Fixing immigration.

All sides – on the left and the right – agree that immigration laws and policy in the United States needs to be updated. What to do is clearly in contention. But there is another problem. As a nation, our legislators, our leaders, and the citizens themselves need to have a clear, truthful and accurate definition/explanation/status report on the state of immigration into the United States today.

Donald J. Trump, his administration, his minions, and rightwing pundits have all distorted the actual facts of U.S. immigration. They have come in the form of innuendo, outright lies, exaggerations, and omissions. And, the racism has to be removed from policy decisions first before any realistic, fair, and equitable reform can occur.

Here's my core belief about immigration: America began as, and should always be, a nation of immigrants. With the exception of Native Americans (who probably came here from somewhere else originally), we all came from some place else — either escaping tyranny, looking for a better life, wanting religious freedom, seeking commercial successes, or brought against their will as slaves (which was the crime of crimes in my opinion). But we all arrived. We built a nation. We became the envy of the world until very recently. Today, the direction some want to take immigration law is hypocritical. It is like a basketball team who achieves a perfect season, all shut-outs in fact, then want to change the rules so no other team can play the game of basketball ever again. That is not how it should work, in my opinion.

I don’t believe we can talk about immigration reform for only brown-skinned or Muslim immigrants entering the United States from its southern border. That is the pervasive racism and prejudice that exists today emanating from the Trump administration. It is not American.

From its earliest days as a republic, America has been seen around the world as a welcoming beacon for refugees and immigrants. That doesn’t mean we can take anyone who wants to become a citizen. But it also doesn’t mean we should categorically deny admission to someone, anyone, based on their race, color, country of origin, religion, education level, or gender. We should consider their need for refuge or any other reason for their immigration.

In certain cases, rather than only law enforcement and militarization of our borders, we need to consider deterrents and humanitarian policies that would help those in need of refuge. If their home country has made it intolerable to live there and they are unable to live in liberty and with the pursuit of happiness, perhaps our immigration policy should kick in actions to find solutions to that status in their home country?

And, reforming of the U.S. immigration laws should also include all other peoples of the planet. Europe, Asia, South and Central America, Africa, and so forth – giving a fair and open opportunity not to just peoples who are white. Racism should never be a factor in any federal policy. It needs to stop. We are better than that. The kids of DACA should get their path to citizenship. And, our democracy, in order to thrive, needs diversity, fairness, and a humanitarian lens through which we look at immigration. Making laws and instituting policies based on anything but truthful, verified facts is not the American way.