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She wanted to know why it would be controversial to say refugees should get in line and follow immigration procedure just like our family a century ago. “I don’t have anything against people coming here,” she concluded, “but why can’t they just follow the laws we already have?”
What was missing from her equation, I think, is what Lange's friend Catherine was worried about: Yes, we already have immigration laws in place, and yes, they offer a procedure some would-be immigrants manage to successfully follow on the way to permanent residency and even citizenship. But contrary to what a lot of political rhetoric implies, it isn't as easy as showing up at a modern-day Ellis Island, getting checked for criminal history or contagious diseases, and strolling on in.
On the contrary, U.S. immigration processes are long and complicated to the point that even the strictest border security advocate must be at least a little sympathetic to the frustrations of those attempting to immigrate legally. This is federal bureaucracy — the DMV on steroids—and it can put your life on hold or literally in mortal danger.
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“Having gone through immigration myself in 2009 (the legal way), I can tell you right now there’s a reason” many people choose the illegal option, writes C.S. Coville, who emigrated from Australia.
Refugees typically aren't going to be able to do the family-sponsored or employment-based residency applications other immigrants use, and anyway, following normal immigration procedures isn't possible when you're fleeing for your life, living in a tent, wondering where you'll get the next day's food and water and diapers. All told, the vetting process for refugees averages 18 to 24 months (more for Iraqis and Syrians), and some refugees are killed while trying to come to America.
That said, I don’t have an easy answer to the complexities of our immigration policies. I’m not going to end this column with a tidy proposal that would fix it all, and end partisan bickering, and make us all feel warm and fuzzy when we look at the Statue of Liberty without any nagging feeling that the good she represents is a lot messier than we believed it to be as children.
No, my point is there isn't a tidy proposal — and reasonable, well-intentioned people can sincerely disagree on this stuff. But wherever you land, remember it isn't as simple as politicians make it out to be, and buying into that false simplicity makes us less empathetic and less pragmatic both.
MORE: Read Jeva Lange’s essay on traveling in Russia, at The Week, here.
Bonnie Kristian writes weekly for The Week and at Rare.us.
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