Border situation begs for immigration reform

Were it so simple the Biden administration is at fault for the crisis at the U.S./Mexico border and that a border wall would fix the problem as Cal Thomas argues in his recent editorial ‘The Ongoing Diluting of America’ (Dec. 21)!

We need to realize the situation at the southern border transcends administrations and instead reflects long overdue need for immigration reforms in step with new global realities. The last time Congress passed expansive immigration reform was in 1986 when a gallon of gas was 93 cents and when things like the World Wide Web and global supply chains were in their infancy.

Meanwhile, U.S. census data reveals a precipitous decline in population growth that, paired with a rapidly aging population, is set to trigger in a host of negative impacts including serious labor market shortages and an increasingly depleted Social Security Trust Fund. These socioeconomic impacts disproportionately effect rural communities in Iowa and elsewhere, where population decline has already resulting in business closures and shrinking local tax bases.

New polling shows eight out of 10 Americans want Congress to pass bipartisan comprehensive immigration reforms that not only secure our border but empower economic growth and our future workforce. Join me in kicking off the New Year by asking our elected officials to enact forward-thinking immigration reforms now!

Jane Shuttleworth

Iowa City