Steve Chapman on What Happens When Kids Show Up at Our Borders

An
undocumented foreigner crossed the Rio Grande near Hidalgo, Texas,
the other day. He had spent three weeks traveling from Honduras,
and he was carrying only one thing with him: a birth certificate.
He was hoping to find relatives in San Antonio or Maryland. His
name is Alejandro, and he’s 8 years old.

His story and photo appeared in The New York
Times, providing a stark reminder that illegal immigration
often involves harmless individuals who are guilty of nothing. From
the angry reaction to the surge of unaccompanied minors and mothers
with young children crossing the border in recent weeks, you might
just forget that, writes Steve Chapman.

The flow of foreigners would be more predictable if our
immigration laws provided more avenues for those who want to come
here. If you block off legal avenues for desperate people, they
will find illegal ones. Even a huge expansion in the border
enforcement has failed to change that elemental reality.

The surge of kids is a logistical and humanitarian challenge,
but not a dangerous wave of pestilential predators and vermin. In
pondering immigration policy, it’s sometimes useful to keep in mind
that we are, after all, talking about human beings, writes
Chapman.

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