I found your post through a comment you left on Rae Katz's. Very informative article! I lived in San Diego for many years, including during Trump's term. It was fascinating to hear the US discourse on immigration while living in a city that is so dependent on its relationship with Mexico. There's a water treatment plant in Tijuana that, if not tended to properly, leaks sewage that leaves the southern beaches in SD unusable.
I made several trips by bicycle into TJ and the border crossing into Mexico was drastically different than crossing back into the US. I felt the same agitation I do when I see a cop car or a police person standing around shooting the breeze with their squad, gun, baton, and tasers on their waists. Like I've already done something wrong just by being there. I suspect that no amount of trying to humanize the police or military will alleviate that for me. Everything about that role feels like it's meant to intimidate and it works so well.
My husband and I are in the midst of his citizenship process. The interview we did after we got married was less intense than I've heard from other people, but even the truth felt like it may not be good enough.
Well, I had more to say than I thought on this! LoL But I came to the article because you mentioned that it hadn't gotten as much traction as you'd hoped. I was wondering what conversation you were hoping to stimulate. Is there a way to bring people in whose life experience doesn't have quite the same connection to immigration? What might pull people in?
Anyway, I'm a big fan of bicycles, public transit, and trees in cities, too! What other kinds of topics do you plan to cover in your Substack?
Thanks Katie! Yes, Mexico is our neighbor! We have so much trade with them! We have so many visitors and relatives crossing back and forth. Any positive vision of our future must have closer ties with Mexico not walls. Prosperity and security for Mexico would add to America's security so much (better labor starndards are probably number one on my wishlist for Mexico). And of course that holds true for all of Central and Southern America in slightly smaller measure. Prosperity for all is the only future that doesn't lead to dystopia.
My hope for this article (full of hubris) is to bring this question "what would it take to secure the border?" into at least some of the conversations happening where the position that we need to "secure the border" is treated as self evident and legitimate. I think the vast majority of Dem politicians believe it and haven't thought it through and I'd love the public conversation to force them to do so. More realistically I just want to inform people and change the lens with which they approach any conversation about immigration that they happen to be involved in. I want people to think about and discuss the ethics involved in refusing entrance to refugees.
I'm really concerned that Democrats will look at the national polling and be too wary to do the right things on immigration and I'm equally concerned that if they do the right things they will be punished at voting time - leading to disaster for everyone.
I'm also willing to debate those that are committed to the idea that the border needs further securing and aren't yet convined by my point. If there is interest I'd be up for discussing what is a good solution for migration through our southern border. For my Substack I'm likely to post about ethics and what I think are "missing" pieces in various national conversations on topics of interest.
Best of luck with your process! I hope it goes as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Hi Yanina, you write so well, I am sorry to see you have given up on this blog. But I know you are around, since I have seen your comments elsewhere. Actually, I am pretty far from considering immigration. Or, I consider my own immigration, since I am an expat. So I have no wisdom on borders.
You take on a very challenging subject. I guess you know that, as an Immigration attorney. I hope that you have created many stories of success. As you say, secure borders are impossible, so best stop using that term. Borders with a meaningful legal process might be the goal.
My guess is that soft borders are broadcast world-wide, and mal-intending people will be part of the crowd. I wouldn't necessarily conflate that with Spanish speakers, although news carries a lot of violent stories from the South.
The EU has no internal borders, but is supposed to be controlled from the outside. It is not fair that Greece has to take-in whoever shows up. The population of Greece is only about 10 million, so how many extras can the house and feed? If the EU won't help they should just give them a bus ticket and send them north.
Here's an idea that just came to me. First back up to the end of the Vietnam war. Probably in 1975 I read about refugees held in Camp Pendleton. I sponsored two men who came to live with me. One stayed with me a long time, the other had friends elsewhere. After entering the country, immigrants can disappear for years (as you say). What if they had a sponsor? Well not everyone, but some friend could keep track of them, and keep renewing their papers. I suppose there are plenty of reasons why it wouldn't work?
Thank you! I haven’t so much given up as I am taking it very slowly and am in a pause.
It’s not fair that Greece has to take in whoever shows up no. But life isn’t fair. It isn’t fair that people grow up in grinding poverty with no prospects. It’s not fair that people grow up and live in corrupt governments that can not and do not deliver basic services to their people. It’s not the responsibility of Greece to make up for any of this but when someone desperate enough shows up at their border and the choices are let them in or shoot them… there is no secret option C and choosing to kill them is wrong. The EU should absolutely step and help get people on their feet, help them assimilate, etc.
We absolutely should be creating legal pathways (using sponsors is a fine option for some categories) which reduces illegal entries.
Thanks for your reply. I found you from an impassioned comment you made somewhere, which I followed up.
I know your passion is immigration justice. There must be a wide range of options between welcoming and shooting. Immigrants also drown crossing the Mediterranean Sea, but that doesn't mean the navy is just standing there watching them flounder.
Like I say, I don't have much intelligence about borders. Perhaps you could survey other countries to see if there is any "enlightened" immigration policy in the world. You could start with the Anglo's, the "five-eyes" nations. I suppose the Scandinavians are the EU policy. I think Japan is very restrictive, as also is Switzerland. Who has open borders? What does China do? Poor countries have open borders because they don't have the means to monitor them. But nobody is trying to get into poor countries, they are trying to get out of them.
Unless there is a crisis, I think people are not prone to migration. Are they attached to their own land? That is something Americans can't know about, because our heritage is settler colonialism, not 1,000's of years of continuity. People have lived on their territory for generations. Is that always grinding poverty? People have done the best they could with governments, kings and such.
I feel that hegemonic nations benefit from global unrest. It's pretty obvious that you get few benefits from stasis, from the unchanging. But in a radical mix-up and even war, it is he who fashions the peace that takes all. IMO These are the origins of grinding poverty and the corrupt governments we have seen in recent history. This has to be part of immigration policy, to change these hegemonic policies. Maybe it is happening in front of our face. Well, we have to risk how far bluff goes, and endure accidents. These all become very polarizing topics.
I can talk about them (a little), but on my site I don't treat them. I look for topics that can make an immediate difference in how we live. I have just made 4 posts on linguistic studies that look at different speaking styles. Generally we make a negative judgment about styles that are different than ours. That doesn't help communication. It is kind of obvious when someone mentions it, that we see these style all around. But it may be a first to look deeper and see what that person has to offer.
I would value your opinion, if you found any of these posts of interest. They have made a difference in how I talk and how I receive.
Hi Yanina,
I found your post through a comment you left on Rae Katz's. Very informative article! I lived in San Diego for many years, including during Trump's term. It was fascinating to hear the US discourse on immigration while living in a city that is so dependent on its relationship with Mexico. There's a water treatment plant in Tijuana that, if not tended to properly, leaks sewage that leaves the southern beaches in SD unusable.
I made several trips by bicycle into TJ and the border crossing into Mexico was drastically different than crossing back into the US. I felt the same agitation I do when I see a cop car or a police person standing around shooting the breeze with their squad, gun, baton, and tasers on their waists. Like I've already done something wrong just by being there. I suspect that no amount of trying to humanize the police or military will alleviate that for me. Everything about that role feels like it's meant to intimidate and it works so well.
My husband and I are in the midst of his citizenship process. The interview we did after we got married was less intense than I've heard from other people, but even the truth felt like it may not be good enough.
Well, I had more to say than I thought on this! LoL But I came to the article because you mentioned that it hadn't gotten as much traction as you'd hoped. I was wondering what conversation you were hoping to stimulate. Is there a way to bring people in whose life experience doesn't have quite the same connection to immigration? What might pull people in?
Anyway, I'm a big fan of bicycles, public transit, and trees in cities, too! What other kinds of topics do you plan to cover in your Substack?
Thanks Katie! Yes, Mexico is our neighbor! We have so much trade with them! We have so many visitors and relatives crossing back and forth. Any positive vision of our future must have closer ties with Mexico not walls. Prosperity and security for Mexico would add to America's security so much (better labor starndards are probably number one on my wishlist for Mexico). And of course that holds true for all of Central and Southern America in slightly smaller measure. Prosperity for all is the only future that doesn't lead to dystopia.
My hope for this article (full of hubris) is to bring this question "what would it take to secure the border?" into at least some of the conversations happening where the position that we need to "secure the border" is treated as self evident and legitimate. I think the vast majority of Dem politicians believe it and haven't thought it through and I'd love the public conversation to force them to do so. More realistically I just want to inform people and change the lens with which they approach any conversation about immigration that they happen to be involved in. I want people to think about and discuss the ethics involved in refusing entrance to refugees.
I'm really concerned that Democrats will look at the national polling and be too wary to do the right things on immigration and I'm equally concerned that if they do the right things they will be punished at voting time - leading to disaster for everyone.
I'm also willing to debate those that are committed to the idea that the border needs further securing and aren't yet convined by my point. If there is interest I'd be up for discussing what is a good solution for migration through our southern border. For my Substack I'm likely to post about ethics and what I think are "missing" pieces in various national conversations on topics of interest.
Best of luck with your process! I hope it goes as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Hi Yanina, you write so well, I am sorry to see you have given up on this blog. But I know you are around, since I have seen your comments elsewhere. Actually, I am pretty far from considering immigration. Or, I consider my own immigration, since I am an expat. So I have no wisdom on borders.
You take on a very challenging subject. I guess you know that, as an Immigration attorney. I hope that you have created many stories of success. As you say, secure borders are impossible, so best stop using that term. Borders with a meaningful legal process might be the goal.
My guess is that soft borders are broadcast world-wide, and mal-intending people will be part of the crowd. I wouldn't necessarily conflate that with Spanish speakers, although news carries a lot of violent stories from the South.
The EU has no internal borders, but is supposed to be controlled from the outside. It is not fair that Greece has to take-in whoever shows up. The population of Greece is only about 10 million, so how many extras can the house and feed? If the EU won't help they should just give them a bus ticket and send them north.
Here's an idea that just came to me. First back up to the end of the Vietnam war. Probably in 1975 I read about refugees held in Camp Pendleton. I sponsored two men who came to live with me. One stayed with me a long time, the other had friends elsewhere. After entering the country, immigrants can disappear for years (as you say). What if they had a sponsor? Well not everyone, but some friend could keep track of them, and keep renewing their papers. I suppose there are plenty of reasons why it wouldn't work?
.
Thank you! I haven’t so much given up as I am taking it very slowly and am in a pause.
It’s not fair that Greece has to take in whoever shows up no. But life isn’t fair. It isn’t fair that people grow up in grinding poverty with no prospects. It’s not fair that people grow up and live in corrupt governments that can not and do not deliver basic services to their people. It’s not the responsibility of Greece to make up for any of this but when someone desperate enough shows up at their border and the choices are let them in or shoot them… there is no secret option C and choosing to kill them is wrong. The EU should absolutely step and help get people on their feet, help them assimilate, etc.
We absolutely should be creating legal pathways (using sponsors is a fine option for some categories) which reduces illegal entries.
Thanks for your reply. I found you from an impassioned comment you made somewhere, which I followed up.
I know your passion is immigration justice. There must be a wide range of options between welcoming and shooting. Immigrants also drown crossing the Mediterranean Sea, but that doesn't mean the navy is just standing there watching them flounder.
Like I say, I don't have much intelligence about borders. Perhaps you could survey other countries to see if there is any "enlightened" immigration policy in the world. You could start with the Anglo's, the "five-eyes" nations. I suppose the Scandinavians are the EU policy. I think Japan is very restrictive, as also is Switzerland. Who has open borders? What does China do? Poor countries have open borders because they don't have the means to monitor them. But nobody is trying to get into poor countries, they are trying to get out of them.
Unless there is a crisis, I think people are not prone to migration. Are they attached to their own land? That is something Americans can't know about, because our heritage is settler colonialism, not 1,000's of years of continuity. People have lived on their territory for generations. Is that always grinding poverty? People have done the best they could with governments, kings and such.
I feel that hegemonic nations benefit from global unrest. It's pretty obvious that you get few benefits from stasis, from the unchanging. But in a radical mix-up and even war, it is he who fashions the peace that takes all. IMO These are the origins of grinding poverty and the corrupt governments we have seen in recent history. This has to be part of immigration policy, to change these hegemonic policies. Maybe it is happening in front of our face. Well, we have to risk how far bluff goes, and endure accidents. These all become very polarizing topics.
I can talk about them (a little), but on my site I don't treat them. I look for topics that can make an immediate difference in how we live. I have just made 4 posts on linguistic studies that look at different speaking styles. Generally we make a negative judgment about styles that are different than ours. That doesn't help communication. It is kind of obvious when someone mentions it, that we see these style all around. But it may be a first to look deeper and see what that person has to offer.
I would value your opinion, if you found any of these posts of interest. They have made a difference in how I talk and how I receive.
.