Bruce Ledewitz: Why can’t we have open immigration?

The crisis at the southern border is caused by bad laws. We could cure the problem by returning to an older American tradition — structured open immigration.

Not an open border. Whatever the law is, it must be enforced. It is not acceptable that our current laws are ambiguous and that we do not provide the resources that would be needed to enforce them.

I just mean we would all benefit from a different and more open approach to immigration going forward.

First, what is the crisis at the border? It has two parts. First, in the last year, an estimated 600,000 people managed to evade border patrols and enter America illegally. This doesn’t mean the border is open — more than 2 million people were stopped — but it means that border security is difficult.

We don’t know much about those who enter this way. They disappear. Contrary to what you have heard, they don’t commit many crimes, they do pay taxes and they are not eligible for most government benefits.

The second part of the crisis is that in 2023, 1.5 million new immigration cases were added to an already overburdened system that only resolved 670,000 cases. The backlog is now over 3 million pending cases.

Almost all cases are ultimately resolved against the claimant — in 2023 only 2,700 cases resulted in asylum or other right to stay and move toward permanent residency. The problem is that under current law, people have a right to make their case. They cannot just be deported.

So we have millions of asylum-seekers living here in legal limbo. They are not allowed to work for their first six months. This creates an immediate need for assistance. That is what overwhelms cities near the border and causes Republican governors to bus immigrants to Democratic cities in the north. And, of course, some people disappear over time as their cases languish.

All of this is crazy. The current law that permits people to seek asylum if they are persecuted is too vague, and there is not enough money to hire more immigration judges to quickly resolve the pending cases.

But if we are going to change the law, we should consider America’s tradition of open immigration.

Immigrants, whether documented or undocumented, are a boon to America and always have been. Until the late 19th century, basically anyone could enter the country, work and live here, and eventually apply for citizenship. The families of most people reading this column came to America this way. Open immigration ended for one reason only — racism. Nativists objected to Asians, Jews and Catholics coming here. By 1924, the current quota system was in place.

Right now it is estimated that 11 million people are living in America in some kind of non-legal status. They are young and they work. Considering that we have an unemployment rate of 3.7%, they are not taking anybody’s job. They are providing workers we need.

Like the rest of the developed world, America is an aging country with a growing shortage of workers. Without any immigration, U.S. population would start to decline in 2037. Even if we added a million immigrants a year, that would only stabilize our population.

To continue growing at our historical average of 1% per year, we would have to add 4 million immigrants a year. In 2023, only 3.1 million people entered, or tried to enter, the U.S. at the southern border.

Immigration is a win for everyone. The planet is not harmed because immigration does not increase human population. Immigrants work hard and succeed. In fact, immigrants are putting off the time that Social Security runs out of money.

Nor would immigrants necessarily vote Democratic when they become citizens. Many immigrants at the southern border are socially conservative Catholics. They would vote Republican if not for the anti-immigrant rhetoric of Republican leaders.

But what about the drugs and the violence? Immigration is associated with crime now because it is illegal — just like alcohol and gang wars during Prohibition. Some immigrants carry drugs to pay the criminals who smuggle them into the country. Remove the illegality, you remove the crime.

Would more immigration change America? Sure. It always has. That is our strength.

Open immigration should begin as an experiment, limited to citizens of countries to our south. Applicants would be required to apply for entry into the U.S. back in their own countries, where our embassies would engage in background checks for criminal records and terrorist ties. Applicants would have to show that there is a place for them to live and likely employment. Most government benefits could continue to be withheld.

Once approved, they can just get on a bus.

Our immigration laws have created enormous human suffering and political division. Open, but orderly, immigration would be simpler, cheaper, safer and much more beneficial for all of us.

Bruce Ledewitz is a professor and the Adrian Van Kaam C.S.Sp. Endowed Chair in Scholarly Excellence in the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University. The views expressed do not represent those of Duquesne University.