I have in-laws in Texas for whom illegal immigration is a huge issue. Around the time of the election in November we had an exchange with my husband’s niece, who voted for Cruz even though she acknowledged that he was a “narcissistic schmuck.” She cited illegal immigration as one of her primary reasons. In her mind, Dreamers are getting preference over her son for a place in college. Her mother regularly posts “build the wall” messages on her Facebook page. She thinks that Democrats don’t believe in enforcing the immigration laws at all.
I recently decided to respond to some of the mother’s posts on Facebook. I started by countering some of the anti-AOC vitriol by saying that AOC was a breath of fresh air who was not afraid to take on the Democratic establishment and was willing to admit and correct her mistakes. The next day, she posted AOC’s interview with Colbert without any negative comments. Then when she posted another pro-wall message, I responded with the following:
Regarding the border, there are several issues. If we're talking about drugs, they generally come in through regular ports of entry, or sometimes through tunnels, so a wall won't help. If the issue is the illegal entry of people, the real problem is employers who break the law by hiring them. The agriculture, construction and hospitality sectors are now very dependent on illegal hires and, if we simply deported them all, we would have a bad recession. My proposal is to give work permits to undocumented immigrants who come forward and apply for citizenship and to throw the book at all employers who hire people without work permits or genuine social security cards. If we dry up the demand for illegal employees, we will dry up illegal immigration. And when all employees are above board, they won't be easy prey for employers who steal their wages or abuse them.
I didn’t include a cite to the December 12 article in the New York Times, which pointed out that our economy is so dependent on undocumented workers that cutting off illegal immigration would trigger a recession. But I have found remarkable consensus for my proposal from both sides of the wall.
Today I saw that she has posted a “love” emoji in response to my comment. I think there is hope even for people who say they are devoted to Trump and the wall. I plan to keep up the communication in order to break down some walls.
