The Crisis at Border Facilities: The Maslow Effect

Immigration happens naturally. For nearly all of human existence, humans have moved from one place to another in search of the very basics, as described on the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs.

At the very bottom, we have our most basic needs: food, water, warmth, and rest. For millennia, humans move where there food source moved. We were nomads. Eventually, we settled down in areas and started civilizations, but this did not stop humans from moving from place to place.

The second tier of basic needs, states that we are in search of security and safety. It is in this tier, that we find the American dilemma.

Do we have an immigration problem? The easy answer to that is no. If we change the question slightly, the answer starts to change.

Do we have an illegal immigration problem? Yes.... and no. This is where the big debate starts. People on the left side of the political spectrum, argue that people are not illegal. That the term is degrading. They prefer the term asylum seekers. And in almost all cases, that is what is happening.

People on the right, argue, yes! If you do not come to the United States through our legal process, than yes, you are an illegal immigrant (or the even more degrading term: illegal alien). 

We can change the question again: Do we an asylum seeker issue?

The answer is an astounding yes! But why? If we go back to the ideas proposed by Abraham Maslow, we see that second tier. Asylum seekers are seeking security and safety from the country they are running from. In certain parts of Central America, people are seeking a better life from poverty and violence. They know that the United States was built on the idea of building upon a dream. 

Many do come through ports of entry, which, of course, is the legal way of coming into the U.S., but many are turned away. They do not want to go back home or stay in Mexico, so they cross the border illegally. We sometimes get scenes like this

They want safety and security. Yes, it is true, that every now and then, drug and sex traffickers try to cross the border with those seeking asylum. But those cases are extremely rare.

So, we have people living within our borders illegally. The question is, should we deport them through ICE raids? Or should we allow them to stay, while they seek U.S. citizenship? If we deport them, there is a chance they will try to regain entry into the U.S. by crossing the border illegally. 

Do we have millions of people living within our borders illegally? Yes! So, let's take a look at what research says. 

Pew Research, published in June 2019, shows the following :

1. It is believed that 10.5 million unauthorized immigrants are living within the U.S. in 2017. This represents a 14% drop from its apex in 2007.
2. The number of Mexican unauthorized immigrants is down to 47% (from its peak of 57% in 2007). But the number of unauthorized immigrants has increased from two areas: Central America (1.5 million to 1.9 million) and Asia (1.3 million to 1.5 million).
3. Our workforce is made up of 7.6 million unauthorized immigrants. This is a decrease from it's peak of 8.2 million in 2007.
4. Most of the unauthorized immigrants are living in just six states: California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois. Within the same statistic, though the number of unauthorized immigrants has decreased in each of those states.
5. About 66% of unauthorized immigrants have lived in the U.S. for over a decade.

That last statistic should have us the most concerned. But not for reasons those on the right are concerned about. That statistic shows that these unauthorized immigrants want to stay in the U.S. They're not doing anything illegal, other than being here illegally. In fact, they are contributing the economy. Deporting them would rip families apart and cause economic ripples, as unauthorized immigrants often take lower pay to stay under the radar. 

Yes, you can argue that they are taking American jobs, but you can also argue that these are jobs that most Americans do not want to do.

So, should we deport these unauthorized immigrants? Ultimately, it depends on your point of view, but there is something that you should consider. If they are not doing anything illegal, why deport them? I am all for deporting unauthorized immigrants, who break U.S. laws. 

But, I am also for finding a path to citizenship for them. This is something that the Obama administration sought, but the Trump administration does not seem to want to consider.

And what about the conditions at the border facilities? Yes, conditions are horrible. Many ICE agents will tell you that. Vice President Pence just told us that, and asked why Democrats aren't doing anything about it. What he fails to mention is that Congress just passed a bill to provide $4.6 billion for border facilities. What he also fails to tell you is that under the first two years of the Trump Administration, Republicans controlled all three branches of government, including both Houses of Congress, and failed to do anything about it.

What Democrats fail to tell you is that there were failures under the Obama Administration, too. Some of the pictures we may see today of the border facilities may be from the Obama Administration. 

The next question, though is about ICE. Should ICE be abolished?

ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has a job to do. Make sure America is safe, protecting us from crimes committed by unauthorized immigrants. Part of the problem with that is, ICE goes after those not committing crimes. They fail to identify the criminals who cross the border illegally because they are too busy holding asylum seekers in detention facilities for weeks or months on end. Or they're too wrapped up in raids, that do not serve a purpose beyond tearing families apart. Or they're taking part in Social Media groups making fun of asylum seekers, who have died trying to come here. They've also been wrapped in sexual and physical abuse scandals, as well as, child abuse scandals.

Does the organization need to be abolished? Probably not, but they definitely need to be overhauled.

How about open borders? Open borders is the idea that few or no restrictions are placed on border crossings. Yes, some Democrats candidates for President have advocated for open borders, but is this the right thing? No!

Opening up the borders would allow more criminal activity to come across the borders. Of course, the same criminal activities (especially drug trafficking and sex trafficking) is occurring without open borders. Traffickers use tunnels, climb walls, and even fly into the U.S. using chartered planes.

In fact most unauthorized immigrants come here by air. So, building a wall is out of the question.

When you sit down and look at the facts, when you consider Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we see a different picture. Or at least we should. Trump supporters have a hard time seeing the benefits of a path to citizenship and don't see the horrors of deportation for non-criminals.

Meanwhile, far left liberals also need to see, that open borders could cause multitudes of issues. 

Immigration is not an easy topic for either side, but what we can see is that at these border facilities, basic needs are not being met. Food, water, shelter, and rest are rare. We know from visits to the facilities, that asylum seekers are going weeks without showers or brushing their teeth. They are being kept in facilities along the Southern border without air conditioning, in the summer, where temperatures often reach 90 degrees or higher. So, security and safety are also not being met. Toddlers and babies are being held in facilities separate from their parents or older siblings. 

That's psychological torture. We're now at the third tier of Maslow's scale: the lack of intimate relationships. 

We can go a step further for the adults and teenagers. Tier four: esteem needs. The conditions that they are being kept in degrades who they are. It tears down their self esteem. It makes them wonder what they have done wrong.

And without those four basic tiers, they cannot get to tier five: self-actualization. They cannot contribute to anyone's society in a productive way.

We have to look at this from the humanity side. It's important. Providing people with their basics needs is what every major religion preaches, and yet, when it comes to immigration, it was many religious people lack. They lack humanity. 

That's the crisis at the border.