Here in Lewis County, children and families are suffering because of the government shutdown. Federal agencies in Southwest Washington employ many rural workers: Forest Service, Geological Survey (monitoring active volcanoes!), NOAA Fisheries, the Coast Guard, Department of Agriculture and National Park Service, to name a few.
Holding families hostage for a border wall shows disloyalty to these employees’ patriotic service. Mortgages need to be paid. Children need dinner. So, how will you fix it?
Republicans and Democrats are so divided about the border wall that we have forgotten the admirable moral values that led us to these positions. For example, Republicans value the sanctity of our nation and respect for authority. They want to see immigrants enter the right way, in accordance with the legal process.
They also prioritize safety and see rare acts of violence perpetrated by illegal immigrants as a violation of our constitutional right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
On the other side, Democrats value care, protection, and equality for all people, even non-Americans, so they want people fleeing treacherous situations in unsafe homelands to have a fair way to seek safety in the United States.
We can honor values on both sides and come to a compromise.
For Republicans, honor the values of safety, patriotism and respect for authority by installing some sections of border fence where U.S. Customs and Border Protection deems them most helpful in stemming illegal immigration.
Include technological surveillance measures and an increase in agent capacity, and you accomplish two things: You satisfy Republican desires for a tight border, but you also respect Democrats’ wishes for people to be treated humanely, by finding and rescuing desperate migrants before they perish in the desert.
Finally, honor the mutually held values of fairness and due process by adding more immigration judges and agents at the ports of entry, so that asylum seekers with children can enter as they arrive and stay in the U.S. while they wait for a hearing.
Please pass a compromise package now, so my friends and family can get back to work.
Amelia Donahey
Randle
