Opinion: Examining Immigration's Core Issues

With the United States Congress deadlocked, and a tumultuous presidential campaign underway, the issue of illegal immigration has taken center stage. Both parties agree that the border should be secured and laws enforced but differ on how much should be militarized and how to deal with the people already here, living and working. The word "amnesty" has become a mark of shame thrust upon anyone who favors a more compassionate approach. The problem has been addressed predominantly at the symptomatic level, ignoring root causes of human migration and leaving out opportunities for long term satisfaction of all parties concerned.

Given the opportunity, people prefer to provide for themselves and their families inside their own communities and countries. Small improvements in Latin American economies would be enough to keep hundreds of thousands of people in their preferred locations. However, when the notion is raised that Latin American countries should have improved economies to stem the tide of human migration, the burden and blame is usually laid entirely upon the governments in question. This misses a valuable opportunity to examine the hemispheric influence the U.S. has exercised over the years and ask whether this influence has made matters better or worse.

Through trade deals and economic regimes like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the U.S. encouraged neo-liberal policies, which produced the economic realities in Latin America. Countries entered into a race to the bottom, lowering wages, destroying labor unions, relaxing safety regulations and protections for children and the environment. The IMF, and the desire to attract business, demanded these actions, much to the detriment of the people. To make matters worse, many nations now face the burden of illegitimate debt, built up by corrupt regimes of the past that used international loans to oppress their people.

In this environment, it is no surprise that people, yearning to survive and make a better life for their families are attracted to the U.S., rich with the promise of opportunity. In our rush to address the problem of immigration, we should not punish people for behaving exactly as we would in their position.

Instead, we should look for ways to alleviate the problems of Latin America, first by critically examining our own negative impact, and then by engaging in truly fair trade and development aimed at improving the lives of the people.