It’s Time to Solve the Real Crisis at the Border

We have seen a surge of migrants at the southern border this year, but the crisis at our borders has been around for decades. In fact, migration from Central America because of rising instability in the region goes back to the 1980s. Since then, we have continued to see a surge of migrants at the southern border at various points in time.

There are several reasons why migrants are fleeing their countries in seek of a better life, including economic hardship, government corruption, crime, gang violence and severe weather resulting from climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic coupled with recent severe weather events has only intensified these longstanding issues leading to the spike we see now.

Several proposals are being considered by federal lawmakers and policymakers. Earlier this year, President Biden proposed $4 billion in funding to address the root causes of the surge in Central America. Moreover, just last week, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators met to discuss a possible path forward on an immigration reform bill to help address the surge.

As Congress and the Administration consider proposals to solve the problem, it is critical that politics is put aside to find a path forward on comprehensive immigration reform. To address this challenge, we must find bipartisan solutions that will get to the root of the problem: the true reason people are fleeing.

This edition of Inside Story will examine the root causes of the migration crisis and explore some of the solutions to address them.

–Gloria Story Dittus, Chairman, Story Partners