Dear Nephew,
Forgive the letter format, but it’s easier for me to type with all ten fingers than just my thumbs.
Before I begin, I want to be transparent about my feelings regarding immigration.
In 1936, my father and his family applied for a green card to immigrate to the United States. My great uncle Max had illegally immigrated to the U.S. in 1914 and became a citizen in 1936. That year, he returned to Austria to visit his family and convinced my grandfather they needed to leave Europe before the next war. At the time, strict immigration quotas imposed by the isolationist Republican Party allowed only 10,000 green cards per year for people born in Poland. Despite being sponsored by a U.S. citizen with financial backing, my father’s family didn’t receive a green card until November 1939—two months after the war in Europe began. They left Austria in December 1939, just before the borders closed. Had they not made it out, they likely would have perished in the concentration camps like millions of others.
Our immigration system was broken then and as a result millions died ( see MS St. Louis – Wikipedia) I can’t and we shouldn’t forget that when I talk about immigration..
But let’s start somewhere else maybe in an area where we agree. The country desperately needs systemic immigration reform. The current system doesn’t meet business needs or offer a fair, efficient process for those seeking legal entry. Both parties have failed to pass meaningful legislation, and we must hold them accountable.
That said, the Biden administration did gain bipartisan support for a border reform package. It would have legally closed the border if crossings rose above a certain threshold, reformed the asylum process, and dedicated significant resources to manage the border. That legislation was killed by Donald Trump and his supporters—not because it was flawed, but so he could campaign on an anti-immigration platform.
You might argue that legislation wasn’t needed—look what Trump has done in just eight weeks in office. The issue is, much of that activity oversteps legal bounds or is outright unlawful. That’s why there are currently 151 lawsuits pending against the government for its actions. I don’t have time to dive into all of them, but here are two that really bother me.
First, Trump signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship. The problem? The 14th Amendment explicitly guarantees it. So why propose something so blatantly unconstitutional? My guess: red meat for a base hungry to demonize immigrants. But you’d have to ask him.
Second, an executive order revoked asylum protections for 530,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. These individuals had been granted two-year humanitarian parole under the prior administration, allowing entry with the support of sponsors. What do you think will happen when they’re sent back to their home countries? I doubt they’ll be welcomed with flowers and chocolates. More likely: prison, persecution, and soul-crushing oppression.
It’s unnecessary. It’s vindictive. It’s cruel. It’s fundamentally un-American.
Trump’s immigration approach has also damaged the United States’ standing in the world. This morning, the Brazilian news outlet UOL reported on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posing with half-naked, shaved-head Venezuelan prisoners in El Salvador. It slammed the current administration and ended with this quote:
“David Frum, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush, posted a warning on social media: ‘Almost every major action Trump has taken is intentionally illegal. Trump is betting that the U.S. democratic system is too broken to stop him. He assumes, to use a phrase, “All we have to do is kick in the door and the whole edifice will crumble.” It’s time for the test.’
The U.S.’s 240-year-old democratic experiment is under threat.”
Combine that with Trump treating tariffs like Halloween candy—trick or treat, everyone gets something—and you get a foreign policy that has extinguished the glow of American exceptionalism. We’re no longer the shining city on a hill; we’re the shadow others are trying to avoid.
There is an economic consequence to all of this—actually, many—but I’m going to focus on one: tourism. The international tourism industry supports 1.7 million U.S. jobs and generates over $225 billion a year in revenue. Yet the way some international visitors have been treated—jailed for weeks without cause—has chilled that industry:
Trump’s main argument for his immigration crackdown—economic strain—falls apart in other ways. He claims undocumented immigrants bring crime and are a drain on public resources like education, law enforcement, and healthcare. In North Carolina, where there are an estimated 500,000 undocumented immigrants, some figures suggest a net cost of $2.45 billion, accounting for taxes paid versus services received.
Yes, that’s a significant burden—but it ignores the broader economic contribution of those workers. They spend most of their income locally, driving demand in:
- Groceries
- Housing
- Transportation
- Retail and services
Using a conservative multiplier (1.5 to 1.8 is typical for low-wage spending), their broader economic impact is:
$7.54 billion × 1.6 = ~$12.06 billion in total economic activity.
This doesn’t include industries like agriculture, hospitality, food service, and construction—already facing labor shortages. Removing these workers would mean higher prices, reduced hours, or outright closures.
Here’s my point: the economic case for mass deportation crumbles. These workers contribute far more than they cost.
Which raises another question: why hasn’t the Trump administration targeted the companies hiring undocumented workers?
It’s like the war on drugs. The DEA realized that arresting users doesn’t work, so they started targeting the cartels. Similarly, if businesses weren’t hiring undocumented workers, fewer people would risk crossing the border.
If immigration were truly a priority, the administration would be cracking down on employers—not scapegoating vulnerable individuals.
Speaking of crime, another argument made by Fox News and the administration is that the undocumented bring crime. That claim is entirely specious. According to the American Immigration Council and other reliable sources, crime rates actually drop in communities with undocumented immigrants. U.S.-born citizens are:
- Twice as likely to commit violent crimes
- 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes
- Four times more likely to commit property crimes
Sources:
So if the Trump administration’s rationale—crime and economics—is unfounded, why persist with these policies? For a definitive answer, you’d have to ask him. But I have a theory: scapegoating.
Scapegoating is the act of blaming individuals or groups for problems they didn’t cause—often for political gain. History is littered with examples. It’s a tactic used to avoid hard work and policy-making and instead rally a base through fear.
Which brings me back to the beginning. Yes, we have a border problem. Yes, our borders must be secure for safety and national well-being. But that doesn’t come from building a wall that people can climb over. It doesn’t come from vilifying a group of people who came here—yes, without documentation—but to work for employers who knowingly hire them.
Solving this problem requires research and hard conversations. It means listening to diverse perspectives and forging bipartisan, lasting solutions.
That’s the hard work Trump has avoided—because his goal isn’t to solve the problem. His goal is to use it for political power. And to do that, he needs a scapegoat, not a solution.
But that is just what I think.
NBL
Blame it on Rio 