Look Who's Trying to Get People to Talk to Each Other? Bush-43

I wasn't that surprised to see it. If you remember, he also tried during his presidency.

George W. Bush wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post yesterday, outlining what he believed to be a reasonable place for both political parties to begin discussions on that pesky of all issues, immigration. Most of his ideas are workable. They're all within reach.

But if you recall, his efforts back in 2006-07 failed. He was sincere, being from Texas and having seen the problem firsthand. Even back then, though, the Congress was too full of radical firebrands to make reasonable compromises and reasonable recognition that the situation was getting out of control.

Fast forward fifteen years: Look what has been tried. An actual wall was begun. Still not working: people with a desire to get into a place will get there. If they are not actually tied down, they will find a way.

Children were put into cages and kept there for weeks. They were treated like lepers, like future pandemic carriers. The border patrol had no choice; they went tone-deaf.

The public at-large recoiled. But the problem persists.

Cynical phrases from that earlier era remain:

• Amnesty.
• Catch-and-release.

New problems emerge: The gangs of Central American countries that make kids pay 'tribute' to continue to attend school. Refusal often leads to death.

What's a parent to do? Bundle all their resources available, bribe a 'coyote' to gather up the kids and get them to the U.S., where hopefully a relative or a foster parent will take them in. It's an incredible gamble, with diminishing odds.

The spring is the high point: The hot weather's coming. The time to get to America is now. We are being overwhelmed again, and it will continue unless we get a handle on it.

The numbers are staggering: According to The New Yorker, as of March--

• Two hurricanes last fall displaced tens of thousands of Central American people;
• About 550 children have been arriving at the border every day;
• There is a backlog of asylum cases of 1.3 million;
• There are 18,000 unaccompanied migrant children in U.S. custody; and
• 5,000 who remain in holding cells, most held for at least twice the legal time.

The government's capacity to deal with this has been overwhelmed for some time now. The Biden Administration has set up nine emergency shelters, and worked loose 5,000 more beds at a Texas military bases. Biden has gotten on TV to tell the migrants to stop coming. But of course, they won't.

Bush has entered the fray, perhaps to confront and reduce the discord. He outlined some concepts from which to operate:

• DACA should be operational for the "dreamers" who are as American as anyone, and it doesn't mean open borders;
• a "secure and efficient border" with up-to-date technology and ports of entry;
• building "freedom and opportunity" with those countries inclined to send lots of migrants our way, which means--give them money and whole pile of it and cross our fingers that they spend it well;
• a "modernized asylum system" to handle those cases as they come;
• a workable temporary entry program; and
• while no amnesty should be given to those already here, a gradual, workable process with respect to paying taxes, learning the language, and getting a history and civics education can be constructed to allow them to come out of the shadows.

These are reasonable stipulations. They are a place to begin discussions.

To emphasize the gifts that immigrants have given us, Bush has spent considerable time and developed his skills to paint portraits of people who have come here and contributed greatly, such as:

• Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State, from Czechoslovakia;
• Dirk Nowitzki, NBA basketball player, from Germany;
• Gilbert Tuhabonye, a long-distance runner, author and motivational speaker, from Burundi;
• Capt. Florent Groberg, Medal of Honor winner from France;
• Roya Mahboob, one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in the world in 2013, who built internet classrooms in high schools in Afghanistan.

He's published these portraits in a book that he's releasing, so yes, there's a profit motive there. But there's also a demonstration of common humanity and an implication that we should observe. Turning others away is counterproductive: They can contribute deeply to the body politic, the economy, and the social welfare.

Not that nobody realized it, but he's trying to get more people to look at immigrants in a positive light. There's no reason why not. He's descended from them. And so are you.

Be well. Be careful. Wear a mask. With some luck, I'll see you down the road.

Mister Mark