America's Immigration Conundrum: A Four-Decade Reflection
For forty years, columnist John Snobelen has pondered a fundamental American paradox: why a nation that desperately needs migrant labor to sustain its agricultural heartland cannot establish a functional legal framework to welcome these essential workers. His latest commentary delves deep into the political and social fractures that have kept America's immigration system broken for generations, while offering sobering warnings for Canadian society.
The Human Face of Migration
Snobelen begins with a poignant reference to James Taylor's musical depiction of a Toronto winter evening transformed by an unexpected encounter with Mexican celebrants. Taylor's lyrics describe "Exiled Mexican textile workers, punching two clocks, sending two paychecks home"—hard-working, law-abiding people simply seeking better lives for their families.
This portrayal resonates powerfully with Snobelen's own experiences visiting ranches across the southern United States, where he met braceros living in bunkhouses and makeshift accommodations. These men, he observes, demonstrate remarkable courage and honor in enduring border dangers and difficult living conditions to support their families through remittances.
A System Designed to Fail
The columnist illustrates the system's absurdities through a personal anecdote about a physician friend—a medical professional who completed her studies in the U.S., works at an American hospital, is married to a U.S. citizen doctor, and has American-born children. Despite these deep ties and the nation's physician shortage, she remains classified as "an alien" stuck in a multi-year green card queue with uncertain prospects.
"America's immigration system has been broken for decades and the country and the people have suffered," Snobelen writes. He notes the political vacillation between temporary amnesty programs and hardline deportation approaches that has characterized American policy for generations.
The Politics of Division
Why can't politicians fix this obviously dysfunctional system? Snobelen argues it's not due to lack of imagination or wisdom, but rather a calculated understanding of political dynamics. "Humans are tribal," he observes, "and for centuries political and religious charlatans have driven wedges between tribes to gain power."
Immigrants, he suggests, have become perfect political targets. In contemporary America, migrant workers are frequently characterized as dangerous criminals threatening the social fabric. This rhetoric fuels what Snobelen describes as a "civil war between American tribes with immigrants uncomfortably wedged in the middle."
The weapons of this conflict have evolved to include modern tools like podcasts, social media, and cellphone video alongside traditional implements like tear gas and pepper spray. Yet the political tactics remain ancient: "Lies and half-truths" designed to inflame tribal loyalties.
Canadian Lessons from Southern Neighbors
Snobelen concludes with a crucial warning for Canadians: "We can learn from our southern neighbours." He urges rejection of tribal thinking and the politicians who profit from societal division. Canada has its own historical divisions—West versus East, French versus English, established versus new arrivals—but Snobelen insists "we are better than that."
The columnist emphasizes that as America's immigration battles continue shifting from city to city, Canada must consciously choose a different path. By remembering that "there always have been pretenders who profit from splitting us into warring factions," Canadians can avoid the bitter divisions that have paralyzed American immigration policy and social cohesion for decades.
Snobelen's reflection serves as both a critique of American failures and a proactive guide for Canadian policy makers and citizens facing their own immigration challenges in an increasingly polarized world.
