How To Win An Argument Over Immigration

The debate over immigration has heated up recently in light of families being separated as a result of the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy. When you hear and read things about babies being ripped from their mothers, children being kept in cages, and parents being deported without their kids, it can stir up strong emotions.

But when talking to others about the issue, feelings often aren’t enough, especially with so many myths and misconceptions out there. Here are facts to use -- and exactly what to say -- during an argument over immigration.

When they say, “Immigrants take American jobs and lower wages.”

That’s just not true. In fact, tons of economic and social studies show that immigrants actually improve our economy. As The Cato Institute explains, immigrants typically move to growing regions and help increase the growth of that economy by creating and working jobs once they arrive. The Brookings Institute shows that immigrants don’t, in fact, “steal” jobs from native workers and instead “work the unpleasant, back-breaking jobs that native-born workers are not willing to do.”

When they say, “Immigrants bring crime to our country.”

Research says the opposite. The data shows that immigrants actually commit fewer crimes, on average, than native-born Americans and finds “no backing for the immigration-crime connection.” Immigrants aren’t bringing violence here -- most of them are coming to this country to flee violence back home.

When they say, “Immigrants take advantage of our welfare system and don’t pay their fair share after coming to our country.”

The facts just don’t back that up. Immigrants pay more than their fair share and don’t receive any of the benefits. As for welfare, The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, signed into law in 1996, states that undocumented immigrants have no access to welfare benefits, and even legal immigrants do not until after five years of residency. Additionally, a 2010 report found that undocumented immigrants pay as much as $90 billion in taxes but receive just $5 billion in benefits.

When they say, "Undocumented immigrants came here illegally. It's unfair for them to jump the line over potential immigrants who played by the rules."

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. While it may be true that some immigrants wait the countless years it takes to acquire the documentation and approvals to enter the United States legally, most immigrants who enter the country illegally don’t have a choice as they flee violence and persecution in their home countries. For many, waiting to be approved for immigration means death. In the words of a person who immigrated legally, “I had put value on ‘playing by the rules’ without realizing how immigration rules are arbitrary at best and discriminatory at worst.”

When they say, “Separating children from their families is not a new practice under the Trump administration. It’s been going on for years.”

Despite President Trump's claims that family separations have been going on for decades, this is simply not true. During the Obama presidency, there were occasional instances, every six months to a year, where a family would be separated, primarily because there had been concern that there was a trafficking situation or that the adult in question wasn’t actually the parent of the child. It was NEVER on the scale of 2,000 separated children in two months time, as it has been under the Trump Administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy. Additionally, after custody proceedings took place, children were immediately reunited with their parents during the Obama presidency, something that we still have not seen with the current administration.

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