To the Reader’s Forum:

The Bipartisan Policy Center releases a report in December titled: Changing Border Policies and Apprehensions: What’s the Relationship?

It reviews the various immigration policies of the Trump and Biden administrations and their effect on border apprehensions. It provides good background information on the hodgepodge approach both administration have attempted to ‘secure the border’, which has become necessary because of a lack of political will by Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform.

The conclusion is instructive.

“In recent years, apprehensions at the border have become an increasingly politicized issue, with partisans touting the effectiveness of the policies of presidents of their party. Yet the data shows the picture is far from clear-cut. The inconsistent nature of the policies in place (in part due to litigation and court decisions) and overlap in implementation timelines make it difficult to clearly understand the effects of individual policies. The data also does not reflect the continued changes in the demographics and nationalities of those arriving, nor the “push” factors that have sent them to the border. However, continued fluctuation in numbers of arrivals at the border is expected if there is no consistent immigration policy to address the ongoing migration crisis.”

In short, the problem of undocumented immigration has not been solved by any past administration over the past few decades and cannot be solved by current or future administrations. The only real solution is a new comprehensive immigration reform law passed by a bipartisan Congress with input by the executive branch.

Urge Representative Langworthy and Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to support the current efforts in the Senate for such reform. It is not all that is needed, but it is a step in the right direction and will help make our national security stronger.

Tom Meara

Jamestown