The Trump administration’s bullying of Colombia to accept deportation flights is yet another example of American hubris in Central and South America which is, in no small part, responsible for the problems at our southern border today. Intervention and coups in Panama, Guatemala and Nicaragua and support for right-wing dictators in South America gave rise to death squads, gang violence and drug cartels which, in turn, has helped trigger a wave of migrants seeking to escape the chaos. Mass deportations and bullying our neighbors will not solve America’s immigration problem. These tactics may make the far right feel better, but they do very little to solve the problem. Until we, as a nation, acknowledge that American policy in the Americas is, to some degree, responsible for creating the conditions migrants are desperate to escape, there will be no solution. Using immigration as a political hammer with which to bludgeon opponents or stir the crowds may work to win elections but will not solve the problem.

Michael Pelchat

Webster