ANALYSIS
At a Republican primary debate in April 1980, candidates Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush tried to outdo one another when it came to tolerating migrants and pursuing sensible policies to accommodate the inevitable flow of newcomers.
As president, Reagan signed a bill in 1986 that granted amnesty for 3 million people who had entered the country illegally. (The legislation also criminalized the hiring of illegal immigrants by U.S. businesses.)
How politics have changed. Today American public opinion is increasingly intolerant of illegal immigrants, given the record numbers who have crossed the southern border illegally over the past several years. A CBS News poll found about 60% of voters – including one-third of Democrats and 90% of Republicans – would support efforts to deport all people who are in the country illegally.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, routinely demonizes migrants, referring to the crossings as “an invasion.” And now the Democratic incumbent, President Biden, facing election year pressure to act, has signed an executive order barring most asylum seekers from applying for sanctuary in the United States.
In this episode of History As It Happens, Jonathan Blitzer, a staff writer for The New Yorker and author of “Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here,” delves into the ins and outs of an asylum system that was never designed to handle so many people. Asylum was first codified in U.S. law in 1980, when the legislation adopted the United Nations’ post-World War II definition of refugee.
“It is important and uncomfortable to acknowledge that the majority of people showing up at the southern border right now by the strict terms of the statute that exists would not qualify for asylum. That doesn’t mean large numbers of people don’t have legitimate asylum claims, so it is important for people to have an avenue for protection … but the U.S. hasn’t created any other tools to help people like that,” Mr. Blitzer said.
History As It Happens is available at washingtontimes.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
