Note: The views and opinions expressed in blog/editorial posts are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the views or opinions of Misbar.
America’s southern border is currently experiencing a crisis. In March 2021, there was a 71% increase between U.S. Customs and Border Protections and migrants than in February 2021. Naturally, Republican lawmakers have argued for increased border security to combat this surge. But could conservatives win larger support if they took a different approach? Could they win voters if they backed a more open border?
An open border policy sounds as if it is entirely contrary to American conservative politics in 2021. After all, in 2016, a Republican president became elected with a pledge to “build the wall.” And in February 2021, 77% of polled Republicans stated that they wanted tighter border and immigration policies.
But it’s also true that the Republican Party is out of power in the federal US government. This means that the party has a chance to redefine itself to become more appealing to the wider electorate. Therefore, a rethinking of the party’s border policies may be necessary. If the Republican Party changes its immigration policy focus from the southern border to elsewhere, it may be able to gain wider support without alienating its base. Here is why:
- Trump’s border wall would have been cheaper and more effective if it had been built on Mexico’s southern border, not the U.S.’s. That’s because Mexico’s southern border is significantly smaller than the U.S.’s, meaning that a border wall along Mexico’s border would require less building materials and less time. Additionally, the majority of border crossings from Mexico to the United States are not by Mexican citizens but by citizens from other Central American countries. And in theory, President Trump could have gotten Mexico to pay for a border wall at its border in exchange for favorable trade policies. This links into the next point.
- Fewer immigration restrictions with Mexico will benefit U.S. businesses. Mexico is America’s second largest trading partner after Canada. In fact, in 2019, two-way trade between the countries amounted to $614.5 billion. This includes supplying crude oil, machinery, vehicles, plastics and more. And this was before President Trump’s U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement came into place, which aimed to establish freer trade between the US and its neighbors. A more open border policy with Canada and Mexico should boost this agreement.
- More people are moving from the USA to Mexico than vice-versa. This further highlights why the focus on border security may benefit from moving from the south of the U.S. to the south of Mexico. Most of the Americans living in Mexico are unauthorized immigrants. If America and Mexico agreed to let its citizens live in either country without applying for residency, then these Americans would instantly become authorized immigrants in Mexico and be able to access Mexico’s welfare system without worry. This would in effect create an American version of the European Union, which leads into the next point.
- Within the EU, most conservatives are happy with open borders. Over 400 million EU citizens live within the border free Schengen Area with the Schengen Visa. This area is not free of police checks, and a Schengen country may reintroduce its border controls temporarily if it wishes. 26 countries are currently within this Schengen Zone. Many of these countries, such as Poland, currently have conservative governments, yet they do not leave the Schengen Zone. (Great Britain does not count, as it was an EU member but never joined the Schengen Area.) This is because the Schengen Agreement has many more positives than negatives, especially from a business perspective.
Despite these reasons, it may still feel almost impossible for American conservatives to embrace an open border policy with Mexico. However, American conservative leaders have proposed policy decisions that could accommodate this in the past. For instance, in 2004, President Bush proposed a temporary worker program for new immigrants and unauthorized immigrants. And in 1981, President Reagan’s Task Force on Immigration and Refugee Policy advised him to allow 50,000 Mexican citizens every year to come to the USA as temporary workers. This was also a Reagan campaign promise.
Additionally, it’s also important to remember that the U.S. and Mexico did once have a guest worker program for Mexican citizens. The Bracero Program allowed “millions" of Mexicans to "come to the United States to work on, short-term, primarily agricultural labor contracts.” This program came into place because of labor shortages due to World War Two. It began under a Democratic administration in 1942 and ended by a different Democratic administration in 1964. So, on the left, different circumstances have led to changes in the regulation of the U.S.’s southern border. Is the same possible on the right in the 21st century?
It’s unlikely that any Republican candidate will announce that they have a pro-open border policy with Mexico. However, it could be that a Republican candidate could win support by branding it another way. In the UK, when the Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher launched the Single Market Campaign, which would open up unrestricted immigration to the European Union, she declared that it would open Europe up for business. Could a Republican successfully shift their party’s focus from the U.S.-Mexican border to Mexico’s southern border in a similar way?
Of course, the future Republican platform depends upon the actions of former President Donald Trump. Trump is considering running for office once more in 2024. If this happens, then it’s clear what the Republican border policy will be. But if another Republican challenger becomes the 2024 nominee, then is it possible that the party will focus on strengthening its ties with Mexico with a pro-business pro-border deregulation policy? It seems unlikely, but it is not impossible. And of course, there will be elections after 2024. It may be much more likely for a 2028 or 2032 Republican nominee to take a page from Margaret Thatcher’s playbook and propose opening up Mexico for business with the USA as a means of deregulating the border and shifting border security farther afield.
