The real crisis is not a ‘border crisis’

By the Editors

In a recent article in Common Dreams, Jessica Corbett described how U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to social media March 30 about the root causes of Central Americans and other migrants seeking asylum at the United States’ southern border.

“It’s not a border crisis,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “It’s an imperialism crisis. It’s a climate crisis. It’s a trade crisis. And also, it’s a carceral crisis, because as I have already said, even during this term and this president, our immigration system is based and designed on our carceral system.”

“Then we have the issues of trade, which economically contribute to… some of these conditions that add fuel to the fire,” Ocasio-Cortez said further.

The congresswoman put out the videos as critics have raised questions about how the Biden administration is processing asylum-seekers at the southern border—particularly children.

Ocasio-Cortez said that America’s “interventionist history. . . over decades of destabilizing regions drives people to migrate.” She added that the U.S. has disproportionately contributed to the climate crisis, which is also causing migration.

She also said, “Our immigration system is built on a carceral framework,” and called for boldly “reimagining our relationship to each other. . . .” Ocasio-Cortez called for creating a special status for climate refugees, and for eliminating the Department of Homeland Security and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

In a similar vein, Fernando García, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights, issued a statement in February that says in part:

“This idea of an ‘immigration crisis’ caused by an influx of migrants to our southern border is not only false but also a testament to the ugly legacy of the Trump administration . . . The truth is, border communities are, in fact, facing many crises: the crisis of COVID-19; the crisis of police brutality; the crisis of family separation and child detention; and the crisis of white supremacy and xenophobia, among others. Border communities have endured the most harmful effects of the Trump administration’s cruelest policies against immigrants, and as such, we know that the answer to solving these crises is not turning away people seeking safe haven at our borders or furthering criminalizing immigrant communities and new arrivals.

“Migration is not the problem. Immigrants are not the problem. Our broken immigration system is. We call on the Biden administration to fulfill the promises they made and address the root problems by fixing our broken immigration system and passing comprehensive and inclusive immigration reform. This includes immediately ending cruel Trump-era immigration policies. . . and building the necessary infrastructure to process asylum claims, address the needs of families seeking safe haven at our borders, and help them fully integrate into our communities.

“Additionally, the Biden administration must act to demilitarize the U.S.-Mexico border, end family separation and detention, and instead focus on fortifying and creating pathways to lawful status for all immigrants, including the more than 11 million undocumented people who call our country home.”