by Evan Jones
We are all passengers on the “Titanic,” our Earth; migration is a wind storm buffeting the ship; border control is an umbrella. We quickly discover that...
1. Wind is not the problem; let it blow! Of 1.3 billion potential immigrants worldwide, fewer than 0.10% actually settle in the US each year, even with our virtually non-existent border control. We could save ourselves $8 billion/year in wasted INS costs, by recognizing what now exists; open borders! National borders are becoming archaic in our time; witness those of the European Union.
Migration is already accepted between towns and states in the US; why not between nations? We all live on the same “ship.” In the US, we occupy one cabin of this ship, but we do not have exclusive right to that cabin. Restricting upward mobility of migrants violates the principles of justice, consistency, equality, and morality. Each thwarted migration secures the misery of a family, and is therefore unjust. We should exult in the upward mobility of the world's peoples and its migrants. We are all inter-dependent; our air and pollution know no boundaries. Food and water often cross borders...it is not “them” against “us.”
True, migration tends to redistribute wealth, and this in turn discomfits the wealthy. But who among us has the moral right to say that a migrant family must not better its lot here? Who are we to decide who is to sully the nest that we ourselves defile? Are we not squatters in the very house we claim to be protecting from squatters? And why decry the fecundity of immigrants, while applauding the many in the US who produce large families?
2. Umbrellas don't work well in wind storms. Migration can't be stopped. Upward mobility drives migration today, as in our forefathers' time. In 2005 alone, over 200,000 migrants crossed the US border in heavily-patrolled Organ Pipe Cactus National Park. Near closely-watched San Diego, mounds of stockings are used to mask shoe prints along well-used trails; the stockings give mute evidence of ongoing migration. People will migrate across borders until opportunities are balanced, like water seeking its level. And here's an idea; “Help a neighbor's economy; slow migration.”
4. The ship is sinking, and there are no life boats!. Migration does not cause environmental damage; it merely repositions people. We need to focus on the real problem, world overpopulation. Repression of migration is not the brass ring of sustainability...we must lower world population, and reduce individual human impacts. Reproductive health, family planning, and education can lower birth rates. This has been demonstrated in many countries and among the major religious groups. Families of all cultural and religious groups should be encouraged to have smaller families. We must keep our eye on the ball of world overpopulation and Earth's ability to support life.
Sure, it's tough to share with others on this beleaguered Earth! So let's ease the burden for all; conserve resources, reduce individual impacts, and have fewer babies. Migration is not the culprit, border control is not the solution. We are, all of us, in this boat together.
Evan Jones taught physics at Sierra College. A Sacramento resident, he now promotes a sustainable world population and restores historical hiking trails.
Very well said! Thanks for sharing. . .
Posted by: judy (tower) staneart | 04/25/2010 at 07:36 PM