Conservatives out to sea on migration

Last week, representatives from the Mexican government came to Roanoke to provide advice and documentation to some of the hundreds of Mexican citizens who live and work here. The visit has prompted strong feelings, as the issue of Mexican and Central American migration to the U.S. usually does. I have difficulty understanding why some Americans display such anger and hostility toward citizens of other countries; I have enormous difficulty understanding how those who call themselves conservatives can do so.

According to Literacy Volunteers of the Roanoke Valley, there are approximately 10,000 immigrants living in Roanoke. As the recent Local Colors festival demonstrated, the Roanoke immigrant community is extremely diverse. The number of Mexican and Central American citizens in the Roanoke area has risen dramatically in the last 10 years, from about 2,000 to nearly 4,000. Migrants, especially from Latin America, are willing to take entry-level, minimum wage jobs that otherwise would go unfilled. In my conversations with many Latin American migrants, I have learned that many are holding down two jobs, often trying to support themselves in Roanoke while supporting a family back home.

America has always been the land of opportunity, and conservatives like me believe that it still is. My own Irish ancestors probably entered the U.S. through New York City, passing “the Golden Door” that is symbolized by the Statue of Liberty. I have very little patience for those who wish to slam the door shut, now that they are on the correct side of it.

Fortunately, President George W. Bush is not one of these. As governor of Texas, Bush worked with Mexican authorities, including Mexico’s current president, to rationalize what has become an illogical and punitive migration system. The essence of Bush’s proposal is to make it easier to match a willing worker with a willing employer when no Americans can be found to fill jobs.

Matching willing workers with employers is really just another name for capitalism, something conservatives are supposed to support. We are also supposed to be strong supporters of family values. It is difficult for me to see how this pro-family stand is consistent with the insistence that a father or mother in Mexico or Honduras should simply go hungry, or permit his or her children to go hungry, rather than to attempt a better life in America.

Nevertheless, some conservatives no longer see America as the welcoming nation it has (almost) always been. Since September 11, some, including Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, have emphasized the need to “control the border” in the name of Homeland Security. This is indeed a valid concern, but many conservatives have focused their concern on the wrong border. Seventeen of the 19 September 11th hijackers entered the United States through Canada, not Mexico. There is not a single documented case of a terrorist crossing the Mexican border into the U.S.

Even if terrorists crossing the Rio Grande were a problem, attempting to seal a 2,000-mile long border is not the solution. Such an attempt would require hundreds of thousands of troops (and a reinstatement of the draft), even assuming that the U.S. government built a wall from Brownsville, Texas, to San Diego. So long as ladders and shovels exist, people will find a way over or under that wall. Workers who can make $7 per day on one side of the border, and $7 per hour on the other will find a way into this country.

The question is not whether or not there will be migration to the U.S., but whether most of the migrants will come in legally or illegally. If irrational rules and regulations make legal entry nearly impossible, hundreds of thousands will attempt an illegal entry. Among hundreds of thousands of migrants, a few hundred terrorists could enter this country easily. On the other hand, if President Bush’s guest worker program is put into place, there won’t be nearly as many illegal entries. The Department of Homeland Security will be able to stop, and identify, those who will not use the legal system, and who are more likely to intend harm to this country.

Moreover, a guest worker program that offers legal documentation to migrant workers would make it easier, and more sensible, for temporary workers, such as many employed on Virginia’s tobacco farms, to return to Mexico after their work season is over. The present system, by making it do difficult for willing workers to enter the country, provides strong incentive to remain in the U.S. once here. Many of the illegal immigrants in the U.S. entered legally, but are understandably reluctant to put themselves through that process again.

As a boy growing up near Philadelphia, I can remember looking at old newspapers from the beginning of the 20th century, in which the want ads invariably included the line, “No Irish Need Apply.” Conservatives revere the Founders, who believed in opportunity for all. We revere Ronald Reagan, in part because of his optimism. We believe in fewer, not more, government regulations on the economy. And we reject fear as the basis for national policy.

Fearful people build walls. Hopeful and confident people build roads.