Immigration Mess

October 24, 2024

Immigration is the world’s most divisive political issue, surpassing taxation, defense spending, or inflation. Tens of millions of people have moved from impoverished to wealthy nations, and hundreds of millions more hope to do so. This has spawned a gigantic global smuggling industry that transports people and then teaches them how to gain entry by gaming the asylum system and local immigration rules. In Europe, voters opt for anti-immigration candidates, and in America, stopping the flood of illegal migrants is the centerpiece of Donald Trump’s Presidential campaign. It may get him elected on November 5, as in 2016. He coined the phrase “build the wall” but didn’t do so, nor did his successor. This is because gangsters make fortunes from the illicit human and drug trade and often compromise politicians. Thus, millions arrive uninvited; a backlash grows, and little changes. Mexican cartels industrialize trafficking at America’s southern border, and Europe lacks an army or navy to protect its vast land and sea borders from the influx of people fleeing violent regions. Last month, Germany closed its borders to all its EU neighbors, and months ago, Sweden stopped accepting immigrants and offered large sums to migrants willing to return home.