Immigration and border security are among the hottest political themes driving the current political debate. But most people, especially here in Iowa, about 1,000 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, have never seriously experienced the problems caused by border security and mass immigration in their daily lives. Instead of experience, many let our opinions reflect their own personal policies. And regardless of ideology, most of us are at least a thing or two wrong when it comes to border crises.

Last week I took a group trip to Yuma, Arizona at the invitation of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, a 501c3 group with whom I have been in a relationship for almost ten years. The city of Yuma is located just east of the U.S.-Mexico border and just miles from multiple ports of entry into the U.S.

Like many people, I have long held political views on immigration and border security. Some may want to affirm their prejudices, but I want to challenge them. This column addresses the limits of my own political spectrum. Because, as my close family and friends attest, I never miss an opportunity to condemn my people.

Don’t worry, I’ll be harping on the other side of the aisle in the future. There are many things the liberal left gets wrong in the immigration debate.

Stance on illegal immigration casts a shadow Beliefs on legal immigration

If you ask people who describe their politics as conservative about their position on immigration, they almost always start talking about illegal immigration. whether it is illegal, undocumented, or unauthorized; Illegal immigration, either an immigrant or a foreigner (the latter is the term still used in federal law), is defined as an individual who entered the United States illegally, or who entered the United States legally for a period of time but who was legally authorized to enter the United States. Refers to any examples that remain afterward. Expired.

It’s not wrong for conservatives to have strong feelings about illegal immigration. Illegal immigration can certainly be a huge burden, as I learned from conversations with local law enforcement and regional border patrol officials in Yuma. The burden could be more immediate and severe not only for the United States as a whole, but also for local jurisdictions affected by large numbers of immigrants. number of illegal immigration. Again, I’ll cover these issues in more detail in a future column.

Many conservatives are quick to add that they support legal immigration, but they rarely elaborate on what a healthy immigration system looks like. Nor do they believe that legal immigration of agency workers is part of a healthy immigration system.

“Gringos don’t want to work”

Conservatives also argue that allowing immigrants and migrant workers to enter the country would put natural-born Americans in competition with those foreign workers (commonly called “forced immigration”), They are victims of the belief that human workers corner workers. Aggregate wages in industries that employ large numbers of immigrants and migrant workers.

Neither assumption is correct, as evidenced by research from several different studies in the 2017 book The Economic and Financial Impact of Immigration from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. These studies conclude that wage cuts as a result of migrant labor are almost non-existent.

An Arizona local who spoke with my group of interested out-of-towners about the availability of the jobs themselves, and whether Americans have to compete with low-paid foreigners, said: He explained in a very candid tone what the cause was. it doesn’t matter. “Gringos don’t want to work.” (In this context, “gringo” refers primarily to white Americans.)

It’s unpleasant to admit, but the unpleasant reality is that entry-level farm work is something that virtually no American adult is willing to do by birth. Even in Iowa, a rural state that prides itself on its hard work, tasks such as picking ears and the almost old-fashioned “walking beans” are considered tasks for 15-year-olds. Every summer you spend a few weeks building your character and earning your first real paycheck. Few people can imagine a 38-year-old white man chasing jobs from state to state as the seasons change. But Iowa also produces produce, and someone needs to harvest it.

Despite bureaucratic stupidity and an internal immigration system full of illogical rules, in an employment landscape with more than 140,000 agricultural labor vacancies, immigrants and migrant workers pose an opportunity, not a problem. ing.

“We are very dependent on the worker programs here,” said local owner Phil Townsend, widely known as the “Godfather of Yuma.” Iowans may not think of Arizona as an agricultural state, but Yuma County, which is almost eight times the size of Lynn County, is known as the “winter salad bowl capital” and is consumed in North America. almost all green and yellow vegetables produced in winter. As Townsend explained to my group, at the height of the harvest, Yuma County growers “will employ between 25,000 and 40,000 workers per day legally crossing the border.” .

The worker program Townsend refers to is the H-2A Temporary Farming Program. One of the requirements of this program is that the employer applying for her H-2A visa on behalf of a prospective worker must have sufficient U.S. workers who are capable, willing, qualified and available to perform the required work. does not exist.

If the contributions of motivated migrant workers cannot be harnessed to carry out their work, it will affect the ability of growers to produce and harvest those leafy greens, as well as the availability of finding them locally. Gender is also affected. Grocery store, and how much you pay for it. A March survey by Quinnipiac found that 22 percent of Americans claimed: Their biggest concern was food costs.

But beyond mere supply, demand, or the price of a head of lettuce, conservatives who hesitate to have immigrant workers as part of a healthy immigration system underestimate the future benefits our country will derive from today’s migrant workers. there is Most migrant workers on H-2A visas are foreign nationals.

A better future for immigrant children

But while they work, their children (many of them U.S. citizens) attend local Yuma schools, where Townsend, who is also a member of the Yuma Union Board of Education, contributes to one of the highest graduation rates in the country. ing. And when they grow up and become adults, they don’t follow their parents and continue to work hard all their lives. They pursue higher education and higher goals.at some point 78% of American adults do not feel their children will have a better life than theirsMigrant workers secure their will, imitating in them the principles of hard work and self-determination that conservatives know to be central to American identity.

Yuma’s godfather said, “I have yet to meet a field worker who wants to raise his child to be a field worker.”

But some conservatives just can’t fathom that a brighter future for immigrants means a better future for America. The day my group and I arrived in Yuma to learn about the realities that persisted in border communities, former President Donald Trump said on his campaign website that some children born to foreigners in the mainland United States announced its intention to abolish its birthright citizenship.

A dream denied with a stroke of a pen?

The wording of President Trump’s announcement claims that children (only) of “illegal immigrants” will not be granted birthright citizenship, but the details suggest that President Trump is on the first day of his second term. It suggests that the executive order purporting to be signed “instructs federal agencies to:” Require at least one parent to be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for future children to automatically become U.S. citizens“

Because immigrant workers are neither U.S. citizens nor legal permanent residents, such an order would, in the unlikely event of passing a constitutional assembly, prevent all U.S.-born workers who legally come to this country and work long hours. would deny citizenship to their children. People who work hard and are actively committed to seeking and providing a better future for their children. If that life cycle process sounds familiar, it’s because it well represents what we’ve called the “American Dream” for over a century.

It’s no secret that our immigration system is riddled with problems, most notably border security failures and the multitude of bad actors exploiting our vulnerabilities. I plan to cover these issues in a column later this summer. But my first conclusion after visiting the southern border and talking to local community stakeholders is what our country can gain by bringing immigrants into our country legally to do meaningful work. Is it something that conservatives should consider? The American Dream is still within reach for some. It would be insane to deny them that chance, even if it wasn’t what we expected.

Comments: 319-398-8266; althea.cole@thegazette.com