@livinglava,
I generally agree with you about the virtues and benefits of immigration. We have been skimming the best and most motivated people from other, then troubled, countries for most of our history, and this indeed has been a significant factor in our success as a nation. Interestingly, the criticisms we hear about contemporary immigrants are much the same as those once levied against the Irish, Jewish, Polish and other immigrants, who flooded the country (under a then well managed screening and control system) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
I believe the issue underlying the current tumult over immigration that has been going on for several decades started when first failed to recognize and create ( or continue) a vehicle for seasonal agricultural workers from Mexico, and, later, started ignoring enforcement of existing law as part of a political game, in which Democrats positioned themselves as the champions of potential new voters, and Republicans lacked the political courage to match the law to our current policies and needs. Failure to enforce existing law threatens all law and the integrity of our institutions. Presidents began to issue executive orders directing non enforcement of some aspects of the law in direct contradiction of our constitution. In the midst of the ongoing Legislative irresponsibility on the matter, no corrective actions were taken - the checks and balances built into our constitution ceased to work on this issue. This, in my view, is a serious problem that, left unattended, will continue to undermine our constitution and reward the irresponsible behavior of our elected officials.
In the last three decades the breakdown of governments in Central America (chiefly in El Salvador, Honduras and, to a lesser extent, Guatemala) created a flood of immigrants who quickly learned how to manipulate programs for asylum, enacted to aid the victims of political oppression. In the continuing impasse over issues involving immigration, this too was left unaddressed by our feckless Legislators. Various Presidents , Including Bush II, made half-hearted efforts to address the underlying issues, but quickly backed off when the politics became risky. Meanwhile under Obama the Democrats continued to exploit this sorry issue for their perceived political gain and, as President, Obama hit a new low in willful non-enforcement of law and the unconstitutional use of Executive orders to, in effect, amend it.
Recently the Government of Mexico has decided to relax the pressures for immigration from Central America on its southern border, by permitting the transit of migrants from that region, often managed by coyotes and Drug Cartels, to our unenforced Border, adding to the problem. There are many threats to basic human rights here, but most come, not from our government's belated attempts to control our southern border, but rather from the coyotes and cartels that prey viciously on of the Central American migrants themselves.
This chaotic situation benefits only the coyotes and cartels that exploit it. Both the Mexican and U.S. governments are at fault for failing to enforce law and public safety.
Separately we sorely need to enforce our law and restore the integrity of our government and the integrity of our constitution on this issue.
