To the editor:
This letter is meant to respond to the guest column on immigration by Peter Sontag that was published in the Jan. 14 edition ("An example of how the immigration system should work.") I might have been more receptive to his views had he simply acknowledged the fact that the U.S. immigration system has been broken for decades. It didn't start with Joe Biden. Every president that I can remember, both Republican and Democrat, has had to contend with controversy over these policies. Unfortunately, despite concerted attempts by the current administration to pass an updated immigration reform bill, Republican representatives in Congress would rather use the issue to foster outrage than to actually do anything to effectively address the problems.
If there is one thing that I have learned in this life, it is that those who have less socio-political power than you do are not the source of your problems. It is easy and all too predictable to scapegoat refugees and asylum seekers at the southern border, to dehumanize them by calling them "dirty", "disease-ridden" and "polluting the blood" of our country. In fact, if you read newspaper columns from 100 years ago, you will see the exact same rhetoric, except that back then it was directed at my Italian grandparents and Argentinian mother, as well as those from other countries who were considered something other than "white."
Yes, it is much easier to kick down than to take a cold look at the U.S. political and economic policies, especially during the last 40 years, that have contributed to the dire conditions from which many people are fleeing. It also seems like an easy fix to say "build the wall"; except for the fact that walls (whether to keep people out or in) have been a failing strategy every time they have been erected, from the ancient Chinese, to the Romans, to the East Germans. The reality is that a wall would not have stopped nearly half of the people now in this country illegally because they actually came here legally and have simply overstayed their student or work visas.
Though I do not concur with most of Mr. Sontag's suggestions for changing the current system and I would need my own guest column to address all of his points, I do appreciate that he at least offered some specifics, which is a good starting place for reasoned negotiation. Comprehensive immigration reform is a great example of something that would be a bipartisan issue, if politicians were actually interested in finding solutions rather than fundraising off of a guaranteed wedge issue.
Sadly, especially in an election year, nothing will happen on border security and immigration if it "helps Biden" because current congressional Republicans are more focused on finger-pointing than policy-making and more interested in ruling than representing.
Robyn A. Hill
Steubenville