Yglesias points out that Biden's new immigration policy is probably about as good as you can get given that Trump killed a better deal. Some of this is the consistent "hippie punching" that Yglesias likes to do, by slagging the activist Left, which, you know, fine by me.
The term "open borders" was an attack line used by the Right that became an article of faith, apparently, on the Left. The idea that Biden's immigration policy is the exact same as Trump's neglects a few facts:
- We really do have a crisis in our asylum system.
- We are utterly dependent on Mexico to squeeze immigration short of the border.
- The only constituency for opening up the border to every asylum seeker is a fringe of the Left.
- As we are seeing, there's no guarantee that even if you could somehow make these people citizens that the Democratic Party would see any electoral advantage out of it.
- There is considerable evidence that "open borders" hurts Democrats among Hispanic voters.
- Yes, Trump would be immeasurably worse.
We need more immigration, but we should be able to pick and choose who we want to enter the country. The problem with the Open Borders caucus is not that - per Trump - it's criminals entering the country, but that unlimited immigration has a really depressive effect on wages - especially in the lower income groups.
If you gave Biden an immigration bill without Republican votes, it would probably have the following:
- A path to citizenship or residency for long time inhabitants who are currently undocumented.
- Citizenship for DREAMers.
- A streamlined and properly funded asylum system.
- More avenues for legal immigration, including guest worker and Green Card expansion.
- And, yes, more border enforcement.
The idea that there is a "human right" to cross a border seems extremely fanciful to me. I know it's electoral poison.
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