Immigration Reform is a Distraction from America’s Real Problem

Following the brief government shutdown, politicians in Washington came to the table to talk immigration reform. The democrats are putting up a fight for DACA and the DREAMers. America is home to nearly 800,000 of these individuals, many of whom contribute to the American workforce and economy. Notably, at least 24 members of the House of Representatives are inviting dreamers to be their guests at the State of the Union. The Trump administration has expressed that they’d hold up their end of an immigration deal — creating a pathway for citizenship for nearly two million dreamers. In return, the administration is asking for a measly 25 billion dollar down payment for a border wall between Mexico and the United States. Legislators can see the clock ticking as the government is scheduled to lose its funding, come March 5. With all the fuss of immigration in Congress — and a shutdown to show for it — along with the ICE officer sweepings, we are being led to believe that the immigration issue is bigger than it actually is. As they say, there’s always a bigger fish.

Trump ran on multiple xenophobic and racist platforms, that’s obvious. First year in office, he has illustrated immigration, and our current immigration laws, in poor light. He believes a massive border wall will keep “bad hombres” out from the homeland. Being from El Paso, Texas, I can say with full confidence that a giant wall won’t do much more than cast a long shadow. (PS. Nothing spells small government like a 2,000 mile wall, right? Also, I thought Mexico was paying for it?…) No, there’s no crisis. No, crime isn’t spilling over. As a matter of fact, El Paso has consistently been rated as one of the safest big cities in the nation for some ten years. El Paso was rated the number two safest city in 2017. So what’s the reason for all the rhetoric, outside of Trump’s baseless racism?

It very well may be to keep the donors and the base happy, i.e. the NRA, the gun lobby, the Koch Brothers, and hardcore pro-second amendment republicans. The immigration “issue” is upstaging America’s gun problem, and there’s no way around that fact.

• In the first 23 days of 2018, America was subject to 11 school shootings.
• There has already been 21 mass shootings, in America, in 2018. Today is the 29th day of the year.
• There were over 317 mass shootings in 2017.
• The CDC reports that, on average, 96 people a day are killed with guns.
• Also per CDC: “America’s gun homicide rate is more than 25 times the average of other developed countries.

The graphic below from “Everytown for Gun Safety” displays some eye-opening non-fiction.

In the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting, Business Insider brought up some horrifying data, too. The crux being: Gun violence is a leading cause of death in America.

One will immediately notice the highlighted statistics. 1 in 370 will die from an assault by a gun. 1 in 15,325 will die in a mass shooting. Let that sink in. Assault by a gun is ahead of fires and smoke, ahead of drowning, bicycling, and pedestrian accidents. Death by mass shooting is ahead of heatwaves, earthquakes, and shark attacks.

Immigrants and immigration don’t show up anywhere on the list, yet we are being told that there is a calamity on our hands.

The depressing truth of gun violence in America is knowing that nearly nothing is being done by politicians in high offices to hit the breaks on this pandemic. If Sandy Hook didn’t bring an end to it, what will? If Las Vegas didn’t bring an end to it, what will?

The second amendment was ratified in 1791 (227 years ago), giving “the right of People to keep and bear arms.” For context, the firearms of that time were dominantly muskets and flintlock pistols. These weapons usually fired one round at a time (flintlocks were sometimes produced with multiple barrels), and it takes an average of about 20 seconds to reload these guns. That’s, what, 3 shots per minute? Now juxtapose that to the 130+ rounds a semi-automatic weapon can produce per minute.

Evolution for the second amendment is well overdue. Did the founding fathers expect that 227 years down the road that the U.S. would own 4,000 nuclear weapons? Did they expect that people in America would be outnumbered by guns then? Hell, just to show how far humanity has gone since — China successfully cloned monkeys five days ago. For the sake of discussion, let us simply imagine legislators gathering and signing into law the right to bear arms for weapons that will be used in 227 years. It’s madness and it makes no sense. And does humanity even have that long?

The solution to broken gun laws can start off simply, with some common sense measures. America can look to Australia and Japan for inspiration (not necessarily an exact blueprint).

After the Port Arthur Massacre in Australia (April, 1996), Australian government introduced new gun laws:

• All jurisdictions banned the sale, resale, transfer, manufacturing, and use of automatic and semi-automatic firearms
• All jurisdictions banned competitive shooting with aforementioned firearms
• “Genuine Reason” to own a firearm before purchasing a gun is required. Notably, personal protection is not regarded as a genuine reason.
• In addition to genuine reason, an applicant inquiring a gun purchase must be 18 years of age or older. They must be a fit and proper person, and they must be able to pass an adequate safety test.
• A waiting period of 28 days is in place before an applicant receives their license/permit to own firearm
• The permit contains the individual’s name, photo, address, and the category of the firearm
• Australian law requires that gun owners must possess different permits for different guns

Effects: “The number of Australia’s mass shootings dropped from 11 in the decade before 1996, to zero in the years since.” Furthermore, rates of homicide and suicide have dropped since 1996. In ’96, Australia saw 69 homicides. In 2012, they saw only 30.

Japan, on the other hand, is much more rigid with their gun laws. A 1958 Act states: “ No person shall possess a firearm or firearms or a sword or swords.” Although, there are diminutive exceptions and paths leading to gun ownership. The road looks something like this:

• Applicants must pass a mental health test
• Applicant must pass a drug test
• Applicant’s criminal records (if any) are to be reviewed
• Applicants must attend an all day class (held once a month), and they must pass a written exam; they must pass a shooting range test — all scoring no less than an average of 95% in passing.

The results of Japan’s strict gun laws, in comparison to America’s lax legislation, can be illustrated in one fact: Japan saw 6 gun related deaths in 2014. In the same year, America saw 33,599 deaths by injury by a firearm.

Where America should start is simple.

1. We need universal background checks, period. This will drastically help cut down on firearm sales outside of licensed dealerships (gun shows and other unlicensed dealers).
2. Banning the sale, resale, transfer, and usage of automatic and semi-automatic weapons — with the only exception being occupational (law enforcement and military). Average American’s don’t need assault rifles, aka weapons of war.
3. Banning the general public from purchasing and using large-capacity ammunition magazine clips.
4. Congress needs to consider the passing of comprehensive gun registration legislation.

There’s a start.

In spite of all this data, America is widely discussing immigration. So, let’s briefly talk immigration…

Per the U.S. Department of Treasury & the Small Business Administration:

• Immigrants are more likely to start a business than non-immigrants. Immigrants roughly make up for 12% of the population in America, but they represent 16.7% of all new business owners.
• 12% of businesses owned by those with a college degree are owned by immigrants.
• Overall, immigrants own 10% of all firms with employees, providing jobs for thousands of Americans.
• Compared to U.S. born citizens, immigrants are more likely to hold an advanced degree and are almost twice as likely to hold a PhD.
• These pros listed above aren’t just limited to immigrants with advanced degrees. Immigrants play a critical role in the economy — filling in jobs where the domestic supply of workers is limited. “In many cases, these immigrants do not compete with other domestic workers, but instead compliment the work of U.S. born workers.”

The State of the Union will largely focus on immigration. The event is shaping up to be a dramatic division, among liberals and conservatives, in immigration ideologies. Sound and fury will likely arise — in regards to immigration — in the weeks to follow, politicians duking it out in the chambers of Capitol Hill. However, let us not forget America’s bigger issues in the time that approaches. An immigration battle may lead to another shutdown. That’s possible, yet unlikely. But what is inevitable, as tragic and terrible as it is, are more mass shootings on American soil.

When the politicians shrug, the public becomes complicit.

Hugo is a freelance writer and a professional actor based out of Washington D.C. Follow him on twitter for humor (@hugosaysgo) and on Instagram for photography (@hugosnaps). Happy reading. Please recycle.