Don’t Worry About Immigrants’ Ability to Succeed

Nicholas M. Gallagher’s thoughtful essay on immigration raises important questions often overlooked in the current debate. He notes, rightly, that the headlines about Central Americans crossing our southern border should be understood in the context of previous ethnic migrations over the last 150 years. He’s also right in arguing that the distinction between migrants and refugees, a relatively recent concept that has now become rooted in law, isn’t a particularly useful way to distinguish among the various people who wish to come to America.

Ironically, although President Trump and others rail against an invasion of illegal immigrants bringing crime and drugs and seeking to displace American workers, there is scant evidence for such claims. To the contrary, illegal immigration is at or near a 40-year low; just over 400,000 migrants were apprehended at the border in 2018, compared with more than 1.6 million in 2000.

There is, however, a growing problem of families from Central America crossing the border to claim asylum. In February of this year, the border patrol took into custody more than 76,000 such migrants, including some 40,000 adults traveling with children and unaccompanied minors—the largest number in over a decade. That crisis is real, but the president’s attempt to discourage more from coming by building a wall and enacting draconian measures to separate children from their parents is not working.