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4:01

Commentary

[29]

Commentary

Three true things about the southern border

Bruce Lohof
[30]

Bruce Lohof

January 1, 2023 4:01 am

Migrants board a Border Patrol bus after being processed on May 21,
2022 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell | Getty Images)

In an average month in 2022, immigration was No. 4 in the "Most
Important Problem Mentions" found by the polling folks at Gallup;
higher than other hot-button issues like COVID-19, crime, prices at the
pump, abortion, or the environment.

Judging from the airtime that immigration receives from some of
Montana's politicians, immigration is a particular problem here at
home. Nevermind that the Mexican-American border is 18 to 32 hours by
road away from here. Sen. Steve Daines mentions it often. And Rep.
Matt Rosendale seems unable to utter a sentence that doesn't have the
words "Southern Border" in it.

And so it's time to talk about three sober, solemn things about the
Southern border.

One: Immigration along the border is understood to be a problem that
has a solution. It isn't, and it doesn't.

It's better understood as a chapter in the history of migration. And
it's best to remember that migration casts long shadows. Aryans
migrated to South Asia 3,500 years ago. The "original" Dravidian
population still remembers being driven southward. In the Old
Testament's Book of Ruth, Naomi is a Judaean who had migrated to Moab.
Following the death of her Judaean husband and their sons, she returns
to Bethlehem with her Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth. Ruth has famously
begged Naomi: "Entreat me not to leave thee ... for whither thou
goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people
shall be my people, and thy God my God."

Ruth subsequently marries a Judaean and begets Kings of Israel. (Fun
fact: David's great-grandmother was a migrant.) Still more centuries
later, Europeans - and, sometimes, their African slaves - came to what
became the United States. To coin a phrase, in a "great replacement"
they altered the complexion of the country.

Shouldn't we stop pretending that current events along the Southern
border are unique and have a happy ending? They aren't. And they
don't.

Two: Although historically ignored by migrants, borders deserve
protection. They are where sovereignty begins. And ends. Caveats
apply, however.

For an example of designed-to-fail, look no further than the asylum
system that fumbles around down there. Meant to distinguish bona fide
asylum-seekers from other wayfarers, the scheme is under-designed and
under-funded. Asylum-seekers typically wait years for their status to
be determined. Some wait along the border, others are obliged to wait
in Mexico, still others simply fade into the lower 48.

Respect what the columnist George Will has called "America's reservoir
of decency." We've all seen that photograph of the border-patrol
cowboy riding down a migrant like a Charlie Russell cowboy lassos a
maverick. But does the reservoir really hold with strategies that
separate migrant infants and children from their migrant parents? Did
then-president Donald Trump really talk of fortifying his wall with a
moat full of alligators and snakes? Or of shooting "migrants in the
legs to slow them down?"

Consider Doug Ducey, who, in his final weeks as the governor of
Arizona, continues to build a wall of shipping containers along the
border with Mexico. 3,000 of them, some reports say. The scheme is
illegal: It occupies federal property. It's also useless: refugees -
also, it turns out, protestors - climb around on the containers.
Presumably even live in them. As humor, it's priceless. (Although we
also have Gov. Ron DeSantis's Rube Goldberg scheme to fly immigrants
from San Antonio, via Florida, to Martha's Vineyard.)

During the recent gubernatorial election, Hobbs said: "It's not land
that's our land to put things on.... I want to use our state's
resources not for things that are political stunts but that will
actually solve the problems."

Do things that are good, even though they're not perfect. Perfect
isn't available. To dissuade refugees, Europe has the Mediterranean
Sea to its south. England has the channel. By comparison, migrating
from central America to Mexico's northern border can be a walk in the
park.

Three: Migration is rather more push than pull.

Understandably, migrants are attracted to safety. More often, though -
or, better said, more directly - they are repelled by war, violence,
conflict and persecution. These terrors are often why people cross
international borders to find stability in, say, the United States.
Perhaps, then, a solution to the Southern border lies not at the
border, but farther south. Could American foreign aid make Latin
America less volatile? Could their governments and societies become
more reliable partners in the enterprise? Not likely, and not likely.

Many Americans think that foreign aid represents 5 to 25% of the U.S.
budget and few would favor increasing it. (Fact: Less than one percent
of that budget is earmarked for international aid.) And even if it
were enhanced, what about those reliable partners? Transparency
International, which studies corruption worldwide, finds only four
countries south of the border that are cleaner than the global
average: Cuba, Costa Rica, Chile, and Uruguay. It also finds that
three other countries - Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela - are among the
most corrupt places on earth. So, little help there.

Given the sobering nature of these true things, the political go-to
responses have been predictable. Democrats don't talk much about the
problem. (Does Montana Sen. Jon Tester even mention it in his
website?) It's as though they know that there is no happy ending.
Republicans don't want a happy ending because, for them, the issue is a
cudgel for beating Democrats. (You noticed that Sen. Daines recently
voted against the Respect for Marriage Act because it was "another
attempt by ... Democrats to distract the American people from the
southern border crisis...." And that in September Rep. Rosendale voted
against a "Short-Term Continuing Resolution, keeping the federal
government funded for the next two months" because of "record-high
illegal border crossings.") With enemies like this, who needs enemies?

So we're returned to square one: The Southern border is better
understood as a chapter in the history of migration. And, to
paraphrase the source that gave us Ruth,"Ye have the migrants with you
always." It's a shame that folks seldom read further, to the clause
that says: "and whensoever ye will, ye may do them good."

X

Three true things about the southern border

by Bruce Lohof, [31]Daily Montanan
January 1, 2023

<h1>Three true things about the southern border</h1>________
by Bruce Lohof, <a href="https://dailymontanan.com">Daily
In an average month in 2022, immigration was No. 4 in t
Judging from the airtime that immigration receives from s
And so it's time to talk about three sober, solemn things
One: Immigration along the border is understood to be a p
It's better understood as a chapter in the history of mig
Ruth subsequently marries a Judaean and begets Kings of I
Shouldn't we stop pretending that current events along th
Two: Although historically ignored by migrants, borders d
For an example of designed-to-fail, look no further than
Respect what the columnist George Will has called "Americ
Consider Doug Ducey, who, in his final weeks as the gover
During the recent gubernatorial election, Hobbs said: "I
Do things that are good, even though they're not perfect.
Three: Migration is rather more push than pull. ___
Understandably, migrants are attracted to safety. More o
Many Americans think that foreign aid represents 5 to 25%
Given the sobering nature of these true things, the polit
So we're returned to square one: The Southern border is
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Bruce Lohof
[34]

Bruce Lohof

Bruce A. Lohof is a native of Montana. A former professor and a retired
diplomat, he divides his time between Red Lodge and Vienna.
[35]MORE FROM AUTHOR

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