As we reflect on the border disaster of the last four years, we are hopeful about the period ahead. Before us lies an opportunity to implement a fair and manageable immigration policy. But we also remain soberly realistic about the work that needs to be done and the challenges remaining.
The voters have delivered a mandate to reverse the disastrous anti-borders policy of the Biden/Bush/Obama/Cheney neoliberal perspective. The incoming administration has pledged to secure the border and will rely heavily on our expertise to accomplish this vitally important task. It is a daunting but achievable undertaking that will restore order and save lives.
But in addition to addressing illegal immigration, the Trump administration and Congress must also decide how many foreigners we should admit legally to live among us, and how to select them. On this fundamental question, there is no consensus within last month’s winning coalition. The same elite/public gap exists as it did before, with many prominent voices favoring continued high levels – or even higher levels – of legal immigration.
Here is where the Center’s work is arguably more important than ever. We are the only think tank that has consistently and thoroughly made the case for immigration moderation: a slowing of the record-breaking pace of new arrivals so that wages can rise, welfare rolls can shrink, and the forces of assimilation can knit us all more closely together. This is the will of the American people but properly making the case for it in Washington is detailed and nuanced work that only the Center provides.
Over the past four years our prodigious output of thousands of reports, testimonies, articles, and commentaries was used by members of Congress, judges, state and local policymakers, law enforcement officials, academics, and other writers and researchers to try to mitigate the damage done by a reckless administration. Now our work will be relied on by key officials within the new administration (perhaps including some from our staff) who will directly influence the direction our nation takes on this critical issue.
Thank you for sticking with us as we navigated the most challenging immigration years in our nation’s history. We could not have done it without you. Now we are asking you to stay with us as we seek to bring our shared goals to fruition. On this Giving Tuesday, invest in America with a tax-deductible donation in support of this important work.