What's Happening with Border Control?

What’s Happening Here? What’s Happening There? 

For centuries, there has been controversy surrounding immigration and border control. Should the United State's border be open or closed to immigrants? Some think that our boarders should be open and the country should welcome any immigrant seeking asylum. According to Joseph Carens from the UC San Diego Department of Philosophy, "all humans are created equal, there is a duty to respect rights and freedoms of all people, discrimination on the basis of race, religion and gender is wrong, among others" (King). It is his view that we as a democracy have the moral and ethical obligation to welcome immigrants. Other countries around the world have much different policies than the United States and different views on immigration. 

What's asylum?

Seeking asylum is when someone does not want to return to their own country because they are afraid of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, so they ask to be welcomed into another country. Asylum seekers are legally allowed to enter the United States at a port of entry, and the government is not allowed to turn anyone away who applies for it. Most immigrants seeking asylum are families fleeing from war, violence, and/or unstable governments. Asylum seekers mostly come from areas in Central America like Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador (Is it legal to cross), desperately trying to find a safe place for their family. 

(Hain)

What’s going on at the Mexico border?

Since 2000, the number of immigrants trying to come into the United States has decreased compared to the 1990s and earlier. As of 2019, the United States experienced the highest number of apprehensions of immigrants at the Southwest border since 2007. Because of the hundreds of thousands of people seeking safe haven and illegal immigrants getting into the country, the Trump administration issued a "national security crisis" (Moreno). The Tump administration also proposed building a physical wall to physically separate the United States and Mexico. 

(Analogicius)

The problem involving border control at the Mexico-United States border is that people are being treated inhumanely while in custody after crossing. According to the Save the Children Foundation, children's rights are being violated at the border. Kids are being held longer than the legal limit and families are being separated. This is a big problem, because separating children from their parents can be traumatic and it it can have "severe negative social and emotional consequences for the children an their families" (U.S. Border Crisis). Family separation is cruel and should not be allowed. Priscilla Alvarez of CNN says that 628 immigrant parents separated from their children between 2017 and 2018 have not been found. That's 628 children who are without parents in a strange new place after fleeing violence and persecution at their homes. This increased separation is due to policies enacted by the governments crack down on Mexico border control in recent years. Another big concern at the Mexico border is that when the families are separated, the children are kept in crowded conditions. This is especially unsafe during the Covid-19 crisis. 

What’s going on locally?

Many people don’t realize that New Hampshire has border control issues itself. Even though this state is far away from the southern border, it is still within 100 miles of the international border with Canada. This qualifies Border Patrol agents to set up checkpoints in New Hampshire to search for illegal immigrants. This is an issue because many believe that Border Patrol should be more concerned with the actual problems going on at the borders themselves, instead of using their resources elsewhere. There have been lawsuits filed concerning civil liberties, regarding people arrested at these checkpoints for reasons other than immigration. Some believe that being apprehended for things like low level drug charges is unconstitutional. This is because evidence was obtained without a warrant or reasonable suspicion, and they believe it violates personal rights (Bookman)

What’s going on globally?

The United States in general has a reputation for having very strict borders, being one of the most difficult counties to get into. Although closed borders are meant to provide safety, they actually "emphasize the distinction between one countries land and others," (Countries with Open Borders 2020) which creates a sense of separation; wheras, open borders promote travel, trade, and migration. The definition of an open border system is a system that lets people pass a border without checks, proof, or permission to enter a country. No country in the world has fully open borders, but there are places that are less strict. For example, Germany, France, and Italy are countries with the biggest populations with open borders as of 2020. Because these countries have open borders, they have reputations of being more welcoming and having more concern for humanitarian rights. 

(Pixel2013)

The issue of immigration is not black on white, it has some gray areas. The United States has an obligation to help others in need and provide safe conditions for immigrants, while also protecting our own country. The way people are being treated at the border is unjust and not okay. That being said, we as a country must do better.

Works Cited 

Alvarez, Priscilla. "Parents of 628 migrant children separated at border still have not been found,
        court filing says." CNN, 2 Dec. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/12/02/politics/family-separation-us-border-    

        children/index.html. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

Analogicius. The Wall. 20 Jan. 2019. Pixabay, 22 Jan. 2019, pixabay.com/photos/wall-border-usa-mexico-        

        separation-3944610/. Accessed 5 Jan. 2021.

Bookman, Todd. "Lawsuit Challenges Constitutionality Of Border Patrol Checkpoints On I-93." NHPR, 11
        Aug. 2020, www.nhpr.org/post/lawsuit-challenges-constitutionality-border-patrol-checkpoints-i-

        93#stream/0. Accessed 5 Jan. 2021.

"Countries With Open Borders 2020." World Population Review, worldpopulationreview.com/
        country-rankings/countries-with-open-borders. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

Hain, John. Statue of Liberty. Pixabay, 31 Jan. 2017, pixabay.com/illustrations/refuge-haven-asylum-

        welcome-2022868/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

"Is it legal to cross the U.S. border to seek asylum?" International Rescue Committee, 22 Oct. 2020,
        www.rescue.org/article/it-legal-cross-us-border-seek-asylum. Accessed 5 Jan. 2021.

King, Anthony. "Should There Be Open Borders?" UC San Diego News Center, 18 Apr. 2019,
        ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/feature/should-there-be-open-borders. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

Moreno, Mario. "4 Charts Depicting What's Been Happening on the U.S.-Mexico Border." WOLA, 24 Mar.
        2020, www.wola.org/analysis/4-charts-depicting-u-s-mexico-border/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.
        Pixel2013. Peace. Pixabay, 19 Dec. 2016, pixabay.com/photos/war-warzone-refugees-pain-1911176/.
        Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.

"U.S. Border Crisis." Save the Children, www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do/emergency-response/
        us-border-crisis. Accessed 5 Jan. 2021.