The dictionary in my head defines “migration” as the act of moving from one geographical location—sometimes seasonal and sometimes permanent—to another. Migration has been occurring in many living species throughout geological history for many reasons.

The reasons can be as simple as needing to find better environments for survival, simple curiosity to see what it’s like “over there,” exploitation, or to move for better living conditions. It important to remember if we are not of Native American descent, we are all immigrants. And even Native Americans came here from somewhere else thousands of years ago.

Today there are mass migration attempts of people from Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East mostly to Western Europe. Caribbean, South and Central American, and Mexican citizens are attempting to move north to the United States.

This is for the same reasons it has always happened. People want to survive and make better lives for themselves and their descendants or to escape crime or persecution.

The development of computers, the internet, and cell phones has only made their quest more urgent since people from all over lesser developed and/or crime-ridden countries can see all the opportunities and riches that occupants of the more developed and open countries are enjoying—and they want to share in the same. This is now resulting in massive humanitarian crises as immigrants are massing at rich and mostly free countries’ borders.

So now there is a dilemma. What should be done? One faction of legal citizens wants to “wall in” their countries and keep immigrants out. Another wants to find a way to let more immigrants in and some simply don’t know what to do. These divergent views are most evident in the way elected officials are now acting on or proposing some sort of less-than-comprehensive solutions.

1. Lost in this, in my view, are the real problems that need to be resolved to bring some sense to the immigration issue. They are:

2. Great inequities in wealth distribution throughout the world.

3. Unchecked crime and corruption in the countries immigrants are fleeing from.

4. Extreme poverty and lack of education in those same countries.

5. Famine due to item 2 as well as the changes occurring in the world’s climate.

6. Stupidity resulting from differing rigid religious beliefs.

7. Lust for power and control by some countries and their leaders.

Now the real problem is for legislators to recognize these issues and try to make some changes in how they can better help lesser developed or corrupt countries change their circumstances so their own citizens want to stay home.

If the United States and other rich countries would take the monies spent building walls and apprehending, prosecuting, and housing “illegal” immigrants, and instead find a way to change people’s lives in their own countries, a lot of the reasons for leaving would be eliminated.

Now I know some people will say this is not possible and want to simply keep immigrants out, but something has to change.

I realize the countries that illegal immigrants are fleeing from are sovereign nations, and more powerful countries can’t simply go in and solve the problems without diplomatic negotiations and agreement, but it is imperative to try.

Without real thought-out strategies, and without recognizing that the United States southern border crisis is the result of problems in immigrants’ home countries, the crisis will continue. If the United States and other developed nations cannot get their political houses in order the world is in for a pretty rough and dangerous future that may not be far off. In the meantime, the costs politically, financially, and emotionally are enormous and not being resolved.

In conclusion, solve the problems in countries that immigrants are fleeing from, and the border crisis will be reduced and better managed.

Ken Kaiyala
6-26-18