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I came of age politically in the late Reagan era and, even though I came to differ from him politically, he gave a speech in 1980, part of which has resounded in my heart ever since: "I know I have told before of the moment in 1630 when the tiny ship Arabella bearing settlers to the New World lay off the Massachusetts coast. To the little bank of settlers gathered on the deck John Winthrop said: 'we shall be a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword through the world.' Well, America became more than 'a story,' or a 'byword'—more than a sterile footnote in history....I believe that Americans in 1980 are every bit as committed to that vision of a shining 'city on a hill,' as were those long ago settlers."
That part of the speech imbued me with a sense of what it means to be an American and set my expectation that my government would stand for what is right and good in the world. I've found this speech echoing louder recently as I watch the news about our immigration policies being played out on the families coming here and I've been thinking about it a lot. As I see and hear reports about kids being taken away from their parents not because the parents were abusive, but because they came here seeking something better, I keep wondering how that city on a hill, that beacon of hope for the world has turned into a jail cell. This just doesn't seem like us.
Recently, I was alone with my thoughts for a few minutes and I was trying to get beyond our response to illegal immigration and think more about the causes of it. From what I understand, the majority of people immigrating illegally to the US are fleeing something. They come from countries where there are violence and corruption, where education and healthcare are vastly inadequate, there are few jobs, and no opportunity to have a peaceful, normal existence. They come to America because they want better for themselves and their families. Coming here takes enormous bravery, strength, and resilience because the journey is often harrowing. They are often the victims of criminals on the way and they risk their lives in the arduous physical journey. I understand that crossing a border without permission constitutes a crime and I'm not advocating for open borders. But, if we are truly a "city on a hill," an example of standing for what is right in the world, how does that mesh with breaking up families, who must be terrified and who are completely at our mercy? People who immigrate illegally do so out of desperation and would probably prefer to stay in their home countries. So if we can't agree about what to do about these issues, why aren't we trying to do something about the cause of illegal immigration, instead of just the effects? Why are we not using foreign aid to help the home countries fix their problems instead of spending it here on treating people like animals?
Because I'm no foreign policy expert, I assumed someone else had already thought of this idea, so I googled it and, sure enough, we've done this before with success. We used foreign aid and expertise to work with Colombia in the 1990s, starting under President Clinton with bipartisan support (remember that?) and continuing under President Bush. We helped Colombian officials counteract illegal drug production and rebuild their social infrastructure that made the quality of life much better for Colombians. And guess what? Colombia is no longer a source of a great deal of illegal immigration.
Given this track record of success, why, WHY would we not want to take this option today? Why wouldn't we want to be part of a solution that actually stood for something good, for helping our neighbors who need us and helping people have thriving lives at home, where most prefer to be anyway?
Regardless of what you think of illegal immigration, the facts are that we pay here or we pay there. Paying there by helping countries make themselves safer and more economically viable for their citizens is a thousand times better -- "better" meaning morally right *and* more effective -- than taking kids away from loving parents and putting people in jail. I want my country, my city on a hill, to help other countries manage their problems better and to treat people who do come here with compassion.
Project Colombia: http://www.latimes.
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