Bullying will handcuff Congress
The issue of immigration and the revision of relevant legislation has spiralled into an acrimonious political brawl in the United States. Just why has that happened?
The bellicose bully in the White House, with scant regard for actual numbers, claims that the U.S. is under an invasion from the lands to the south and, therefore what is needed, is a wall along the southern border to stop undocumented aliens from entering the U.S.A. Never mind that the level of undocumented illegal immigration today is less than it was in the 1980s when Ronald Reagan was president.
Donald Trump’s agitation about immigration is motivated in large measure by the racial bias that he has continually demonstrated during his presidency. Be it Muslims, Africans or Mexicans — and those from Central America — he characterizes them as “rapists” and “gang members” who will destroy America if allowed entry.
Moreover, he wants to rid the nation of the existing illegal undocumented people living throughout the U.S.A. They number around 11 million or about 3 per cent of the population, hardly a major force in the economy – though prized by many employers as hard workers. Nevertheless, Trump views them as a cause of crime and all sorts of social unrest.
Never mind that statistics clearly demonstrate immigrants of all types, documented or illegal, are more religious, less likely to have kids out of wedlock and far less likely to commit crime than the non-immigrant population. The reality doesn’t fit the stereotype he has constructed to gain support from his political base so he ignores it. The “zero-tolerance” policy recently implemented by the Department of Justice charged all adults crossing illegally into the U.S. (and probably some legitimate refugees as well) with a felony, resulting in their being separated from any children accompanying them. This was a deliberate policy aimed at discouraging further crossings.
Apparently, no serious thought was given to the administration of the policy and the potential for backlash.
Citizens are outraged at their government’s cruelty and incompetence.
The problem the U.S.A. is facing is that its population is, on average, getting older. In 2017, women had almost 500,000 fewer babies than they did in 2007 even though the number of women in prime childbearing years was up 7 per cent over the same period. The number of people who are 65 years or older today will double within 40 years. Funding the bill for Social Security will require a growth in the labour force that will not occur without significant immigration.
Any major influx of immigrants to the U.S.A. will have to come from Latin America, Asia and Africa, which in turn will speed up the date when whites will become a minority, and that spreads fear among Trump supporters. White deaths are now exceeding white births; why, they ask, make it worse with immigration, legal or otherwise?
The answer is simple: without that influx of people, there is no doubt that America will start to suffer economically as the labour supply shrinks and tax revenues diminish.
Why, then, is nothing getting resolved? First, Republican legislators cannot find an acceptable compromise between two divergent positions within the party. One group, the Freedom Caucus, wants to stop all immigration, while more moderate Republicans want to reduce the numbers. Neither group wants to provide undocumented aliens a path towards eventual citizenship or to fund the wall dear to Trump’s heart.
Even if they can agree among themselves, Republican legislators will face a presidential veto if they pass legislation that doesn’t fund the wall. With Democrats refusing to support any reduction in immigration levels and pushing to provide a settlement for the Dreamers who were brought as children by undocumented parents, a veto-proof majority is unattainable.
Trump, checkmated and furious about his precious wall, has responded by blaming the Democrats for all problems around immigration.
As a consequence of his ineptitude and intransigence, nothing will be done by Congress.
David Bond is an author and retired bank economist.