean continue this practice? If so, it ended for new people years ago.
37,000 in one month?!? I'm a liberal and follow news closely but that number is shockingly high to me. And I don't understand why we don't turn them back? I don't agree with Trump but that is an obscene level of illegal crossings.
12
Numbers crossing the border have consistently fallen since 2000.
1
How about if the U.S. cuts over half its defense spending and earmark the funds to help countries like Mexico become more economically and socially stable to reduce the incentives for their own populations to flee elsewhere?
6
Outrageous. This will never stop until we get serious about controlling immigration.
Illegal immigration is a huge driver of income inequality by holding wage growth down at the low end. Conversely, those that employ low skilled workers profit handsomely from the wage differential.
Also, mass immigration is terrible for environmental sustainability. More and more people consuming more and more resources is no way to address our climate and sustainability problems.
As someone who is deeply concerned about climate change and income inequality, I applaud Trump for his hard line on immigration. I used to vote Democrat but as long as they are for mass, uncontrolled immigration I will not vote for them.
14
So what is your answer? A border wall, besides being outrageously expensive, is literally not possible. There are parts of the border that you physically cannot build a wall on. And even if you were to construct a wall, people will always, always find a way around it. Berlin should have taught us that.
The answer is enforcement of our immigration laws. And that means deportation of those here illegally and punishment for those that employ them. We really need to focus on employers more than deporting the hapless illegal alien, however. Removing the economic incentive to immigrate illegally will go far in reducing illegal immigration. Unfortunately, our laws are simply not strong enough regarding employment of illegal aliens. Mandatory E-Verify would help.
4
Recently released statistics from Mexico report over 29,000 deaths from homicide in 2017, and El Salvador is worse. This is the crisis, the emergency, at our borders that is driving mothers, fathers, and children to come here in search of safety. People are desperate not to become victims of gang violence and the drug wars. They are refugees. Our thinking about how to address the challenges they present at our borders should keep this fact uppermost in our minds. And have a little heart.
6
Americans drug users are the largest market for the drug sales that finance the horrific actions of the Central American gangs.
As a nation we are partly responsible for this mess. We have an important role to play in cleaning it up.
6
Actually, countries like Mexico have problems with drug abuse as well. Are you aware that armed gangs have actually attacked and killed people in in-patient drug treatment centers in Mexico? think about that.
4
Yes, I am aware that other countries have drug problems as well. That's fairly obvious to anybody that follows the news. And I do recall reading news items about the attacks on drug treatment centers.
But that makes no difference with regard to my point, which is that the USA is a HUGE consumer of these drugs and consequently a HUGE contributor to the problem.
How we can have a talk about the causes of all this illegal immigration and gloss over the fact that American $$$ is what funds the Central American gangs baffles me.
Many commenters do suggest legalization of narcotics to take the profit out of illicit trade in drugs.
Also, U.S. drug addicts tend to fund their habits through prostitution, theft and other nefarious means. Many are homeless or institutionalized, and prey on others to fund their addictions.
Have you ever read John Potash - his book "Drugs Used As Weapons Against Us" details how the U.S. government has historically used drugs to undermine labor unions, anti-lynching campaigns, etc. It also notes that the Vietnam War and the recent wars in the middle east are about access to areas that are conducive to cultivating poppy plants. (he also discusses the introduction of poppies to Latin America)
I don't blame illegal immigrants for doing what they are doing, but neither do I think the situation in these countries is simply the fault of U.S. drug addicts either.
Chicken come home to roost. The history of all the Central American countries who send immigrants to the US is a history where the United States has suppressed social reforms in the name of fighting Communism, often with extreme violence through proxies we trained, installed and supported. Whether it's United Fruit, the Bank of Boston and many more corporations, our government did their bidding to keep costs down, profits high and suppress social reform. Oh and lets not forget the paltry price we paid Mexico for Arizona and New Mexico so we could run the Southern Pacific Railroad through newly "acquired" US territory after the American Mexican war. As for the immigrants, our foreign policies denied them social services at home, so why not come to the US where they seem somewhat more available?
4
The action of Catholic Charities and others at the border who are performing humanitarian services at the border are at the principles that formed our nation.
Let us not forget:
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” quote from Emma Lazarus' sonnet on the base of the Statue of Liberty.
The bitter, heartless responses expressed here by some of my fellow Americans to the hopelessness of immigrants depicted in this article makes me ashamed and saddened. Surely we are better than that.
4
The statue of liberty thing is a tired argument. Never was US law or policy...just some lady who wrote it. It doesnt fit in today's world. Times have changed. Population wasnt out of control then as it is now and no one seems to practice birth control....
10
I really do wish The New York Times would take a more moderate stance on illegal immigrants. Week after week, there's another front page story about their sad plight, accompanied by carefully arranged photographs of children. It's incredibly obvious and manipulative. And I think it's telling that, every time you guys post such an article, there's more than a handful of people in the comments saying something along the lines of "I didn't vote for Trump, but he's right on illegal immigration..." Are all these commenters Russian bots and alt-right infiltrators? Or is it that a large number of Americans across the political spectrum generally agree that illegal immigration should be halted or at least reduced to reasonable levels? Over 300,000 people were apprehended at the border in 2017. That's insane! There are first world countries in Europe and Asia that don't even take that many LEGAL immigrants, let alone illegal ones.
Tighten the border, reform immigration laws, deport criminals, and try to help Central/South America so these people won't have to come here in the first place. This really doesn't have to be that difficult.
60
Tom, the US sends money, mucho money to these countries. Where does it go? Corruption? And they still come. It has to stop.
9
I wouldn't hold my breath. Not just the NYTimes either. They did do one article presenting the perspectives of people against DACA and what struck me about that one was there was a Vietnamese guy who was profiled and the majority of liberal commenters who found his viewpoint distasteful or ungenerous were basically telling him to go back to Vietnam. They could disagree and even call him racist/heartless/whatever but they also told him to just go back. Call out an alleged racist by being one. Good going. That's when I decided that I wouldn't label myself as anything anymore.
There is no moderation around this issue. If you go back, you will find thoughtful opeds even from the likes of Paul Krugman saying he wished economic analysis was more supportive of low-skill immigration not being detrimental to the working class. BIll, Hillary, even Bernie Sanders (and many others) were all more moderate if not, at times, outright against and so it's the politicians as well.
We've had decades of illegal immigration and this isn't the 1st or even 10th time. The fact that it's lower now doesn't negate the fact that the numbers are still concerning for some. Let's suppose there are O negatives from illegal immigration for arguments sake, but then the fact that the nation is so bitterly divided is a problem in of itself. Each side will call the other side stupid and wish they would just disappear but that's not going to happen. I agree it shouldn't be this difficult but it is.
6
I'm far away from the border, but I can attest to its effect on the local populace. Any given day there are about two dozen illegal immigrants in my hospital who not have the capacity to pay the bill something I cannot fault them on. So who pays for this? You do. the cost is passed onto the paying customer and the hospital gets huge tax breaks that go to the top. Agreed, illegals cannot get on welfare, but they do cost the taxpayer. Add to this the fact that when illegals have children in the US, these are now US citizens and thus are eligible for all the benefits. These kids receive multimillion Dollar organ transplants (and medical care) which they should, but everything including all required social services and medications are paid for by the taxpayer.
37
Most illegals who have steady employment file taxes with a T-10 number which they also use for state taxes. They receive no benefits for these taxes. And as you may recall it was the GOP that refused to allow them to purchase medical insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
2
I'm not sure which article you read. As per its headline and content, this piece is addressing the concerns of those currently at the border to Trump's proposed plan to sent National Guard troops there. Apparently, those people see no need for the plan Trump has put forth and the reasons why are explained in the article. How you make the leap to organ transplants, etc., is beyond me. Sounds an awful lot like Trump's usual deflection and distraction.
I'm sure that organ transplants for children of illegals are quite rare. But these people contribute to the community. They work hard for a living. They are not the "welfare queens" that many Americans are paranoid about. I think many Americans are conflating the two separate issues of welfare recipients and undocumented workers. The latter work hard for the money. Good grief, the bigotry and prejudice blinds some people to reality.
1
My grandfather was an immigrant ... he'd be about 130 years old today. He came in through Canada's homestead program. Then migrated down to Chicago.
Countries don't have homestead programs anymore. It was a different time.
These young healthy families aren't persecuted, they're ambitious.
13
The problems of the world are not solved by moving all poor people to the US.
41
They're not solved by sticking our heads in the sand and screaming "NOT MY PROBLEM!" either.
1
Oakbranch - It might helps things if Americans would stop buying the drugs being sold by the Central American gangs. American $$$ finances the gangs, the cartels and the corruption. We are a large part of the problem. We have a moral responsibility to try to find a solution.
The terrible conditions in other countries are sad. Each of us should do something. That said, how many tens of millions, or hundreds of millions of people in terrible conditions around the world are you willing to accept? Is it really right that those who can more easily get here from Mexico or Honduras, or who can afford to fly in and overstay a visa, get precedence over those who can't walk across an ocean? How many people should we cram into this lifeboat? People who support this illegal immigration with words, what are you doing beyond words? How much money are you taking out of your own pocket.
29
America, to put it bluntly, has been long too soft, as in thrity years too long, in dealing with this mass exodus of illegal border crossers. Our lack of enforcement, complicated moreso by our inability (failure?) to accurately address and revamp, update our guest worker laws and rules and has resulted in a real emboldening of not only these refugees, but has also lead to their leaders lack of commitment to addressing crime.
We HAVE to get more tough to reverse this flaunting of rules. Because right now we are sending the wrong messages. The real problem is the American business community, and the politicians who refuse to take a stand because they are bought and paid for by the NAFTA corporate lobbyists, and the wealthy, who have a huge revenue stake in it's continuation in it's original form. THAT is why our pols won't get tough. I don't even consider Trump to be getting tough enough.
Allowing 37,000 people to cross our borders illegally each and every month, then letting them roam in judicial absentia for the duration is the definition of pure political and humanity sanity. For everyone. That HAS to change.
32
We no longer do that "white man's burden" thing of fixing other countries when they cannot fix themselves. Here's what we should do: Take all these illegals, give them one of the millions of assault rifles, train them in killing guerrillas, and send them home. Let them fight it out. Make sure that they have enough ammo. Send them extra every month. If we arm enough illegals, they will kill the gangsters. In Mexico, non-gang members have successfully killed a lot of gangsters. Let these people solve their own problems. Find and boot ALL illegals.
16
It made me laugh to see the phrase "white man's burden" in your comment (which I agree with) because most of these counties - Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala - are controlled politically and economically by whites who are proudly racist towards the poor of their own countries. (Interestingly, many, if not most, of those poor citizens of those countries are of indigenous ancestry)
It's funny how the NYT and other media almost never discuss the upper classes of these countries and how profoundly racist they are, instead preferring to focus on the working and middle classes of the U.S. and characterizing their opposition to illegal immigration as ... racist.
5
You ask why? Simply because Mr. Trump has this tendency to overstate almost everything, use facts or the lack thereof to achieve his agenda which is, in the first place, pandering to his base. I would agree that we need some greater controls on immigration and certainly with the incidence of drugs coming across our borders. But this act, of expending funds to diminish what already is a greatly reduced incidence of illegal border crossings seems overkill as does the unbounded ICE treatment of "illegals" and how their rights are ignored by the overworked court system.
1
Richard, a major reason that fewer people tried to slip across the border over the last fiscal year was our presidential campaign with all of the talk against illegal immigration. People who would have come here illegally decided to wait to see what Trump would do as president. Now that they have seen that very few are being deported, they have again decided to take their chances on coming here.
In their eyes, the U.S. is the land of economic opportunity and welfare. (A current form of welfare for which many undocumented apply with ITIN numbers is the Child Tax Credit. The IRS pays billions of dollars in cash annually to low wage earners who are in the country illegally.) The undocumented have no understanding of or concern for the negative impacts they are having on many of our own citizens, or on how they are increasing our national debt.
If they are truly fleeing violence, they need not come all the way to the U.S. There are plenty of safe regions in Central America and Mexico. They came here to make money.
8
Why can't we just send illegal immigrants back? I don't understand this. Just require them to go back across the border when they are apprehended.
We don't have the resources to process unlimited numbers of people who break the laws to cross the borders. Just send them back to Mexico.
People in the US are dying because they do not get medical care. When we allow illegal immigrants into the country we are essentially murdering our own citizens who have no medical insurance.
Trump is right. We should put troops on the border. And if illegal immigrants keep coming, we should invade Mexico and construct a 100-mile buffer zone south of the border in which nobody is allowed.
Perhaps declaring war on Mexico is the right move.
18
Turning away immigrants does zero to help Americans get medical care. That makes no logical sense. Americans don't have medical care because we refuse to construct any kind of national system that would ensure every citizen access to care. We believe as a nation that if you can't afford to pay for your healthcare, you deserve to die or go bankrupt.
That is the problem. It has nothing at all to do with immigrants.
3
You should calm down and read the article. When someone come seeking political asylum, we let them in and then they have to present their case in court. If the judge decides they have a legitimate case, they can stay. If they don't , they are detained and deported. This has been going on for generations. Relax, already. Stop listening to Washington know-nothings and Fox News. They have an agenda and you buy into it. Stop being a patsy.
The NYT needs to provide basic information. What does apprehended mean? I thought it meant that illegal immigrants were caught and sent back across the border. If all of the immigrants in the story are illegal, why are they being admitted? Are all of them requesting asylum? If so, and they are being admitted, why are they called illegal? The NYT needs to publish an article explaining the logistics.
36
"Dozens of immigrants, mostly from Central America, have been crossing illegally here every day, most of them scooped up by federal Border Patrol agents, given a court date and an ankle bracelet monitoring device, and dropped off at the downtown bus station."
Change the name to Border Crossing Aiders and Abettors.
22
That "$12 million a month cost for the guard" sentence should have been the subhead on this article! Fortunately, most of the personnel in the national guard are not trumpist fascists, so if the "plan" even comes to fruition it will be just another deployment and not the tragedy it could be.
1
I thought when these immigrants were caught at the border they were sent back. Now they receive a bus ticket.
20
Armed National Guards on hand to armed to shoot illegal immigrants - that sounds like a winning solution to address the problem ... not.
Maybe we need National Guard Troops surrounding the White House and Senate and House Chambers to protect us from Trump and his Republican cronies.
8
If you want to slow the flow of immigrants, the biggest bang for the buck is not guards or guns, its the pill!!! Our great leaders since the time of Reagan have fought a battle against contraception, the result is self evident today. Central American countries overwhelmed by overpopulation and the resulting social and economic ills trying to find anyway to make a living.
31
Vasectomies, not the pill.
2
The comments so far are revolting, particularly the claims that these people are lying about the violence in their countries. Nobody uproots their entire families on a whim. And they aren't, "illegals," they're people.
21
Kim, they're illegals. And they are being coached on what to say to get asylum. Asylum fraud.
26
Thanks. I often wonder about the easy dismissal of people by the ones that could help or at least keep their peace and stop the hatred flowing from their hearts. Immigrants walk for days, often without water or food. These (Mexico, Honduras. Guatemala, El Salvador) are very dangerous places for vulnerable, poor people.
And the States has played a hand in the situation. Everyday thousands of guns cross the border to Mexico and they travel farther down.
Sometimes people act as if the place where they were born was an award for some beautiful act or quality. But the difference between an American born person and a Mexican or Syrian or Korean is luck. Randomness.
1
They are people who are here illegally.
8
For comparison on unchecked migration look at the situation in Europe. Jun 28, 2017 - The warning came as Italy's EU representative, Maurizio Massari, warned in a letter to the bloc the situation had become "unsustainable". Unsustainable is the word used, and as in Europe there is an unending number of tens of millions of desperate, impoverished people, fleeing conflict, lack of opportunity, and seeking "a better life". Europe is now taking measures and it will be interesting to see the outcome. Italy has seized and impounded two of the charity rescue boats (on legal grounds as they did not comply with a code of conduct).The new German government will now have all migrants who attempt to enter the country held at the border in detention centers and France is enacting law to deport all migrants who do not have a right to international protection. Illegal migration is unsustainable for the EU but also for the USA.
20
So simplistic. The immigrant gang MS-13 started in LA - aided by Reagan's Iran contra policies of funding right-wing central American dictators. Have any of these critics ever talked to a central American amnesty refugees. Yes, its terible, but we place the blame in the wrong place. BTW-NAFTA had nothing to do with immigration.
5
True, with NAFTA, jobs in Mexico have increased, keeping them at home.
1
I agree with sentiments below decrying NYT romanticize this steady flow of illegals.
Let's be clear they are not immigrants as we know them to be but gate crashers.
Congress has established a regularized method of immigrating to America - for some it's a wait of many years and for some, the chance never comes.
These gate crashers are overwhelming our border protection force and this "catch and release" is nothing more than amnesty for these gate crashers.
I have a teacher friend in Fort Worth, Texas who bears consequences of these gate crashers. Their children are overwhelming his public education system. Despite being in America (admittedly illegally) many children speak little English, many appear to be a product of broken families.
And my friend reports that many of their parents continue to be dealing in drugs. He recently told me that the police arrested a 12 year old boy who had sneaked drugs in sole of his shoes for distribution.
Sure, this may be isolated. But an unverified, unvetted immigrants is much of a menace to our society.
Sure, we are a nation if immigrants - but comments below and anecdotal evidence suggest that we have succeeded more because of legal migration and not gate crashers.
A society without checks is bound to pay a price.
And despite this romantic version presented here - it appears as noted in many comments below, we are already paying a price.
36
You are heartless.
6
Ok Brenda, you open your home and take a family in. There are plenty up there with you.
5
What's it look like when parents hid behind their kids. Who does that??
13
Incredible....its time to stop these economic migrants in their tracks.
They must be turned around and sent home to rebuild their own countries and create dreams for themselves that don't include sneaking under a fence and living in the shadows.
25
Yes, Mexico build the wall and pay for it, but keep Americans out. Short term cross border business will be painful. In time corruption will lessen allowing businessmen to flourish. With the largest economy in the world next door and a country of hardworking people, Canada of the south will be born.
1
I assume these people are picked up on the US side of the border. Can't the National Guard prevent them from stepping over the border, thus ending the catch and release problem that irks so many Americans? If you don't step over the border, you don't need to be caught and issued a court date. Keep them on the other side of the border and you are done.
13
Wow, the situation probably shouldn’t go on as status quo.
And I say this as a liberal, bleeding-heart to your north.
The migrants are essentially claiming refugee status..? Based on suffering criminal activity in their home country. Every country has crime but wouldn’t a refugee have to show a larger organized state-like persecution of the applicant and their family?
Curious as to why the applicant is allowed to select the location of their hearing. Couldn’t the US government have judges available in the border areas/zones and process their hearing there, in a timely fashion?
Certainly a lot of cost to detain and process refugee claims but may mitigate problems down the line if everything is handled in border zones.
My country also has refugee policies that are fairly inviting. This gets controversial and costly here from time to time- as has been the case for a few summers. The one difference is that we don’t see the vast daily numbers as the US has on the southern border. We have been able to have a refugee program because it is manageable for now.
And approval of refugee status is not easy-about half of claims are rejected.
31
Thanks for the common sense comment. We have too many people in the US who think this kind of continual pouring in of illegal immigrants is just completely fine since they believe all these people "have to" enter as illegal immigrants. Under this logic, nearly everyone currently living in Guatemala, El Salvador, Venezuela, and half of Mexico just "has to" immigrate illegally to the US.
15
Many thanks to the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley for their humanity in treating immigrants as we would all wish to be treated in hard times. I no longer practice any religion, but I made a donation to support their great work. That was one small action I could take to counter evolving policies attacking the weakest among us. Like so many of us in this country, all my grandparents were immigrants who became tax payers, fought in wars against American enemies and helped make America great. They worked hard to realize the American dream for their children and grandchildren. That's what these new immigrant families are trying to do. This country has a long history of finding ways to welcome immigrants, assimilating them to help drive progress. We owe it to ourselves to find ways to keep our humanity alive and our country thriving as we address today's immigration issues.
19
All your grandparents were immigrants. But did they enter the US illegally? I have visited The Statue of Liberty and the immigration museum and from what I learned those who passed through were vetted. They had to be in good health and not dependent on the public purse. I think what is never mentioned by those who approve of no borders and unlimited immigration is that it is going to be, at some point, unsustainable. There are only so many social housing units, so many school places, and other social services. They come because they know it is likely they will get away with entering the country illegally.
31
Did your grandparents immigrate legally or illegally. Important difference.
4
The early immigrants became legal at Ellis Island by being vetted, insuring they would not go on the dole and were in good health. Why can’t we do the same with those crossing the now? I’m sure many would pass the vetting, plus many already have families here who could give them a leg up. There is no excuse for not giving these people the same opportunities that were given to our ancestors who came before them.
1
Why are these illegal border crossers not being returned to their countries of origin? Why are they allowed to just 'disappear' into thin air here in the United States?
More sternly, why aren't the leaders of these nations being called on the carpet for their poor treatment, poor civil management of their own citizens which causes them to flee in the first place?
This problem needed solving thirty years ago. NAFTA obviously didn't work as intended, and I dare say, has made this mass immigration actually worse.
Sadly, I don't see anyone in either local or national politics reaching out to our Central American neighbors in attempt to demand change. Thus, the only way to get through to these failed Latino leaders is- keep sending their own citizens back to them. In droves.
49
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
3
NAFTA enjoyed its 24th birthday this past January.
Illegal border crossing apprehensions rose steadily from January 1994 to the year 2000. Then have been dropping steadily ever since and are now well below 1994 levels.
The US Border Patrol had around 3800 agents in 1994. They now have over 21,000.
I agree with you that we need to be more actively involved with the governments of Central American nations, in helping to create conditions that encourage people to stay home. American drug users are, after all, the largest market for the illegal drugs that finance the activities of the violent gangs of the region.
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/media-resources/stats
You are referring to the American citizen, aren't you?
That is what we have ended up being.
The New York Times can continue to treat this unending wave of illegals into our country as a fairy tale written by Emma Lazarus. But the fact it, there are consequences. I live in a suburb of Washington, DC, a thousand miles from the border. My wife is a doctor in what was, 15 years ago, one of the top hospitals in the country. Now on most days it is a triage center for non-English speaking people with no resources to pay their bills, and thus the quality of care for everyone has been eroded. My kids went to public high schools that were among the best in the nation. But they have slipped dramatically in national rankings as the single biggest line item of expenditures for the past 15 years has been English as a Second Language classes. The county's buses carry signs in Spanish from some government agency urging people to turn in those stealing from SNAP - the food stamp program.
I disagree with Donald Trump on virtually every issue and would never vote for him. But the fact that he is at least trying to restore some sense of order on the border, and reestablish the idea that America has a right as a sovereign nation to decide who enters the country, will probably get him re-elected in 2020, if Democrats don't get on board with those simple ideas.
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Philboyd, what you and your wife experience in DC is what Americans experience all over our great country. You're right, illegal immigration will get Trump re-elected. It's the issue that got him elected the first time and rightfully so.
13
The lefts answer to your concerns is to call you a "xenophobic racist". That way a true debates of the facts and numbers concerning immigration can be avoided.
18
I agree and feel the same as you about Trump. I would never have voted for Trump and I support his impeachment. But he does have it right about doing a heck of a lot more to staunch this flow of illegal immigrants. It's just insane that this has been allowed to continue for so long, and all the consequences of it. STores in my area have for many years now had preferential hiring for bilingual people -- Spanish and English -- in order to cater to the illegal immigrants. And dont' get me started on how angry I am that large urban centers in California are apparently much more concerned about protecting illegal immigrants than in solving or even effectively addressing the enormous homeless epidemic that's turning these cities into slums.
11
The governments of these countries should be ashamed that they cannot keep their citizens. As is the case with the previous immigration from Europe these countries are losing there most motivated people. Look at European culture now. A dying relic giving out death rattles. The vast majority of these immigrants are decent, family oriented, hard working Christian people. They'll eventually fit in here.
13
European "culture" is dying out as Islam takes over and disrupts these previously stable democracies, not because of lack of immigration.
Addressing the reasons people are fleeing their homelands--gang violence, police corruption, inadequate education systems, lack of opportunity--and the the root--structural--causes of those problems, should be a component of any plan to curtail illegal immigration. What many in the U.S. simply do not "get" about immigrants is that many would prefer to be in the place they consider home and left because they believed there was no other alternative.
37
Then they need to fix their countries and not invade ours
13
"Fleeing gang violence, police corruption, inadequate education systems, lack of opportunity".... as I look around me now.
That's precisely what we have now. Where did that come from? Oh that's right, we can't talk about that any longer, without showing some sort of privlege or racism.
16
Why can't they stay in Mexico? They already speak the language. Can it be that Mexico doesn't have the economics they are looking for, plus I'm sure welfare is much less. Yes, I know illegal immigrants don't get welfare, but they have kids here and those kids get welfare.
4
As much as I sympathize with the conditions that spurred them to leave their home countries these people are economic migrants, not refugees. The response that “They’re always going to find a way through.” exemplifies that they do not care about the US laws.
55
Right on!
9
Hundreds have been specifically targeted for violence and death by gangs or for political reasons: refugees. Putting the value of their lives above immigration laws is entirely reasonable.
3
Why is the NYTimes so happy about illegal immigration? Why do you want to destroy the working and middle class by bringing in cheap labor? Why aren’t you concerned about the rising crime rates across the country as gang members enter. Why do you want an underclass of people in this country, citizens and noncitizens, who are basically slaves to the elites? Since Trump came in unemployment is decreasing and wages have started to rise. Why do you want more unskilled labor and HB1 visa holders to decrease wages of US citizens?
68
The NY Times is full of happy liberals who do not understand that the USA has borders and that illegal immigration is breaking the law.
14
At the root of the problem are the conditions in their home countries. Nobody wants to leave the place they're from for an uncertain future, especially with babies and children in tow. Gangs, poverty, lack of opportunity and America's demand for drugs are all fueling the migration north. It would make more sense for everyone to address the source of the problem. On the other hand, demonizing and misrepresenting these people, as Mr. Trump routinely does, is not helpful in the least.
45
So their home cultures are not a good as that of the US. In my mind that does not give them the moral or legal right to come here in violation of our reasonable laws. Can anyone who agrees with JVG cite any other country in the world that allows anyone who so desires to just show up at the border and be granted permanent residency and permission to work?
1
'Many aren't sure why Trump is sending the National Guard to the border.' 300,000 illegals apprehended at the border. Not an anomaly. Year after year.
Illegals cost American tax payers 120 billion a year (Congressional Budget Office, 2017).
Obama and Bush sent the National Guard to the border. Where was the outrage then? Oh, yeah, it wasn't Trump, who can do no right in the eyes of the Left and their media.
As for the sob stories of illegals, none will ever convince me that they are more important than the stories of poor Americans, homeless Americans, drug addicted Americans, mentally ill Americans, and Veteran Americans. Americans First.
We cannot accept all the poor of the world. To do so would destroy our great country and turn it into a third world country that these very same people are trying to escape. They should stay in their country and march, demonstrate and protest (as they do in this country) for better lives. Better lives in their country, not ours.
90
I'm no Trump fan, but I have to agree. He's largely doing the same thing as previous administrations, he's just making a lot more noise about it (as he does with everything).
44
A woman arrives with her two month old infant so that her son can grow up with his father. Why did his father abandon him to illegally move to America?
If the gangs have taken over the Central American countries, how much of the problem is the result of the fact that 40% of working age Guatemalan men are living in the US.
If the gangs have taken over, why is it that the law abiding men cannot band together and take back their communities? It's because they are living in America.
This covers multiple economic groups. Half of Liberian MDs are practicing medicine, legally, in the US, including the son of the president of Liberia.
The students who graduated using student visas are not the poor, huddled masses. They are children of wealthy parents and think their economic opportunities are better in the US, even though their presence depresses wages.
It is not in the best interests of the US or of the donor nations for the country to be creating incentives for a brain drain.
39
Lack of support infrastructure, no universal access to good schooling ... this is what turns us into a 3rd world country. Neglect and greed. But go ahead blame it on people in desperate straits.
4
Establish open-air camps on the border and give the trespassers a tent to stay in until their hearing date — or allow them to re-cross the border to Mexico.
The most sensible thing to do is to immediately expel all illegal aliens from our country. It just makes good sense.
53
Ask the owners of the many, many thousands of businesses that rely on cheap, compliant labor how they feel about expelling their workers. Why are the immigrants coming illegally? Because an American businessperson is glad to have them as an employee. Immigrants wouldn't come if there was no work. Funny how there is no talk about punishing employers. It's easy to check on the validity/history of a social security number. Those with suspicious documentation would be asked to provide additional information as a condition of employment. Not so hard and no different than other administrative requirements people deal with.
41
In my state, it's illegal for a private employer to use E-verify. It's "don't ask, don't tell basically with forged documents.
11
Actually there IS talk about punishing employers. It's a provision of the Immigration Act of 1986 (the Simpson-Mazzoli Act). That act provides criminal sentences for employers who knowingly employ illegal aliens. It has never been enforced. Why? Because the whole point of immigration is to provide cheap labor for business.
10
Business needs cheap labor. That's always the bottom line on immigration. Has been for 150 years.
53
Democrats are firmly opposed to reducing their supply of cheap labor to exploit.
18
"Business needs cheap labor." - comment from Generallissimo Francisco Franco
That's not a wise justification for allowing illegal immigration. Do we really want a sub-class of illegal immigrants in our working force? That will never work in the long term.
7
Sorry ebmem, it's the Republican farmers and business owners who want these cheap workers. Democrats want them to be treated humanely
6
The human side. This is all just so tragic. The depth of my dislike for trump knows no bounds. He gleefully riles up those that hate. I wonder how many of his followers stay put in a situation where there lives were literally in danger. I suspect none of them.
23
Try addressing the issue: What should the United States do? Let anyone and everyone who wants to come here do so? Can you identify another country in the world that has such a policy?
42
Yes! Those who say "these people" should protest, march, fix their own country overlook that they risk being killed for doing so. These people have no poltical power or opportunities where they are. They are stigmatized for coming to work as " cheap labor" and also for not wanting to work & being an economic burden, just coming for free stuff. Kinda mutually exvlusive, but then hatred does not rely on logic.
3
Are you saying that only those that have the answers are allowed to voice an opinion? Unless I have the perfect solution I need to be quiet? Unless I can fix the problem I am not allowed empathy for my fellow human beings? Is that what you are saying?
This article points out how our out of touch "asylum" laws need to be revised. To read the article there is basically no border. People show up, claim asylum, get processed, let go and disappear, never to be seen again. These are economic migrants. They've been told to claim "gang violence" and that is the key to a new life in the u.s. Obviously they travel thru one to several countries to get here but they don't have the social welfare structure we do so everybody wants to come here. It's estimated 25% of El Salvador has moved here already. 35% of Mexico (from the pew research center) would move here if possible. It's time to time to close the border and help them solve their problems at home.
76
Ok, but that means no grousing for exponentially increasing our foreign aid commitments. And don't complain about nation building either.
6
Foreign aid, targeted at the right areas doesn't have to be extravagant. In the end it will certainly be cheaper than basically moving the populations of these countries to the u.s. and dealing with the disruptions that it is and will continue to cause. Given that the planet now has over 7.5 billion people and many millions are desperately unhappy, moving them here is no longer a viable option.
19
Maybe if the foreign aid dollars aren't appropriated by the elites of those nations it would actually reach the people it was intended for in the first place?
Is it ok to "grouse" about the kleptocracies in Mexico and Central America that are propped up by aid monies from the U.S. in the form of aid (as well as U.S.corporate interests in maintaining the status quo in such countries)
3