The immigration crisis seems to be that many poor refugees want to live in the United States because they feel they and their family members will have greater opportunity here.
It seems that many Americans are opposed to this because they fear that these immigrants will cost them their jobs and added taxes.
How can we work with this crisis in positive ways? What can we do?
To me, it seems that we need a multi-prong approach to the problem including the following steps:
Give all current illegal aliens in United States the opportunity to be tax-paying, law-abiding citizens. To begin with, allow all those who are illegal and currently living in the United States a year's time to become legal citizens. Create accessible paths to citizenship for all illegal aliens except those who have committed grave and dangerous crimes.
Find out where the jobs are and allow entry of new refugees and immigrants to fill those jobs. Find out who needs workers and allow immigrants and refugees to come into the country and move to those places to fill the jobs. Make sure that those jobs are also open to local people, and ensure an equitable, fair wage for all workers so anyone who is working a 40-hour week can make enough to survive.
Create a humane immigration center at the border. Rather than a useless wall that people can easily fly over, create a humane refugee/immigration center at the border that ensures the safe processing of those refugees and immigrants who desire to live in the United States. Do this in a way that is legal, respectful, and positive for all involved.
Work with countries that people are leaving. Refugees and immigrants are likely leaving their homelands for greater opportunity and safety. Work with those countries to maximize their resources and standard of living so the people who don't want to leave don't have to. It's likely that we can create exchange programs that provide win-win solutions for our country and these countries--countries likely rich in natural resources, good land, and healthy people.
Create a long range plan. I've read that in the future so-called developed countries will be fighting over refugees and immigrants to do the work needed in their countries. Whatever the case may be, it's integral that our country create a long range plan for refugees and immigrants--a plan that's humane and positive for our nation.
Dispel the myths. Many current leaders and slick marketeers want you to think that poor refugees are the nemesis of society. Statistics don't support that myth. It's vital that our politicians speak the truth when it comes to immigration and refugees--it's necessary that the people of the United States understand the truth of the immigration/refugee situation without exaggeration so we can all work together for what is right and good.
Prioritize humanity and respect. We as a country have stooped too low with regard to this situation. We have the capacity to deal with this situation with humanity and respect and that must be a priority. There's no way that our wealthy and free country has to face this crisis as we have with ignorance, lies, and inhumanity--we can do much better.
