Editor:
Esteban, five years old, stands alone in the shadow of the Arizona border wall. The sun is setting and he is far from Guatemala. Men say through the wall he’ll be OK. And he will since two pastors, fathers and Spanish speakers, happened along. They wait with Esteban for Border Patrol. Esteban hoists his backpack as he mans up to go with the agent, who is kind. Hopefully Esteban will be with his father in Memphis within a day or two.
Weeks before, colleagues met a young man showing obvious emotional trauma. He’d carried his best friend on his back for five hours until he died.
Joe Kaffl’s letter about immigration raises good points. He didn’t use political talking points or radioactive language. I respond based on 40 years of lived experience on the Arizona border, the past 18 directly involved with migrants.
Can we or should we take in everyone? Heck no. However, push factors worldwide are intensifying – climate change, failed states, wars, cruelty and violence in people’s lives, the inability to feed one’s children.
Could we better manage the increasing numbers, take advantage of their skills and work ethic to benefit our society and economy? Heck yes. How? We could open up our ports of entry with appropriate staff and improved systems. Only eight of 48 ports currently process asylum claims. If we want people to come the “right way,” there needs to be right ways. The asylum pathway needs more asylum officers and immigration judges.
Are our asylum systems being misused? Yes. Though it’s a legal right to request asylum, the current situation is highly dysfunctional. Given the lack of realistic “right ways,” the asylum path is often all there is.
How else might people be allowed to come and contribute? How about modernizing our work permit system, for asylum and non-asylum seekers? Let’s tie it to lines of work, not employers, like caregiving, construction, hospitality and agriculture. You’ll not find better workers than immigrants and with a variety of skills. I recently walked the border wall with an Ecuadorian electrical engineer. Colleagues have met computer programmers and English literature teachers. I guarantee nobody would walk through the desert if they had options.
Is it an easy trip? Far from it. I’ve met folks in flip flops who have walked for days, often without food or water, at the mercy of cartel handlers and corrupt military and law enforcement. Mexico is one of the worst passages.
Asylum seekers want to be processed by Border Patrol. Are there still people running under the radar to get to families and jobs? Yes. How about we process them for work permits? How about we take their money instead of the cartels?
Are asylum seekers just being listed and sent on their way? No. Where I live, they’re being processed in Sasabe, Nogales and Tucson. Anyone with a record is deported or detained. If we could process more people in the ports or their home countries for asylum and work permits, Border Patrol could focus on the real criminals.
Finally, am I in favor of using tax dollars to help asylum seekers and immigrants? Definitely. I welcome it, albeit used care- fully. Will I bring immigrant families into my home? Well, not exactly, but I sure will hire them and patronize their businesses, bakeries and cafes. Will I tutor their kids and teach English? Of course. Will I give my time and money so that citizens and non-citizens alike have equal opportunity and safety? Heck yes. Isn’t that what the Statue of Liberty stands for?
Laurie Jurs
Green Valley, Arizona
Laurie Jurs lived in Raleigh and Greenbrier counties from 1976 to 1984. She helped start the Hillsboro and Williamsburg clinics and comes back to Hillsboro regularly.