The New York Times Has an Immigration Hot Take
PUBLISHED: Tue, AUG 29th 2023 @ 12:17 pm EDT by Jared Culver
In other breaking news, the Earth revolves around the sun. Andrea Flores, an immigration policy advisor under both Presidents Obama and Biden, is going to tell us how to fix the immigration system. Apparently, letting everyone enter the country with employment authorization is the correct answer to driving down the illegal entries. How would rolling out the red carpet and providing the exact prize (employment authorization) the migrants seek deter them from arriving in ever larger numbers? Just asking that question allows Flores to set the trap. For you cannot have illegal entries if you legalize them. Problem solved.
This, of course, misses the entire point about the reasons the migrant crisis is so debilitating to Americans across the country. Some of our most populated states and cities have already declared states of emergency regarding migrant flows into their territory. They cannot shelter, protect, clothe, feed, and educate all of these individuals, while still carrying out their fundamental duty to provide services and protection for their citizens. It is irrelevant whether an alien is paroled or granted some other status through executive fiat. Unless that status comes with free housing and a guaranteed living-wage job, they still pose the same resource responsibility for state and local governments. The distinction between legal and illegal flows at the border is one without any meaningful difference for local communities. Our immigration intelligentsia need to internalize this simple truth.
Nor is this a revolutionary solution proffered by Flores. In fact, it is the solution President Biden is implementing right now across the border. This has been the basic principle of his entire presidency regarding immigration and border security. The results of these policies speak for themselves. Many are legally insufficient to withstand judicial scrutiny and the facts on the ground of chaos and scarcity of resources are apparent.
https://www.numbersusa.com/blog/new-york-times-has-immigration-hot-take
