Immigration: When Left and Right Agree

Running a Problem versus solving it 

In the recent American presidential debates, Kamala Harris pointed out that Donald Trump had sabotaged a bi-partisan bill to add 1500 border guards on the US-Mexican border, and accused him of choosing to “run a problem rather than solve it.”  This is an interesting turn of phrase, and it struck me as an apt general description of a lot of democratic politics and politicians.  Choose just about any hot topic in the media these days and ask yourself, “Do the politicians you’ve heard/read about really want to solve the problem, or are they ‘running’ the problem in hopes of gaining points with the electorate while defaming their opponents?”  Consider immigration.

When Left and right agree

Recently (Sept .20, 2024) , an article entitled “Keep an Eye on the Canadian Border” in the Wall Street Journal (in what can safely be described as a right-wing perspective) described the problems created by the Canadian government’s liberalization of the Temporary Foreign Workers program.  Two weeks earlier (Sept. 5, 2024) on Tara Henley’s Lean Out podcast, her guest, Mike Moffatt, a self-described lefty, outlined problems with the same Temporary Foreign Workers program. 

No-one Is in favour of illegal immigration

No-one is in favour of illegal immigration:  not Conservatives or Liberals, neither the left nor the right, not the general citizenry, not legal immigrants, not asylum seekers or refugees, no-one.  Even illegal immigrants would wish that their numbers were less numerous, and they could immigrate legally.  The Temporary Foreign Workers conundrum offers an opportunity to reflect on immigration in general without  the distractions of ideology or post-colonial guilt, or messy discussions of walls or jailing children or sending asylum seekers home.

2.8 Million nonpermanent residents and growing

According to the WSJ article, “Canada currently has roughly 2.8 million nonpermanent residents who hold work permits.” These numbers are exacerbating Canada’s “severe housing shortages, rising unemployment rates, and ever-growing wait times for the national healthcare system.”  Moffatt generally concurred though his analysis was more detailed and nuanced. The shared conclusion is that the Canadian government has allowed the Temporary Foreign Workers program to get out of control.  Moffatt points out that “last year we had an increase of around 700,000 non-permanent residents.”  In the end, no-one benefits from the chaos.

Where Right and left diverge

Not to be too Pollyanna about left-right agreements:  the gist of the WSJ article is that the USA should prepare for an influx of potentially illegal immigrants on its northern border; particularly, around New York, Vermont and Maine, as the Canadian government attempts to put a sudden, Draconian cap on temporary foreign works, international students and nonpermanent residents. In contrast, Moffatt makes the salient point that the system creates a situation of near slavery for temporary foreign workers. The way the system works is that

 . . . when they [temporary workers] come over, their employment is tied to that specific employer. So if they lose their job, not only are they losing their job, they're sent home. They're essentially deported. So it creates the conditions where those workers will do whatever the employer asks them because they know if they push back, they're headed back home. It's a very exploitative system.

Immigration Benefits us all

Immigration is a net benefit to the nation.  Once again left and right agree.  It grows the economy, fills gaps in the workforce, and ensures a prosperous future for us all--especially in a country like Canada.  It also behooves us to be compassionate and responsive when the circumstances warrant, but no-one benefits when the system is allowed to run amuck.