According to U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-Malden), immigration accomplishes that.
Markey appeared in a Facebook live town hall with the pro-immigrant Massachusetts Communities Action Network on Wednesday, talking about what he sees as the duty of the United States to accept more immigrants and the benefits immigrants bring to the country.
Markey said that the immigration system has been broken for years — long before former President Donald Trump ever held elected office. He also said that immigration — both legal and illegal — makes the country safer and that he doesn’t support deporting immigrants for certain crimes.
“Our nation has spent decades doing immigration through the lens of enforcement,” Markey said. “That’s what you’re talking about. And we cannot continue to view these fleeing violence and persecution and those just looking for a better life as a threat to our nation. Immigrants have always made our nation better — and safer.”
“An immigration system that valued humanity would end the militarization of our nation’s southern border and instead create humanitarian programs to support asylum seekers and refugees,” he added. “It would be a system that does not punish immigrants for decades-old or minor criminal convictions but understands that people can transform their lives.”
One counterargument often used by conservatives on crimes committed by immigrants, including illegal immigrants, is that those crimes are preventable — because countries can keep those criminals out of the country in the first place.
As Eddie Scarry of The Washington Examinerpoints out, there are difficulties when it comes to calculating the crime rate of immigrant communities. That’s because immigrants fear deportation and others and are therefore less likely to report crimes in their communities. He also notes that border security removes many criminals quickly upon entry — and he contends that without that enforcement, the crime rate would be much higher.
Markey described the country’s immigration system as poor. He said Trump isn’t to blame — though he did go after Trump during the event.
“We’ve spent the last four years fighting Donald Trump’s inhumane, unjust and cruel immigration policies — and those policies are based in hate — and they are based in discrimination, not inclusion, not dignity — which should be at the core of our approach to immigration,” Markey said.
“From the dismantling of our refugee resettlement program to the abysmally low admission target of 18,000 refugees that Trump’s administration had set for 2020 and detaining and separating mothers and fathers from their children at the border,” he added, “Donald Trump does not comprehend humanity.”
Markey has a career F rating from the immigration-restrictionist NumbersUSA dating back to 1989.
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