KENNESAW, Ga. | Oct 9, 2024

The Teach-In Committee presented "Immigration and the Border:  What's Really Happening?" on October 8th. Dr. Jason Mueller presented on the history of U.S. intervention in Guatemala and Haiti, which are two of the countries that are today sending migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border. The relevance is the destabilization and impoverishment caused by the intervention, becoming push factors for out-migration. He opened with the saying "we came here because you went there."

Dr. Richard Hutchinson spoke on the development of U.S. policy over time and how the composition of the immigrants has changed. The history included the U.S.-Mexico War (1846-1848), the Bracero Program (1942-1964), IRCA (1986), and recent developments under Presidents Trump and Biden. A crucial change has been the arrival of huge numbers of asylum seekers added to the traditional demographic of young Mexican men looking for work. The U.S. immigration system is in urgent need of reform in order to more swiftly and humanely process everyone, and better cooperation with Mexico is also needed.