OPINION:
One of the first things Donald Trump did upon being elected to a second term was reaffirm his commitment to enforcing immigration laws. Predictably, that announcement was followed by a chorus of indignation from governors and mayors across the United States.
This parade of virtue-signaling crusaders included the governors of Rhode Island and Massachusetts and the mayors of Providence and Boston. They’re saying they won’t cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in any activities connected with plans to rid the country of several million aliens who were permitted to wander into the U.S. illegally under the Biden administration.
Nearly every politician who has pledged to interfere with immigration enforcement has leaned on “family separation” as a justification for willful and flagrant disregard of federal law. Immigration enforcement, so the argument goes, breaks up families, and that’s bad.
The “family separation” argument, however, is a red herring, and it’s time to put it to rest.
How the anti-border contingent treats migrants is patently offensive. When it’s convenient to do so, migrants are cast as heroes. They’re more entrepreneurial, work harder and deserve than their purportedly lazy American counterparts. And we benefit so much from their presence that we’re making a huge mistake if we have the temerity to ask that they obey our laws.
On the other hand, when the “migrants are amazing” trope falls apart, the “migrants are victims” narrative gets trotted out. In this scenario, migrants are victims of an unjust system that deliberately undermines their shot at the American dream. After all, many of them can’t speak English, and they don’t understand this complicated bureaucracy and rule of law stuff. Plus, we owe them a free ride since the United States is responsible for everything wrong in their countries.
Both of these things can’t be true of the same aliens at the same time. But logic doesn’t figure into the situation. These contradictory narratives are designed to cast Americans as villains, portray our immigration laws as unjust and absolve migrants of responsibility for their actions. The “family separation” trope is just an extension of this concept.
In truth, the claim that migrants have no agency is spurious. No American press gangs are wandering the developing world and forcing unwilling aliens into indentured servitude in the United States. Migrants make a conscious choice to travel to America and jump the border illegally. The journey here requires planning and the ability to overcome logistical hurdles. Thus, claims that migrants are hapless characters entirely without agency don’t stand up to real-world scrutiny.
When migrants exercise that power of agency and enter the U.S. unlawfully, there are many potential consequences, among them separation from one’s family during and after the repatriation process.
But it’s a fiction that most migrants are separated through immigration enforcement. The primary source of migrant family separation is the migrants themselves. There are two major paths to lawful permanent residence in the United States: family-based and employment-based immigration. Accordingly, there has long been a pattern of families sending a single member to the United States to establish a domicile and earn money to bring the rest of the family here. In the past, that typically meant a man coming to the U.S. in search of work and leaving his family behind.
That pattern has now shifted. During the Biden-Harris administration, nearly 320,000 migrant children were sent to the United States without any family members. The bulk of those children were sent here by their parents in hopes that the entire family would eventually be able to migrate to the United States.
If migrants don’t want to be separated, they have two options. They can stay in a country where they have full rights of citizenship. Or they can enter our country lawfully and abide by our laws as long as they’re here. It really is that simple.
Finally, most of the arguments made by politicians tearing their hair out over the alleged destruction of migrant families rest on an indefensible assumption: that unlawfully coming to or remaining in the United States is a minor crime. Yes, when “Improper Entry by an Alien” is a first offense, it’s a misdemeanor. But anyone who is present in the United States illegally can’t remain here without intentionally committing other crimes, ranging from identity theft to tax fraud.
It is disturbing just how upside down our civic life has become. When U.S. citizens commit multiple crimes, they get an extended sentence. But foreign lawbreakers who thumb their noses at our system expect the whole family to be rewarded with green cards.
What’s even more depressing is that so many American elected officials have taken the side of the lawbreaking foreigners rather than preserving the interests of the U.S. citizens who put them in office.
• Matt O’Brien is the director of investigations at the Immigration Reform Law Institute and co-host of the podcast “No Border, No Country.” Before working for the institute, he served as an immigration judge. He has nearly 30 years of experience in immigration law and policy, having held several positions at the Department of Homeland Security.
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