The current situation at the United States borders is less than ideal. As conditions in some countries, like Nicaragua and Venezuela, have become increasingly hostile, many families are fleeing for a brighter future. The immigration crisis will only grow as global conflicts continue to fluctuate where people settle, whether in search of safety or opportunity. Another incontestable truth is that, according to the Migration Policy Institute, the number of intercepted migrants at the U.S. southern border is at a “historic high.” I will not argue that we are in a crisis, but rather how we plan to move forward. According to the committee on oversight and accountability, the current border policies create conditions “fueled by unilateral decisions… [that] are fueling unprecedented illegal immigration and jeopardizing border security. These conditions create a positive feedback loop as we continue to increase funding for a flawed program. The ineffective attempts to fill the potholes in the current system keep reopening wider and wider, wasting funds. If we continue to build upon our current procedures, we will squander money and time attempting to keep a crumbling network in one piece. To face the oncoming future of inevitable immigration, we must rethink how the administration functions.
The current fertility rate in the United States is 1.64 births per woman as of 2020, almost half a point under replacement-level fertility, meaning the American population is shrinking. As present generations continue to age, future generations will be unable to fill the gaps left behind. According to Giovanni Peri, this “difference in births and deaths… produce[s] population declines and substantial increases in average ages in the North, both of which… disrupt labor markets, threaten the fiscal sustainability of pension systems, and slow down economic growth, unless total net immigration offsets such declines.” To ensure American prosperity we need migrants, as they are our only option to stabilize our economy and there is “little evidence that immigration displaces jobs or depresses wages in the receiving countries,” (Peri).
A reformed system for immigration in the U.S. needs to make it simpler for many migrants to find refuge within our country’s borders and improve conditions/ options for those waiting for admittance. Not only would this lessen the number of illegal immigrants due to the increased accommodations, but it would save the U.S. money, which can be reinvested into other aspects of immigration, like preventing illegal contraband from entering America. Historically. According to David Bier of the Cato Institute, “most Fentanyl is primarily trafficked by U.S. citizens,” with only “0.02 percent of the people arrested by Border Patrol for crossing illegally possessed any fentanyl whatsoever.” Families that cross illegally are desperate, and if we continue to keep specific barriers in place, we won’t be able to control the flood of people headed our way with the currently ineffective system.
Migrants will never stop attempting to enter America, as desperation wins every time. We must reset our system by recycling current resources that are employed inefficiently to prevent future devastation. If we reorganize the employment of American energy at our borders we will be able to help those in need, prevent our country from falling into economic collapse, and continue to successfully intercept drugs and illegal contraband from crossing the border, all without increasing America’s budget deficit.