Why Are Biden’s Open Border Policies Unfair to All?

            The open-border policies are obviously unfair to Americans. Hordes of people are crossing the border with possibly 2 million arriving before the end of 2021. Americans must have identification to fly on the airlines, while illegal aliens fly from the border to other cities and states without any documentation. Illegal immigrants are treated better in numerous ways than American citizens.

            Another group of people are being treated unfairly. This group comprises the people who come to America legally. They wait in line for years and pay thousands of dollars for the privilege of immigrating to America. Brigitta Borinstein described their immigration as being “painstaking and purposeful journey toward legally earned citizenship.” Yet, illegal immigrants are allowed to walk across the border without meeting any requirements. 

            Still another group of people are being cheated by illegal immigration. This is the illegal immigrants themselves. By entering the nation illegally, they do not have the opportunity to feel “the most deeply ingrained sentiments of gratitude and patriotism.”

            Borinstein wrote of the experience of her mother, Dominique, who immigrated from Belgium at age 9. She was not allowed to bring much when she left her home in Belgium. She left behind her Lego collection, her beloved grandmother, and friends. She did carry on the trip her red patent leather Barbie doll case. Borinstein wrote:

Dominque attended the local elementary school, where she learned her first words of English by listening to her classmates. Her green card hung dutifully around her neck, even at the risk of her classmates calling her an “alien.”

“I got that taste of freedom right away,” she said.

She was in awe of the playgrounds and remembers feeling surprised that students could wear any color of clothing to school instead of the plain gray frocks she and her classmates wore at her public school in Belgium.

She spent almost every day after school with the family’s neighbor, Bill, so both of her parents could work. They worked not just to make ends meet, but to establish themselves within the American system.

When Dominique finally reached an important milestone – applying for citizenship – she did not hesitate to renounce her Belgian citizenship and become fully American.

Although my mother was born elsewhere and learned English as her fourth language, she said the United States gave her limitless opportunities and the freedom to pursue them. Because she believed in American values, she was welcomed into American culture irrespective of her foreign roots.

            When Borinstein asked Dominique about the current crisis at the southern border, her mother explained why the illegal immigration is a slap in the faces of those who come legally and hurtful to the illegal immigrants themselves.

It’s like a violation has happened because we were doing the right thing and working so hard to pay all this money. And now we’re just opening the door and letting people in who are getting all the same benefits.

Yes, we are a country made mostly of immigrants. But they came in a certain way and for a certain purpose. What is happening right now is undermining truly the pureness of what America stands for. If there is ever an unfairness, that’s it.

            Dominque is now 58, and she is still proud to be a citizen of the United States. “Illegal immigrants simply are robbed of the ability to be proud of coming to this country, working hard and earning their American citizenship.” Illegal immigrants must remain “in the shadows” of the nation and never fully reap the many blessings that America can offer. This is why the policies of the Biden administration are unfair to illegal immigrants.

            Dominque is only one person among millions who have followed the rules and entered America legally. Her perspective is different from those Americans who were born in the United States and have known freedom all their lives. Her outsider’s perspective is an important one to remember. Her experience reminds us that “the world views America as a place of endless opportunity” and “the American beacon of hope still outshines other countries around the globe.”