Blueprint to Manage Waves of Economic Migrants Effectively
And, in the Process, Avoid Political Disaster
The on-going influx of thousands of migrants from Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba across the Southwest border of the United States-Mexico has brought to light how unprepared our country is to manage in an efficient manner a wave of mostly economic migrants from failed leftist/communist regimes.
These migrants are in search of a better life for themselves and for their families, fleeing their own totalitarian, incompetent and corrupt governments. They are enduring unspeakable suffering and financial sacrifices to cover their passage at the hands of unscrupulous and cruel cartels that control the migrant transit.
They are being allowed to proceed in their journey within the U.S. without clarity as to their legal status and their impact on the economic system. These migrants cannot be returned to their lands of origin in view of those countries’ strained diplomatic relations with the U.S.
Their plight is not an isolated one. The world population is facing turbulent times marked by political upheaval, economic crisis (disruption of supply chains and inflation), war (the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, localized conflicts in different parts of the world), disease, earthquakes, and climate change-induced disasters (droughts, famines, hurricanes, fires, etc.) All these factors combined will result in increased massive displacements and more desperate people trying to enter the U.S.
I argue that what we are witnessing at the U.S. – Mexico border is a prelude of what is to come. As a matter of fact, many journalists who have traveled to the cities and towns most affected by the recent wave of migrants have agreed that they have never seen anything like this before in terms of number of migrants and variety of nationalities. So, to some extent, it is happening already. Accordingly, it is imperative that the U.S. government rapidly crafts a policy aimed at managing waves of economic migrants in an effective fashion.
A Blueprint to Manage Waves of Economic Migrants
To start with, waves of economic migrants should be handled as a crisis with the corresponding declaration of emergency, including intermittent closings of the border. This declaration includes the mobilization of the National Guard and the use of technology such as drones. The declaration of emergency should be accompanied by a request for an urgent session of the international/regional organization to which most of the migrants’ nationalities correspond, in this particular case, the Organization of the American States, in order to facilitate regional cooperation in addressing this crisis.
The policy should aim at strengthening the border cities’ capacity to process and manage the influx of migrants, with constant re-evaluations based on the flow of migrants and the resources available, including that of law-enforcement agencies. It should provide for the rolling out of a mechanism for U.S. states to grant temporary work permits in areas of their local economies that are in most need of workers as well as a robust system of communication with the public, providing regular updates on the situation.
Acknowledging the Crisis
For starters, the U.S. Government should classify the massive influx of economic migrants as a national emergency. The Biden administration has remained silent as to the dimension of the current crisis. I believe that we have all the information in our hands to declare without hesitation that we are handling a crisis that merits the declaration of emergency in the southwest of the country. Am I exaggerating? Let’s review the numbers, which do not lie.
Per account of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), 2.15 million migrants were detained at the US-Mexico border over the past year, a 24% increase on the year before. There is still one month to go to complete the fiscal year.
Just in August, 55,333 people from Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba crossed the border.
In a recent piece, Wall Street Journal columnist (and Republican activist) Karl Rove provides interesting data: communities along the southwest border, primarily Texas and Arizona – have had to deal with on average 6,420 people crossing into America every day.
The Spanish language newspaper El Tiempo Latino describes the situation in the following terms: migrants who crossed the border last year are equivalent to the population of Houston.
On September 18, Democrat Congressman Henry Cuellar, who represents a border district in South Texas, during an interview with Face the Nation, noted that his hometown, Laredo, is receiving 8,000 people a day and it is sending 21 to 26 buses a day out of the city.
On September 8, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a public health emergency in response to Texas Governor Greg Abbot continuing to bus migrants to the nation’s capital. Per the information released, Governor Abbott already has sent around 9,000 migrants to DC.
In sum, if these numbers are not persuasive enough, I really don’t know what else amounts to a crisis. Accordingly, it is advisable to declare a state of emergency in the border that should grant grounds to close the border intermittently until the other three components of the policy are met.
Border Cities Capacity to Process a Wave of Economic Migrants
Border city mayors and congressmen are pleading for more resources to their cities to manage the ongoing crisis.
Democrat Congressman, Henry Cuellar pleaded for resources and equipment to assist the Border Patrol, ICE, and Homeland Security to enable them to carry out their job and enforce the law in the above-mentioned interview with Face the Nation.
The Mayor of Rio Grande City in Texas, Joel Villarreal, asked the federal government for money to handle the influx of migrants in an NPR interview on September 21.
The border patrol in Eagle Pass, Texas urged the federal government for more resources.
As part of the emergency declaration, the administration should immediately enable special funding for border cities to be able to process migrants’ immediate needs and collect their information. It is advisable that the cities have a centralized register for all of them, including the development of an App that could simplify their tracking.
The strengthening of law-enforcement agencies, Border Patrol, ICE, and Homeland Security
A key part of the plan should be to devote substantial funding to ensure that the law-enforcement agencies and officers have access to the right equipment and technology to carry out their work to detect, deter and to manage a wave of economic migrants. The law enforcement agencies should put in place a strategy to disrupt and dismantle the cartels that run the passage of migrants.
In a recent NPR report, a Venezuelan man who walked up to Eagle Pass City, described migrants as “walking paychecks,” as they have to pay smugglers, cartels and government officials on every stop along the way. He said that the trip cost him $2,000. Let’s do the math. If every of the 55,333 migrants from Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba who crossed the border in August of this year paid $2,000 to the “coyotes,” then that group collected $110,666,000 last month alone! It is a multimillion dollar business and it needs to be disrupted if the US government is going to bring this situation under control.
Expedited Work Visas
There is an acute shortage of workers in the United States, with two openings for every person looking for employment. In addition to restraining economic growth, this situation stimulates inflation as employers bid up wages to attract workers. Hence an effective allocation of economic migrants to states and sectors that most need workers is advisable. In this connection, the Mayor of New York, Eric Adams and several members of the City Council are pressuring the federal government to process work permits more quickly. Texas Governor, Greg Abbott continues sending migrants via buses to sanctuary cities such as New York. That city’s social safety net is reaching its limit.
Moreover, Wall Street columnist, Jason L. Riley, reminds us that both Democrats and Republicans already have called for more autonomy for states in matters related to immigration. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rep. John Curtis of Utah introduced legislation that would create a state-based visa system. Mr. Riley noted that President Biden supported this motion. Other countries such as Australia and Canada have such systems in place. There is also a historic precedent during World War II.
A Robust System of Communication with the Public
The failure of President Biden to acknowledge the crisis at the border or to develop a set of measures to address it has created a political vacuum that is increasingly filled by highly critical Republican voices, with clear ramifications not only in the upcoming November elections, but most importantly, in the presidential race in 2024.
Republican governors Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott, ruthless politicians and presidential aspirants, have scored political points by sending groups of these migrants via bus or even by plane to other cities in the U.S., in particular the so-called sanctuary cities such as Washington DC, New York and Chicago. The moves have been harshly criticized by political opponents as political stunts. Governor DeSantis has been sued by the 50 Venezuelan migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard, alleging they were urged to go under false pretenses.
Whether democratic politicians and liberal pundits like it or not, many sectors of the population applaud the transportation of these migrants to the sanctuary cities as a way to share the brunt of their care. Many of them are Hispanics, including myself. Many of us regard the concept of asylum seriously and hold the administration accountable for not enforcing the laws.
I was offered the opportunity to petition for political asylum in 1994 while I was an intern at DePaul Human Rights Law Institute in Chicago. After all, I had just left Peru, a country where the terrorist organization Shining Path was bringing its murderous campaign to the cities and the then-President of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, dissolved congress and installed faceless judges to try terrorist suspects. I declined the offer. I knew that I did not meet the asylum requirements. I did not want to take advantage of the system.
Moreover, prior to the current crisis at the border, most Hispanics in the U.S., 66%, consider it a priority to strengthened the border to curb illegal immigration.
In a recent poll, the majority of Hispanics favor those moves. This data is taken from Giancarlo Sopo, twitter handle @GiancarloSopo.
The crisis at the border is propelling the political careers of many Hispanics within the ranks of the Republic party, in particular women, such as Mayra Flores, Monica de la Cruz and Cassy Garcia who have pretty good chances of winning their congressional races. It also appears that it is on track to result in the defeat of Beto O’Rourke and the victory of the incumbent governor of Texas, Greg Abbott.
As the BBC reported, the issue of migrants at the border is one that is likely to have an impact at the polls.
A recent poll from NPR and Marist, for example, found that immigration was a primary electoral issue - behind only inflation - for 20% of Republican voters, compared to 1% of Democrats.
According to Juscelino Colares, a professor of political science at Case Western Reserve University, immigration has the potential to cause "swing" among many voters, particularly those who live near the border - even among those who are naturalized immigrants or the children of immigrants.
"[People there] have seen the demands that uncontrolled immigration has brought to their localities. And they, and those migrants who have become legal, tend to hold the view that immigration should be taken seriously," he said.
A Reflection
Waves of economic migrants will increase as conditions in the planet continue to deteriorate. The United States is in a unique position to absorb these waves successfully by implementing a strategy that acknowledges the crisis, ensures that the border cities and law-enforcement are well prepared with resources and technology, and deploys flexible mechanisms to allow states to issue work permits visas. Above all, it will require a constant communication with the citizenry, reassuring the commitment of the federal government to protect its borders and implement its laws.