It takes an uncritical mindset to oppose something as basic and sensible as border security.
Despite the obvious importance of keeping out illegal immigrants, many people have been duped into thinking that securing the border is unacceptable, without being able to articulate why. The best they can muster is that it is … racist?
Fortunately, there is a simple tried-and-true way to get out of this silly opinion: the Socratic method. Getting to the center of this dilemma requires you to do some basic critical thinking, to ask questions about the topic to reach the right answers.
How do you know what kinds of people are crossing over illegally? You may hear that they are all simply war-torn families seeking asylum, but how do you know they are telling the truth? With little to no identification or verification, could they not just as easily be families as child traffickers, convicted criminals, or even terrorists?
Why do you assume that every foreigner crossing over illegally thinks the way you do and believes the same things you do? Groups have fought each other over the smallest differences, such as their geographical positions or their ethnicities. Do you really think that there are no people outside America who hate you for things out of your control?
What reasons do illegal immigrants have to follow any laws while in America? Their first step across the border itself is breaking a law. From the moment they enter, they are lawbreakers. If they are willing to ignore our border laws, how many other laws are they willing to break? What incentives do they have to resist attempting to break other laws if we allow them to break just some?
Would you trust multiple strangers entering your home while you are sleeping, even if they claimed they were good people? Would you shrug and go back to bed comfortably with them there? Would you be willing to let them take up your living spaces and eat your food without paying a single cent? Do you think it is safe for them to sleep next door to your family members?
How is any of this fair to legal immigrants? Hundreds of thousands of foreigners work very hard and go through actual struggles to prove that they genuinely want to live in and contribute to the well-being of America. They spend years studying our language and customs to earn the privilege of becoming one of us. Why is it fair that others who have zero interest in America or its people should get a free pass for everything?
Despite these concerns, why does the Democratic Party only want to give illegal immigrants citizenship once they have already entered the country illegally? Is it not strange that they are given equal status as those who entered legally minus the hard work and training to become a devoted member of society? Would these illegal immigrants not express their gratitude to the Democratic Party come election season?
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Notice how this method requires hardly any research to reach the obvious conclusions. All it takes is rationally thinking through basic questions related to open borders.
Border security is a commonsense matter. Opposing it either implies a lack of common sense or ulterior motives. For the average citizen, it is almost certainly, and hopefully, the former. Just take some time to think it through, and surely the right answers will come.
Parker Miller is a 2024 Washington Examiner Winter Fellow.