Last week’s round-up of undocumented immigrants by the Trump administration is nothing new. The Obama administration did precisely the same thing, over and over, and in larger numbers.
But it is nonetheless grotesque to see federal agents rip apart decent and peaceful families, people who came here to build a better life for their children, as did most of our ancestors. Deporting violent criminals is one thing; but going after people who are “criminals” only because they used phony documents to get a job is quite another.
It is a mystery that so many Trump supporters – unlike most Americans — can be so blind to that history, and can look at these people with such hard hearts.
First, let’s agree on this core principle: Every country has a right to control its borders, and to deport people who enter illegally.
But that’s not the end of the story. Because the United States government, its businesses, and its consumers are all complicit in this mess. The 11 million undocumented immigrants living amongst us did not arrive as an invading army. Most of them came because they wanted jobs and were willing to work for low wages.
And we looked the other way, for decades, happy to soak up the benefits of that cheap labor.
Do you eat at restaurants? If so, the chances are good in New Jersey that you’re getting a discount because of this labor.
Do you like salads, or avocados, or strawberries? Farmers in California are worried about a spike in prices, given that an estimated 70 percent of their workforce is living in the country illegally.
Want someone to take care of your children, or clean your home, or cut your grass? There’s a good chance you, too, are cashing in. Trump’s nominee as labor secretary, Andrew Puzder, just admitted that for years he employed a housekeeper who was here illegally.
Granted, the economic impact is mixed. Many economists argue that this wave has depressed wages for low-skilled Americans, though most see the impact as small when compared to automation. Some point to the public costs of providing health care and education to the undocumented, though a review of the economic literature by the Congressional Budget Office concluded that the taxes they pay more than cover the cost.
The point, though, is that we are complicit. We could have cracked down hard on illegal immigration decades ago, and we chose not to. During the fight over the last reform, in 1986, tough provisions to punish employers who hired undocumented workers were gutted after business lobbyists pressed for changes. They saw benefit to their firms, just as those worried farmers in California do today.
And because we are complicit, we have a moral obligation to be humane as we move to tighten controls.
That means that the federal government should not break apart decent families who happen to be unlucky enough to be swept away in a random dragnet. It should focus on criminals who threaten the public safety, period.
It means, too, that local police should not force the undocumented deeper underground by enforcing immigration laws against witnesses, victims, or petty criminal like shoplifters. It means we should see our ancestors when we look in their eyes, and treat them with humanity, and even respect.
Trump’s wall is a primal scream, an irrational answer that will be as expensive and it is ineffective. A solid majority of Americans oppose that wall, and support a path to citizenship. Trump is signaling a reckless charge in the wrong direction, at his own political peril.
More: Tom Moran columns
Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or call (973) 836-4909. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.
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