Why the U.S. immigration system is so broken

[unhappycamper]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/why-the-us-immigration-system-is-so-broken/article19260371/

Every day more children come. They cross the Rio Grande on rafts. Some have Hello Kitty backpacks. Some come with their mothers, but many are on their own. They come from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador. Many are teenagers, but some are no more than toddlers. Some disappear before they ever make it to the United States.

Why the U.S. immigration system is so broken
Margaret Wente
The Globe and Mail
Published Saturday, Jun. 21 2014, 8:00 AM EDT
Last updated Saturday, Jun. 21 2014, 8:00 AM EDT

In the past few weeks a humanitarian crisis has broken out on the U.S. border. The border authorities are overwhelmed. The kids are being warehoused in makeshift customs processing centres and military barracks. Toilets and showers are in short supply. To relieve the crush, some moms and kids were shipped to Arizona and dumped off at the Phoenix bus station.

Since last October, about 50,000 unaccompanied children have been intercepted at the Mexico-U.S. border. The human tide shows no sign of letting up. As immigrant and human rights groups howl about the awful living conditions for the kids, border officers say they’ve been turned into babysitters. “We’re having to provide them baby formula, diapers, medical treatment,” U.S. border patrol officer Raul Ortiz told NBC News. (They’re also trying to prevent the older kids from having sex.)

The crusade of children trying to reach the Promised Land has sparked a hot debate about who’s to blame, and what to do about it. Some blame violence in their home countries, and some blame U.S. President Barack Obama for loosening the rules on young illegal immigrants in the U.S.

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At 17 per cent of the U.S. population, the Hispanic presence is now a huge force in U.S. politics. The elites of both parties agree the immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. But no one has a serious plan to secure the border or enforce the immigration laws. Progressives believe that generous immigration policies reflect America’s liberal humanitarian values. Big businesses depend on Hispanic immigration (both legal and illegal) as a reliable source of cheap labour. Neither party wants to alienate the Hispanic vote. And anyone who questions the wisdom of admitting a huge influx of low-skilled people into the United States is labelled as a nativist, a Tea Partier, or worse.