I work as an immigration paralegal, although we do business and family immigration so I have almost no experience with the "border crisis" and asylum issues that seem to be what most people think of when the topic of "immigration" is raised. Even in the privileged realm of employment-based immigration, however, our systems are fully brok…
I work as an immigration paralegal, although we do business and family immigration so I have almost no experience with the "border crisis" and asylum issues that seem to be what most people think of when the topic of "immigration" is raised. Even in the privileged realm of employment-based immigration, however, our systems are fully broken. I think that's my first thought-- it's that the headlines reduce immigration to a "border issue" when it actually covers a huge swath of scenarios, and those who are at the more privileged end of it are often shocked to find that it's restrictive across the board. A U.S. citizen obtaining a green card for a spouse, for instance-- it's a gauntlet, even if you are rich and marrying, say, a Canadian. Filing fees are high (a new rule just passed making them even higher!) and processing times completely unpredictable but usually very long. Oh, and if you make a mistake it can be catastrophic. I don't really know what to DO with this information, in the context of the public discussion about immigration, but I still wish people knew that the process is a nightmare, full stop, not just punitive for those who are "breaking the rules."
My other thought is idealistic and harder to articulate, but it has to do with how immigration policies are full of assumptions about the relative value of persons. I reject the notion that any person is more valuable than another, but our immigration policies are completely predicated on notions of value, not just in terms of “desirable” vs. “undesirable” immigrants, but even just within employment-based immigration, the options are very dependent on type of job and credentials held. I don’t think our issues with racism etc. are even being realistically addressed if we’re still accepting, on any level, that some people are better/more desirable (or even, euphemistically, “better for the economy” or “contribute more to society”) than others. But it’s hard to imagine any immigration system that isn’t rooted in “merit based” judgments. Then I end up questioning the point of the whole endeavor. And that’s just in the abstract—of course we’re living in a complicated set of existing circumstances and systems, and I end up feeling too idealistic to comment, even while having a lot more practical knowledge than many highly opinionated people.
I completely share your views/values on the worth of all people, but, I confess, I'd trade any 10 MAGAs for just one of the women who participated in the early 90s market women's movement in Togo, or any of dozens more similar movements before and since.
All of this is so helpful (really appreciate the insight about all the ways the system is broken), but your second paragraph really cuts to the core of why it's hard for me to articulate a practical aspiration for the system-- short of no borders/no citizenship at all, any system we end up with is going to end up assigning relative merit and value to people (and you articulated so well while that just feels contrary to my values).
I work as an immigration paralegal, although we do business and family immigration so I have almost no experience with the "border crisis" and asylum issues that seem to be what most people think of when the topic of "immigration" is raised. Even in the privileged realm of employment-based immigration, however, our systems are fully broken. I think that's my first thought-- it's that the headlines reduce immigration to a "border issue" when it actually covers a huge swath of scenarios, and those who are at the more privileged end of it are often shocked to find that it's restrictive across the board. A U.S. citizen obtaining a green card for a spouse, for instance-- it's a gauntlet, even if you are rich and marrying, say, a Canadian. Filing fees are high (a new rule just passed making them even higher!) and processing times completely unpredictable but usually very long. Oh, and if you make a mistake it can be catastrophic. I don't really know what to DO with this information, in the context of the public discussion about immigration, but I still wish people knew that the process is a nightmare, full stop, not just punitive for those who are "breaking the rules."
My other thought is idealistic and harder to articulate, but it has to do with how immigration policies are full of assumptions about the relative value of persons. I reject the notion that any person is more valuable than another, but our immigration policies are completely predicated on notions of value, not just in terms of “desirable” vs. “undesirable” immigrants, but even just within employment-based immigration, the options are very dependent on type of job and credentials held. I don’t think our issues with racism etc. are even being realistically addressed if we’re still accepting, on any level, that some people are better/more desirable (or even, euphemistically, “better for the economy” or “contribute more to society”) than others. But it’s hard to imagine any immigration system that isn’t rooted in “merit based” judgments. Then I end up questioning the point of the whole endeavor. And that’s just in the abstract—of course we’re living in a complicated set of existing circumstances and systems, and I end up feeling too idealistic to comment, even while having a lot more practical knowledge than many highly opinionated people.
I completely share your views/values on the worth of all people, but, I confess, I'd trade any 10 MAGAs for just one of the women who participated in the early 90s market women's movement in Togo, or any of dozens more similar movements before and since.
All of this is so helpful (really appreciate the insight about all the ways the system is broken), but your second paragraph really cuts to the core of why it's hard for me to articulate a practical aspiration for the system-- short of no borders/no citizenship at all, any system we end up with is going to end up assigning relative merit and value to people (and you articulated so well while that just feels contrary to my values).