To the editor:

Imagine two mythical countries with the same problem: many non-citizen immigrants within their borders.

 In Country B, one party gains power with lies about the immigrants —  “criminals!” (crime rate actually lower than the general population) and “welfare drain!” (actually mostly ineligible) — and pledges to deport them all. Many voters support deportation, a few from pure hate, most from believing the lies and not thinking through what apprehending millions of their neighbors would be like. Billions of tax dollars are spent hiring gangs of masked enforcers, billions more for weapons and equipment so they can dress up like real soldiers, billions more deploying them to snatch people from fields, workplaces, homes, military weddings, graduations, pre-schools, and voting lines (they can snatch anyone). Protesters are bullied, some shot and killed. More billions of tax money is spent constructing detention facilities, and for flying detainees back and forth between them. 

 So vast sums of tax money was being spent to remove tax-paying people from the tax rolls and instead house them at taxpayer expense. For Country B people, this somehow made sense. People world-wide scorned Country B for its cruelty.

 In Country A, for the country’s good, all parties agreed on comprehensive immigration reform to secure borders and create orderly entry methods for immigrants and asylum seekers. Recognizing contributions to the tax base and to the culture by immigrants already here, they created a path to legality — not an easy path (they had entered illegally), but leading ultimately to citizenship, since Country A has no permanent underclass. The few violent immigrant criminals were dealt with efficiently by local law enforcement. The only expense was for magistrates to administer those on the path. This approach was not unselfish – everyone knew the taxes paid by immigrants would be essential for supporting the growing number of aging citizens in the future. People worldwide admired Country A for its wisdom and goodness.

 In which country would you rather live? Find and support a candidate who matches your vision.

Tom Kuster

New Ulm