Opinion |

Immigration reform: It’s a lot like Groundhog Day

The situation at the U.S.-Mexico border feels a lot like Groundhog Day, minus Punxsutawney Phil.

Groundhog Day was celebrated at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., on Wednesday. Phil left his burrow early that morning, as usual, to look for his shadow.

In case you missed it, Phil saw his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter. If one thing is true about this 136-year-old ritual, it’s this: Nobody gives poor Phil another thought for the next 364 days, once his prediction is made.

And so it goes at the border. Last September, photos and video surfaced of agents on horseback swinging long reins near Haitian migrants who had crossed the border near Del Rio, Texas. A group of 15,000 had amassed under the Del Rio international bridge, living in makeshift huts while awaiting their turn to be processed. The oppressive conditions were made worse by the Texas heat, with temperatures above 100 degrees on consecutive days.

As a country, we were outraged. The incident drew swift condemnation from senior officials in President Joe Biden’s administration, who pledged to investigate it in “days, not weeks.” But the Department of Homeland Security took a pass, referring the incident to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility. It hasn’t been resolved. And we’ve moved on.

Still, the numbers of undocumented migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border continues to grow. According to the Border Report, U.S. authorities stopped 496,148 migrants in the last quarter of 2021, a 137 percent increase over the same period in 2020. More than 2 million migrants were apprehended or turned themselves in last year.

Historically, most migrants attempting to cross have come from Mexico or the Northern Triangle countries of Latin America — Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. But last month, the border filled with people whose journeys were much longer: from places like Venezuela, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and India.

The upswing in border activity has occurred because of — or despite — U.S. immigration policy, depending on your views. When Biden was on the campaign trail, he promised to eliminate the Migrant Protection Protocols, better known as “Remain in Mexico.” The policy was first implemented by former President Donald Trump; it requires asylum seekers arriving at the border to wait in Mexico for their hearings in U.S. immigration court.

While Biden fulfilled his promise, it was short-lived. Remain in Mexico was reinstated in December, following a court order, but with improvements like greater access to legal resources. Still, the administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow it to terminate the policy. A decision is expected by the end of June.

Expulsions from the U.S. have been hastened by Title 42, a 75-year-old public health law that’s become pandemic-era policy. Title 42 gives authorities the power to summarily oust migrants on health grounds without providing them their legally mandated opportunity to seek protection here. Just last week, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would begin returning Venezuelans to Colombia if they had previously resettled in that country, citing Title 42.

Even as policies come and go (and come again), we’re no closer to solving the immigration problem. It doesn’t matter whether a Democrat or Republican is in the White House. We need new and different approaches, instead of relying on enforcement to effect change. It hasn’t worked yet.

Maybe we can start by recognizing the humanity in others and treating them with dignity.

We can follow the example of Sister Norma Pimintel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley. In 2014, Pimintel found her calling: providing aid to unaccompanied migrant children and families at the border. Since then, her organization has helped more than 150,000 people.

Pimentel is careful not to criticize U.S. immigration policy. Instead, she talks about the importance of changing the way we think about and treat people who are so desperate to come to our country. After all, Pimintel says, we are all part of the same human family.

She points to negative rhetoric as the source of our fear-based thinking. We build internal walls to keep ourselves safe. And with walls in place, it’s easy not to care. Instead, Pimintel insists, we need to allow ourselves to get close enough so we can feel what migrants are feeling. The caring will follow.

Unlike Punxsutawney Phil, we can’t burrow away. Migrants will continue to come to our country from all corners of the globe, seeking economic opportunity and safety.

Above all, we need to remember: It’s not about policy. It’s about people.

Dinkin is president of the National Conflict Resolution Center, a San Diego-based group working to create solutions to challenging issues, including intolerance and incivility. To learn about NCRC’s programming, visit ncrconline.com.