Sorry Donald: 'BORDER SECURITY' is NOT the CORE ISSUE'

Where have all the leaders gone?  Gone to tangents, every one.   When will they ever learn?  When will they ever learn?

It seems to me that we are experiencing a tremendous lack of depth in dealing with issues like comprehensive immigration policy and solving problems like illegal crossings on our southern border.  For a moment, recall the difference:  

An issue is a controversial topic that inspires and perhaps requires research, debate and possible judgment; maybe some resolution. EXAMPLE: “The Electoral College is an institution that should be abolished.” 

A problem is more than a controversial statement; it revolves around an existing reality causing pain, harm, hardship, disturbance or distress that demands or requires some sort of resolution or correction.  Choosing to cross our borders illegally certainly is creating problems that need to be resolved, but the solutions need to be found in the context of a comprehensive Naturalization plan and in accord with democratic and humane values. 

It occurs to me we are lacking certain items needed as guides for approaching issues and problems: items like focus, research and clarity, plus discovery of as many problematic aspects of an issue as possible.  However, what we may be missing the most is leadership that periodically re-focuses our attention, reminding us about the central truth of issues and problems, and the core values we should bring to them.  

In my opinion, Martin Luther King, Jr., was just such a leader.  Today, we rightly celebrate his contributions to clarifying the issues that divide us along racial lines, and addressing by direct non-violent confrontation the problems arising from that division. More recently, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were able to fulfill that role of reminding us of core issues and core values that have continually informed and guided our deliberations and actions as a democratic society.  Currently, we may begin to look at leaders like Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ('AOC') for these qualities.

Today, leaders on the Far Right are different. Chaos, bullying and violence seem to have taken over.  Issues are generally contrived to fit a pre-conceived extremist agenda and ideology.  Problems are defined to fit those contrived issues and then exploited to establish fear, anxiety and blind allegiance among a loyal base of followers.  Core values of long-standing – like truth, rule of law and equal justice – are denigrated or abandoned.  Take the controversial issue of immigration policy as an example.

What would you say is the core of this issue?  In terms of most of our nation's pressing issues, we should probably start by looking to the Constitution to focus our attention on what the Congress (and other branches of government) are called to do.  

Article I, Section 8 has a very simple answer:  the Congress has the power (and therefore the responsibility) “to establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization,” and indeed, has the power to “ make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States…”

There are some other clues to this issue when we look to other Articles and Sections, particularly in relation to qualifications for federal offices (emphases are mine):

:

Article II, Section 1 indicates that no person except a natural born citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of the constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.”  Further, it is noted that eligible candidates must have “been fourteen years a resident of the United States.”  

Article I, Section 2 says no person “shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a Citizen of the United States….”  

Article 1, Section 3 says:  No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a Citizen of the United States…”

 Section 9 of this same Article allowed states to decide to import slaves (although that word is not used) without interference by Congress until 1808; a tax on such imports was allowed.  

the 14^th Amendment (July 9, 1868) guaranteed “due process” to any citizen denied the rights and immunities of citizens.  Furthermore, the 1st section of this amendment says “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

At a minimum, then, it would appear that the Constitution calls for:

1)    a uniform rule or policy governing the process of Naturalization, which would have to mean “becoming a citizen” since other sections use citizenship in the context of “acquiring” that status in order to vote or to run for office

2)    the use of the word “naturalization” rather than ‘immigration’ or ‘migration’ implies a comprehensive rule or policy/procedure of becoming a citizen, since naturalization is spoken of elsewhere as being necessary to run for office after having been a citizen for a certain length of time. 

3)    it is of major importance to emphasize that our Constitution guarantees the right of “due process,” not just to citizens but to any person within this nation’s jurisdiction; thus, it would appear that any person with their feet planted on our soil – whether illegal entrant or not – is entitled to that process: i.e. the right to be heard and to receive fair treatment through the normal judicial system

4)    a ‘uniform Naturalization Rule’ or Policy would therefore fall short if it did not address a variety of subjects that all point the way to citizenship.

At this point, it might behoove us to take a “deeper dive” into the policies and procedures of other countries to determine their various approaches to this ‘path to citizenship.’  I do not choose to take on that chore at the moment.  However, as an example of what needs to happen, I take this example from our neighbors to the north:  Canada.

“There are two main paths to citizenship in Canada. One way is to obtain a permanent residence visa. The other way is to come to Canada on a temporary work permit.

"What does it mean to be a Canadian Permanent Resident? Once you are issued a Canada Immigration Visa for permanent residency, you have most of the same rights and obligations as Canadian citizens. As the name suggests, you may hold this status indefinitely, so long as you accumulate 2 years of residency days in each 5-year period. After 3 years of Canadian residency, you may apply for Canadian citizenship. Canada recognizes dual citizenship, so you do not have to give up your current passport.

There are 6 main categories of Canadian Immigration. The categories are Federal Skilled Worker, Quebec Skilled Worker, Provincial Nominee Program, Family Sponsorship, Business Immigrant and Canadian Experience Class. Each category caters to a slightly different group of immigrants, and comes with its own set of requirements. You can also come to Canada under the Asylum category or the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.” (read more at https://www.monster.ca/career-advice/article/a-guide-to-canadian-immigration)

All I am saying here is that researching the depths of issues and problems is a necessity if we are to be informed proponents and recipients of effective, efficient, ethical, equitable and excellent legislation, policy-making and governmental behavior. 

At this moment in our history, we are not being afforded the importance of governmental processes that go to the heart of the matters affecting our lives.  We are the captives and victims of political party ideology and of elected officials whose main purpose for holding office seems to be the rewards and perks that the office can render.  We are caught in the grip of political leaders who seem to have little or no understanding of the mission of government, the purposes for which it exists or the outcomes it should, and should not, pursue. 

Donald Trump is the epitome of that lack of depth and perception, and his followers and sycophants are no better.  Instead of leaders who might guide us toward the realm of real issues and real problems, we are beset with a plethora of invented, inverted, incomprehensible, indescribable tangents that are constructed for the inappropriate manipulation of a base of voters who appear to have limited knowledge or comprehension of what government can do, or should do, as guardians of our democracy, our society and our very lives. 

Critical thinking and in-depth research are not their forte, and without such, we could be doomed to more unethical and abusive tactics like using separation of families at our borders and placing the separated children into detention camps in order to discourage other families from coming to our borders.  Or, we could again experience the non-constitutional shut-down of government as an acceptable means for forcing the appropriation of enough billions of wasted tax money to fund another disaster like a medieval wall on our southern border.  The strong white nationalist beliefs of the Trump minions have led us to the myth that Mexican (and other Latino immigrants) will steal jobs, will steal our property, steal our tax money through welfare payments, and are criminals to begin with.  Such authoritarian rhetoric and tactics are touted as perfectly acceptable solutions for tackling border security problems.  For a president of the US to spout such vitriol, and to use such tactics, is demeaning to us all.

“Latinos have been in North America for longer than English speakers. The Hispanic influence can be felt everywhere from the names of our cities and states, to the food we eat.  Few people, however, know what a major impact Latinos have had on the course of U.S. history. Hispanics have played a role in several key events since the War of Independence itself — helping to establish and preserve the union, defend the country in war, and strengthen the national economy during peace.” (HuffingtonPost.com)

To reject a population of Latino people who have not only been contributing recently to our country’s welfare but are descendants of people who helped to found and build many of the communities in those border states and elsewhere, is but one horrendous example of false nationalistic beliefs that plague our lives and threaten our values. 

Latinos are a people of art, song and music that enervates our society; this is a people of strong family traditions that bind generations together to build strong communities; this is a people who have been our allies in many of our darkest moments; this is a people who have labored at needed jobs like farm-work and home-building to help maintain a strong economy; and this is a people who have given us both men and women who have led us forward in the quest for a better life for all, like the early Governor of Louisiana,  Bernardo de Galvez, who played a key role in helping George Washington, or Cesar Chavez of more modern times, who organized Latino farm workers, or Ms. A. O. Cortez who is the youngest member elected to Congress.

With this brief, but necessary, sidebar, let us return to our main concern.  We are being led astray from important issues and problems-to-be-solved by the incompetence and chaos coming from a pretend president and a Republican Party devoid of real leadership, moral integrity and in-depth legislation.  

One of those policy issues has to do with, not just immigration, but Naturalization.  The Constitution calls us to plan a comprehensive path to citizenship and we are instead consumed at this moment with building a border wall, keeping Mexicans out of our country, and trying to get government functioning again.  What a shame.

The issue is not the Wall; the issue is not criminal or violent behavior from illegal immigrants; the issue is not government shut-down.  The issue revolves around our nation’s need for a comprehensive Plan for Naturalization.  We need to define that issue more succinctly by answering some critical questions:

·       How do we go about providing paths to citizenship that fulfill constitutional guidelines, protect our borders to the extent required, and provide a reasonable, fair and helpful process to immigrants and asylum-seekers? 

·       How do we balance our need for certain workers and professionals with our obligations to be humanitarian regarding refugees and asylum-seekers? 

     What do we want the process of comprehensive Naturalization to look like? 

o   What talents and skills do we need? 

o   What jobs do we need filled?

o   What professionals do we need because we’re not producing them? 

o   What do we need and how do we choose to fulfill those needs? 

+  What do we offer as incentives to needed immigrants?

·       

      At the same time, what is the appropriate response to illegal crossing of our borders?

·       What do we do about those migrants seeking asylum since we have supported it as a universal right through the signing of a UN protocol?

·       And just what is an equitable and fair way to approach the question of how long  one has to wait to conclude that path to citizenship?  Canada seems to think it should be a much shorter process.  And, if you were paying attention, it appeared that the founding writers of our  Constitution felt someone shouldn’t have to wait forever to be able to be declared a citizen and thus be able to run for office! 

So just what does the building of a wall and the made-up crisis of ‘criminals’ gathering at our southern border have to do with a comprehensive Naturalization Plan?  

Well, they are not the main issue or focus of what Congress and the Executive are called to do.  They are tangents, diversions, bamboozlers – meant to appease the Right-wing nationalists and to frustrate the majority in this country who recognize the travesty being perpetrated upon us.  When Trump expressed approval a short time ago for a bi-partisan deal that passed both House and Senate, and then reneged because right-wing talk show hosts told him to, we gained a clear vision of what drives this pretender and his followers:  authoritarian ideological purity is what drives these despotic nationalists.  The needs and problems of the People always take a back-seat to their nationalistic fabricated viewpoints and talking points.

Currently, any movement toward welcoming immigrants to our shores seems to be a negative as far as Trump and his sympathizers are concerned.  They emphasize a belief that letting certain foreigners (Islamists, Latinos, and leftists) in will rob us of jobs, invite a crime wave, and loose terrorists on our society.  Declaring that this is a national crisis, possibly a national emergency -- a threat to our security, economy and way of life-- does not make it so, especially when no amount of proof accompanies such ‘revelations.’

The Democrats in the House are right to oppose this wall and to stand by their double- track process of re-opening government first and then dealing with border security.  But, the Democrats in both chambers must also work to change the narrative from 'border security' to "paths to citizenship" and call for a comprehensive Naturalization Plan and Policy.

 Let’s get the focus back where it belongs; do the necessary in-depth research and then come up with a Plan and a process by which the problems that grow out of the main issue of path to citizenship can be resolved.  As part of that new dialogue, more modern (and humane) means of border security can be researched and funded appropriately within the boundaries of our values and democratic process.

Don’t be led astray (“bamboozled”) by the charlatan posing as a president.  FOCUS on the core issue, CHANGE the NARRATIVE, and RESOLVE the REAL PROBLEMS ! 

WALL & SHUT-DOWN Make Grab for Despotic Powers but Solve Nothing

The warning signs have been there for some time.  I cautioned readers before Trump was even nominated for president by the somnambulant GOP (see my blog postings of 11/21/2015; 11/30/2015; 1/22/2016; 3/22/2016) that he was an unprincipled man (10/22/2016), a Darwinian strong man (11/17/2015) who knows nothing other than winning and losing – during which battles it is always important to him to denigrate and belittle opponents.  More importantly, I drew your attention to the kind of authoritarian activities we could expect from this man who has himself said that he “loves” certain dictators. 

In my two-part Blog of 11/23/2016, I drew upon a study to show a direct connection between the actions of dictatorial and tyrannical leaders and the actions that Trump has taken; to values and behaviors that define him and many others who have walked on the fascist side of the political spectrum.

 And now, here we are at a milestone in Trump’s journey toward complete control of government.  He is doing what he has always done:  he is using legally constituted authority and structures of government in order to tear down those same structures and to build an imperial presidency.  In the meantime, we the People are being completely bamboozled by the manufactured debate that is taking place over fanciful made-up issues and problems that are being foisted upon us.  For instance, he has manufactured a non-existent national crisis in order to shut-down the government.  That is the action of a third-world dictator and does not bode well for our form of government. 
CAUTIONARY NOTE: is there any chance that Trump is taking aim at laying aside the presidential election of 2020 by claiming a national security emergency?

Whatever do I mean?  Unfortunately, we seem to have forgotten the context of this whole debacle, and others he has created.  This is NOT primarily about a WALL or a NATIONAL EMERGENCY or a GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN.  This is about what Trump has promoted all along: the de-construction (actually, the destruction) of the administrative state replaced by the authoritarian power of his office.  This is why Trump has paid attention to people like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh for counsel, and praised and accommodated Putin, Kim Jong-un, the Saudi royal family, and President Xi Jinping of China for their friendship and possible collusion.    

(NOTE: Vice-President Pence just gave public thanks to Rush Limbaugh for his guidance and his continuing fight for just such de-construction). 

To make de-construction work, Trump brought Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon into the Oval office as special advisors on this very policy.  Miller is still there and still leading the charge on how to make de-construction work.  Guess what?  It’s happening (see my Blog of 11/23/2016).

We must stop fooling ourselves.  This ‘shut-down’ of government is not related primarily to a “national crisis” or a budgetary issue, or even to use as a budgetary tactic to force funding of the wall.  The wall is a diversionary tactic to convince his base that there is something critical to fear at our southern border because he so desperately needs their support now and in 2020 when he could call another national security crisis and lay aside the presidential election so he can "protect us" by continuing in office beyond his term. 


The mainstream media keeps focusing on the effects of the shut down on federal workers, federal contractors and peripheral vendors.  In my opinion, the focus should be on the effects this shut-down may have on the nature of our form of government. The aim of this shutdown is very narrow, and Trump doesn’t care that around 800,000 federal workers plus contractors will suffer inconvenience and financial difficulties as one of the outcomes of it.  “Tough Luck” might serve to characterize his response since he seems to have no recognition of the short-term consequences, or the “doomsday scenario” he may have created by a possible prolonged shut-down of certain government functions and services (read more about the doomsday scenario at NBC News on msn.com).

Former Republican congressman David Jolly from Florida has perhaps put his finger on one of the short-term reasons for this particular shut-down: if the Democrats in House and Senate continue to oppose money for the Wall and money for re-opening the government, Trump can act to re-open the government himself and become a heroic deliverer of paychecks to the 800,000+ government workers, contractors, grantees even though he was the devil who closed it down in the first place. 

Thus, Trump will be able to claim another win because he can tell his base he fought for the Wall (and will continue to do so).  Then he will load the blame for it all on the Dems, taking credit for a resolution of the shut-down because the Dems would not.  Trump is in control of this manipulation because that is how he has always done business.  He has manipulated the immigration laws, the courts, the tax system and anything else that he can use to his advantage. 

So, let’s take stock of some Trump wins on his journey toward heading a fascist, totalitarian government using the structures and institutions that currently exist:

·       converted the Republican Party to an instrument of his will and his platform (begun in earnest when the Party platform was changed to replace condemnation of Russia regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine)

·       captured the Congress and intimidated and denigrated any member who opposed him

·       captured the majority on the SCOTUS by manipulating the process of approval of Cavanaugh as a Justice; has also packed the lower courts with his conservative right-wing appointees

·       established national scapegoats by directing certain groups of immigrants as inadmissible and unworthy: “Islamist terrorists” and Mexican “illegals” and criminals for example

·       attacked the credibility of the FBI and the CIA thus denuding the agencies that are supposedly in place to assure that the law is followed, and that security is in place

·       appointed fellow travelers to lead de-construction of federal agencies who had previously opposed, criticized or suggested budgets be cut drastically; such appointees have done considerable damage to the EPA, FDA, DoE, DOJ, Homeland Security, and consumer protection boards, to name a few

·       attacked government programs and governmental insurances like Social Security, Medicare, Food Stamps, Housing assistance, and help for populations with special needs and many others;

·       sought to end affordable health care program; succeeded in removing or reducing certain provisions that went to its essence of consumer ability to afford adequate health care; such action also went to the heart of de-construction of federal government as the guardian of the People’s welfare

·       separated children from their parents and families at the southern border as a threat to illegal immigrants that zero tolerance is our nation’s policy, and if they come across the border illegally, or even seeking the right of asylum, there will be a horrific price to pay in having children kidnapped by authorities and sent to detention centers where conditions are not good. 

And that’s not all:  Trump has had success in:

§  maintaining support of his base no matter what he does;

§  diverting attention from every issue that might hurt him; including the Mueller investigation

§  cutting taxes (at least for a five-year period) for some middle-class wage-earners while giving the wealthy >1% enormous permanent tax breaks and subsidies

§  cutting the ground out from under career professionals in government; instituting a hiring freeze, and now a government shut-down that will further cause the ‘de-construction’ of federal employee unions whose power he had previously curtailed by Executive orders;

§  asserting that a sitting President cannot be indicted although explicit constitutional language is nowhere found that would support such a claim

§  acquiring added power to rule by Executive Order and private ‘tweets’

§  refusing to reveal his business interests and his tax returns

§  maintaining connection with his business organization even though a blind trust should have been established;

§  escaping laws that govern receiving of emoluments from foreign governments

§  not being held to federal campaign finance laws, even though he paid prostitutes to keep quiet in order not to affect his election

§  allowing his children to work for him in the oval office, although such behavior is against rules governing nepotism in certain circumstances

§  allowing his children to campaign for him in violation of the federal Hatch Act.

§  closing down the government in order to force the Congress to appropriate around $6 million to build the wall on the southern border

§  And now embarking upon a campaign to convince his base that building a wall on our southern border will be the one thing that will control illegal immigration, drug traffic and the trafficking of children as well as the rising crime wave of supposed undocumented immigrants who are rapists, murderers, terrorists and thieves in our communities.

In relation to the problem-solving method we introduced in the last Blog posting:  The Trump administration has constructed this problem of a national crisis at our southern borders without ever studying, researching, delineating or defining the real problem(s) that exist.  The simplest explanation is that Trumpets do not have a clue as to how to define or solve problems; or, perhaps, they are simply not able to recognize anything except lies, fabrications, hallucinations, or ideology built on those false assumptions.  To wit:

 The Trump minions, including Limbaugh, Hannity, Ingraham, and all the other twits on conservative talk radio or TV, are captives of an ideology based on hyperbole that they cannot prove, but can make sound good enough to bamboozle and control their followers by twisting general statistics, limited anecdotes, and studies skewed by biases and prejudices.

So, instead of gathering real statistics and stories from immigrants, border patrols, residences of areas near the border; as well as input from governments, businesses and officials, they take their “facts” from partisan institutes and organizations committed to a conservative cause or principle, and make that their “truth”

For instance, what hard data (statistics, experiments, studies, electronic surveillance, etc.) and soft data (interviews, surveys, questionnaires, polls, etc.) exist to inform a problem statement that makes sense?  As far as I know, not a lot because these forms of evidence are eschewed by this administration and the so-called conservative commentators.  They prefer personal opinion, vitriol, invective, uncorroborated stories, along with speculation and hyperbole in forming problems and crises that correspond with their already made-up problems and issues.

So, let us conclude with two questions:

v What are the authentic problems confronting us on our southern border? 

v Is ‘border security’ the problem or is border security simply an issue with many contributory problems that need to be defined and resolved?

 An ‘issue’ related to law or politics is defined as: “a point in question or dispute between contending parties; also: “something proceeding from any source as a product, effect, result or consequence.” A “problem” is simply “a question proposed for solution or discussion”, or “any question or matter involving doubt, uncertainty or difficulty.”

If I interpret this correctly, an issue may be controversial and contentious, perhaps requiring discussion and debate between contending parties, but the important kernel of the definition is that the issue proceeds from a source.  It does not stand alone without a source or cause.  In other words, an issue such as border security has something behind it that should be discovered and investigated in order to be properly and fully contended and debated. Perhaps in another context – such as medicine – the issue might equate to a symptom or symptoms and the source problem might be cancer or gall stones or some other cause.   Thus, an aching back might be a major health issue for someone.  Finding the source or cause would be done in order to diagnose the true problem such as cancer.  The chosen solution to the problem of cancer – surgery, chemo, and/or radiation-- would more than likely these days resolve the problem as well as address the symptom or the ‘issue.’

 I realize this explanation may be over-simplified but let us attempt to apply it to the ‘issue’ of “border security.”


 We must realize that border security is the issue, not the problem.  There is something behind this issue at its source, and it may be a multiple problems (I dare say, like most social and political issues!).  Allow me to advance a few possible core problems:

1.    Some countries in which people live are dangerous and harmful to their health and their lives; they want a better environment for themselves and their children

2.    Some people live under threats from gangs, regimes, police, and drug cartels; they fear for their lives unless they can find another home country

3.    Lack of jobs, health care and food drive some people to find opportunities for a better life in another country

4.    Some people are looking for new opportunities because their talents or skills are not valued as they should be in their home country

5.    Some people just need a job in order to survive

6.    Some countries encourage their people to immigrate elsewhere in order to save money and services

7.    Some are seeking the superior advantages in our country like higher education, life-saving medical procedures, or athletic achievement

8.    U.S. immigration infrastructure, procedures and personnel are not adequate for legal processing of all those who wish to enter this country; we need more effective procedures and trained personnel to handle the exigencies that arise at the border crossings: more medical personnel, border guards, inspectors, nurses, etc.

9.    Our immigration policy is not up-to-date, not flexible, not well-reasoned and not comprehensive; we don’t even have well-defined goals for our immigration policies and strategies

10.We have failed to do our part to make immigration and naturalization a positive humanitarian experience in order to attract people with needed skills and resources, because we see it as a burden instead of an opportunity, overlooking the positive results for our country:  new inventions, new ideas, new revenues, new businesses, new patriots, etc.
  
Of course, we have not defined all the problems that lead to the issue of illegal crossings and which cause ignorant people like Donald Trump to say that building a border wall will resolve the issue of border security.  It is sad that his oval office ‘speech’ revealed that he has not even analyzed the issue of illegal crossings (border security) or the problems that cause that issue, preferring instead to fault the immigrants by calling them by epithets they do not deserve, and quoting huge untruths about the situation.   


 Now, we have a manufactured “national emergency” being touted by the man and his minions who cannot properly define nor address an issue, a crisis, an emergency or a problem.  We will have to depend upon a divided Congress to straighten this out, and they are not known for their acumen for defining issues and solving the core problems that lie at the heart of issues.  We can only hope that the new Democrats in the House will continue to object to the inadequate and irrelevant processes and debates that divide this country and the Congress itself.

 The simple ability to question and protest the current narratives and process is a step in the right direction.  To make use of an effective and relevant process of legislating and overseeing the results and consequences of that legislation will be a most welcome change.  Simply defining issues more accurately by researching the problems behind the issues, will start a new narrative and a new process of legislating that will be a major step toward sanity and honest problem-solving.   The new Dems have just TWO YEARS to prove they can make changes that matter, keeping on the path of Revolution instead of faltering and becoming ordinary “politicians.” 

Will the New Year bring a New Narrative and New Process? Let's HOPE...

v So -- Mr. Trump, tell us exactly what the problem is that the WALL is meant to solve?
Ø   Too many illegals crossing our borders leaving us unsafe.

v Does that mean the problem to be solved is our safety threatened by illegal immigrants coming across our southern borders?  How would you describe that threat?

Ø  With our borders so open, drug smugglers, terrorists, murderers and criminals cross into our country and terrorize us whenever they want.  Our cities and our people are being subjected to their criminal acts and terrorized by them.

v And, sir, just how much research and investigation has been done into this problem to determine its origin and extent, and to define it precisely?

[“Take the statements that started all of Trump's troubles; they came within the first few minutes of his campaign kick-off, after he rambled for a bit about the crowd and the Islamic State and Japan.]

Ø  "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best," he said. "They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists."

On CNN on a subsequent night, he offered a defense to anchor Don Lemon.
 Ø  "If you look at the statistics, of people coming ... I didn't say about Mexico, I say the illegal immigrants —if you look at the statistics on rape, on crime, on everything, coming in illegally to the country, they're mind-boggling," he told Lemon.

[Every part of that is incorrect. He did say his comments about Mexico — explicitly. And data show that new immigrants — including illegal immigrants — are less likely to commit crime, not more.]  
Here are some voices that have studied the problem:

"Foreign-born individuals exhibit remarkably low levels of involvement in crime across their life course." (Bianca Bersani, University of Massachusetts, 2014. Published in Justice Quarterly.)

"The crime rate among first-generation immigrants — those who came to this country from somewhere else — is significantly lower than the overall crime rate and that of the second generation," said Pew Research.

"Since undocumented immigrants are more than a quarter of the immigrant population, it's nearly impossible that the overall-immigrant crime rate could be so much lower if the undocumented-immigrant crime rate were significantly higher."  (Pew Research)

      "There’s essentially no correlation between immigrants and violent crime." (Jörg Spenkuch,       Northwestern University, 2014. Published by the university.) He did find a small correlation between immigration and property crime, but only a slight one.

"Immigrants are underrepresented in California prisons compared to their representation in the overall population. In fact, U.S.-born adult men are incarcerated at a rate over two-and-a-half times greater than that of foreign-born men." (Public Policy Institute of California, 2008.)

"Data from the census and a wide range of other empirical studies show that for every ethnic group without exception, incarceration rates among young men are lowest for immigrants, even those who are the least educated. This holds true especially for the Mexicans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans, who make up the bulk of the undocumented population." (Ruben Rumbaut, University of California, 2008. Published by the Police Foundation.) 

Ø  On CNN, Trump cited an article from Fusion. "Eighty percent of the women coming in ... " he says, trailing off. "You have to take a look at these stories. ... It's unbelievable, when you look at what's going on. All I'm doing is telling the truth."
 "Lemon correctly pointed out that the story was about immigrant women being raped. "Well," Trump replies, "someone's doing the raping, Don." In apparent disbelief, Trump adds, "How can you say such a thing?"

"And there you go. Trump completely misreads a media story, turns it into a mushy stat in his head, and uses that as an excuse to bash immigrants without cause. The stat is nowhere near accurate, but that doesn't matter. When he's presented with accurate data, he offers a weird rationale — and then criticizes his critic. Perfect.” (By Philip Bump, July 2, 2015, The WASHINGTON POST)

v So, Mr. Trump, considering the immensity of the problem as you see it, have you been able to come up with any studies or statistics in the last two years that bear out your interpretation and your descriptions of this problem?

Ø  Well, there is the Heritage Foundation that looked into the problem and came up with the following conclusions:

Ø  U.S. laws have glaring loopholes that encourage the illegal immigration of children and families and the use of asylum claims as the preferred method to enter.

Ø  Society-wide violence, jobs or reuniting with family are not grounds for asylum. Knowing this, many never show up for court. They simply live illegally in the U.S.

Ø  Congress must close the loopholes. That means rejecting the Flores settlement and instead allowing accompanied children to remain with their parents.

Unfortunately, the Heritage Foundation does not support its claims with statistics or factual material; most claims are estimates or speculation.  Likewise, a supposedly statistical analysis from various government and other sources included in a The Hill article on “The truth about crime, illegal immigrants and sanctuary cities” By Ron Martinelli, opinion contributor - 04/19/17 07:00 PM EDT -- Martinelli cites some studies and statistics but does not provide any links to their origins. 

In other words, it is very difficult to discover unbiased or scientific studies of the claims made by Donald Trump about illegal immigrants being criminals, rapists, and murderers.  Most statistics that are cited do not refer to anything more than generalized data that contain no verification of actual criminal behavior by illegal immigrants from Mexico or other Latin American countries.
We are therefore left with the following result: 

It is impossible to say with any certainty that the WALL proposed by Donald Trump is a solution to a problem of criminal activity among illegal immigrants crossing our southern borders. We have not been presented with any evidence of a wide-ranging problem involving a threat to our country’s cities and populace from a criminal element among such illegal entrants.

 Thus, we are left with a “problem” that is ill-defined, perhaps untrue or made-up, and with a solution that wastes government money to build something that solves nothing.  

This is a fundamental ineptitude of our current government:  Congress and the White House seem to have little know-how in terms of solving real problems because, apparently, they have little or no ability or interest in using the mechanisms and processes available to do so. 
For example, here are some so-called problems that led us in the wrong directions because they were ill-defined and researched, resulting in inadequate or inept solutions to fabricated problems simply because our leaders and office-holders were chasing and debating problems made-to-order for political gain rather than promoting the general welfare of the People: 

§  Election Fraud by voters?  No; the real problem has to do with elected leaders in states that pass restrictions on voters so the votes of certain opponents of those leaders are denied and skewed and uncounted
§  Tax Reform? Not really, but simply a way to reward wealthy sponsors and rich corporations so they can continue their robbery of tax revenues before they are overseen by Congress
§  Climate Change – denial of which places us all in danger while protecting those who add to the reality of environmental poisoning and disastrous climate change through their corporate greed
§  Healthcare coverage – the abject failure to guarantee access to adequate health care to everyone is leading us not only to sicker people but to economic hardship, inadequate personnel, and less coverage for those in need, as well as to a crisis in delivery of care to those who most require it
§  Gun Violence –because we persist in equating gun rights with the second amendment at the behest of NRA lobbying forces, we miss the obvious point that the second amendment is about gun owners' rights, not about gun rights.  Guns are products that should be regulated just as automobiles and drugs and other potentially lethal products are regulated in order to protect and maintain the superior right of every person to life, to liberty and to the pursuit of happiness.  Instead we have, as a nation, been willing to sacrifice the lives of thousands of innocent adults and children as an acceptable price-to-pay for the absolute protection of potentially lethal guns. 
§  Along that same line, about 40% of the people in a recent NBC poll expressed their feeling (or lack thereof) that separating children from asylum-seeking parents -- to discourage families attempting to cross our southern borders -- is worth the degradation, the psychological harm, the sickness and even the deaths of young children.  That is not a political problem; that is a morality problem!  
I submit to you that we must do something about this inadequate process, because, even with a democratic majority in the House, we shall be the victims of equally inadequate resolution of our real societal and governmental problems if we continue to ignore immoral and abusive actions by government leaders.

In other words, under Republican leadership and Trump ineptness and chaos, we seem more able to create problems for ourselves than to solve the real ones that we face every day, such as:

ü  Lack of universal comprehensive health-care coverage available to all our People
ü  Disasters caused by climate change and poisoning of land, sea and air by fossil fuel and other chemical wastes that will eventually destroy our planet 
ü  Inadequate preparation for a looming technological revolution that will change the economics of daily existence
ü  Attacks by foreign and domestic enemies on our elections, our institutions, our inventions, our infrastructure, our computer programs and our personal information 
ü   But even more heinous, we have a problem of immoral attitudes and behaviors tearing at the fiber of our government and of our society under the guise of "problem-solving"

 It would seem that our immigration problem(s) is not one of stopping illegal crossings.  Our real problem seems to consist of several inadequacies:   

• Inadequate provisions for allowing and supporting refugees who seek asylum; not enough border patrol agents trained to carry out humane dealings with all who seek to enter our nation 
• Inadequate use of humane means for intercepting, interviewing and returning illegal border- crossers to their homes where that is appropriate 
• Inadequate numbers of border crossing stations equipped to accommodate families 
• Ill-defined comprehensive immigration and naturalization policies and procedures 
• Poor and sometimes non-existent agreements and joint efforts with other countries that extend along our borders; along with non-membership in accords with many other nations, with the UN and our own allies. 
• Denial of our status as a welcoming nation; a nation of refugees; a culture built on diversity not on singularity; a humanitarian nation that believes in welcoming strangers and assisting those with special needs and challenges.

At the base of this inability to deal forthrightly and in orderly fashion with the real problem of the lack of comprehensive immigration reform policy is the lack of common ground upon which to stand and deliver; the lack of a carefully researched and carefully phrased definition of the problems that do exist.  Instead, we are led astray by the personalizing and politicizing of fabricated issues and problems that exist in the twisted minds of those who believe their only purpose is a battle for status and power between opposing political parties and ideologies.   

And so, at the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, I have offered just a narrow look back to see where we have been and an even smaller look forward to seeing where we need to progress. I believe we can find common ground, and I believe we can progress toward a future that will bring us closer to the ideal that was given to us 240+ years ago. I offer a small but necessary suggestion to those who would lead us forward; particularly to the new majority in the House of Representatives.

We must redefine the Mission of government.  We must know the common purposes by which we will progress on our Mission.  We must set Goals that seek the people’s welfare and not the welfare of political parties or of one wealthy cohort of our population over all the rest. We must, in other words: change the narrative that currently prevails.  It is destructive of democratic ideals.

At the same time, and this is KEY: we must change the process by which decisions, laws, regulations, and policies are being made.  Unless that process changes, the common ground and the changed narrative will have little meaning.  Words without appropriate means to convey them can be dastardly, deadening and destructive.  We must reform our process of legislating, of executing, of appropriating, of enabling, and of overseeing the use of our money, our institutions, the welfare of our People and our international relationships with others. 

So, I leave you on this New Year’s Day with a tried and true method for problem-solving that has demonstrated its ability to change prevailing narrative and process at the same time.  It is not the only proven method that exists – there are variations.  But, without a disciplined problem-solving process in place to convey a new narrative and to provide a shared, collaborative, and systematic approach, we will most likely find ourselves confined to legislative and executive outcomes that will not prepare us for the revolutionary changes and issues of this 21^st century. The goal of the process is not just to solve but to evolve, adjusting solutions continually as new challenges and circumstances emerge. 

This Six-Step Problem Solving Model appeared online and can be found in the free E-book titled: “Top 5 Problem Solving Tools” at www.free-management-ebooks.com.

1)     Define the Problem – this translates to “diagnosing a problem” – discovering its context, its background, its implications, and who it affects, and how urgent those affects are. Techniques used might be brainstorming, questionnaires, or interviews.  A problem’s precise definition is as important as its careful implementation.

2)     Determine the Root Cause(s) of the Problem – a good opportunity to collect and to analyze data and research results from various sources familiar with the underlying assumptions and circumstances; a good time to involve constituent input, but to minimize paid lobbying efforts.

3)     Develop Alternative Solutions – find and consider as many solutions as possible, no matter how outlandish they seem, then look at each in relation to root causes and symptoms of the problem; decide if some solutions can be merged; eliminate the options that prove to be less likely to deal with both the symptoms and the cause(s)

4)     Select a Solution (or set of solutions) – apply two key questions: which solution is most feasible? (timeframe; cost-effective; manageable risks; resource usage; benefit, etc.) and which solution is favored by those who will implement it and those who will use it or be affected by it?  Acceptance by implementers and users (consumers) is key to success. Government solutions based on the needs and challenges of our people must be the guiding star.

5)     Implement the Solution – an Implementation Plan must be formulated including actions required even before implementation; setting goals and milestones, identifying resources needed, actions and tools required, start date determined, etc. Implementation is the primary job of the Executive branch of government, but the legislature has an oversight function as well.  Collaboration should be built-in to the Plan. Effective problem-solving groups and leaders often take the time to designate feedback mechanisms to detect if the project is on-course or veering from its objectives during implementation – constituent advisory groups is one mechanism I have advocated that congressional representatives might use both for on-going feedback and monitoring.

6)     Evaluate the Outcome – monitoring and oversight include checking on: milestones being met; costs contained and spent appropriately; that goals and necessary work are completed.  Determine what can be done to improve the project or to strengthen the outcomes and use the 6-step process to resolve any newly discovered problems.    

There is much more involved in this process than can be enunciated by this simplified summary.  Point is:  Actions speak louder than words and without disciplined action, words can lose their meaning.  It is time for us to demand that the words of our fore-bearers be given new meaning by progressive processes that embody and embolden government of the People, by the People and for the People.  Happy New Year!