August 5 at 11am Robert Rosenbloom will lead a discussion on immigration at ESNW.
A note from Bob R –
Certainly it’s the case that immigration has been much in the news of late. And certainly, it’s also the case that most of American society, including almost all religious leaders, has strongly condemned the Trump Administration’s policies with regard to separating asylum seekers and other seeking to immigrate to the U.S. from their children and rejecting, out of hand, asylum seekers claims for lawful immigrant status.
That said, the political, moral and economic questions surrounding immigration to this country have long antedated the Trump Administration. The Obama Administration, too, was criticized by immigrant advocates for deporting more people than the George W. Bush Administration, which, in turn, had deported more than the Clinton Administration.
See, for instance, here or here.
For years, representatives on “both sides of the aisle” have talked about the need for “comprehensive immigration reform”. I, for one, have always been puzzled by what such reform would look like. During our discussion on August 5, I would like for us, as much as possible, NOT to discuss President Trump’s immigration policies. I suspect we’re all in agreement in condemning them in the harshest language. Rather, I would like to have us focus on what our immigration policy should be and/or could potentially be. Here are some possible questions to consider:
Should the U.S. borders be totally open to any who wish to enter?
What would be the pluses/minuses of an open borders policy and is it at all politically realistic in our lifetime? If it’s not politically realistic, what compromises, if any, would you “settle for”?
If you don’t think we should have open immigration, who should we prioritize for legal entry? Asylum seekers? Technical and other highly educated people with “high” work skills? “Unskilled” people who want to fill jobs no Americans wish to? People from a particular region in the world? People with family members who are already living here?
Needless to say, there have been a myriad of articles recently on immigration. Below are links to a selected few, chosen to offer somewhat different perspectives. I would suggest that if your time (or interest) is limited, you try to read at least the two policy statements put out within the last month or two by the American Ethical Union. Links to both those statements are at the top of the list below.
AEU statement on Trump’s immigration policy
AEU statement on immigration reform
New Yorker article on the immigration debate
Article on immigration from the Council on Foreign Relations
Psychology Today article on what constitutes a rational immigration policy