Thursday, October 1, 2026
The immigration debate has left the realm of reality and become driven by fear, myths and political theater. The consequences show up in the cruelty of ICE’s detention and deportation practices and the unrest we’re seeing in communities across the country. It’s time to talk about a rational solution, one that respects the rule of law, strengthens our economy, keeps communities safe and honors the dignity of millions of people who are already part of our national fabric.
Today, despite the false claim that most undocumented immigrants are criminals — multiple peer-reviewed studies conclude otherwise — millions of law-abiding people live, work and raise families here. Many have been here for decades, and millions have, or until recently had, legal protections such as pending asylum claims, work permits, Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Last year the Trump administration cancelled TPS for roughly 2.5 million people, turning legal migrants into undocumented ones.
These immigrants fill essential jobs — food production, construction, caregiving — and serve in our military. Many have American children, spouses and parents. Most have broken no laws — immigration violations for the most part are civil offenses — and they contribute nearly $300 billion in spending power and close to $90 billion in taxes annually, while being excluded from most public benefits.
Yet because they lack full legal status, they are subjected to harsh tactics by an ICE agency that appears dangerously out of control. Trump’s mass-deportation regime’s defining features are chaos and cruelty. U.S. citizens have been mistakenly swept up, and Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed.
Once detained, immigrants are often held in overcrowded and unsanitary facilities without adequate access to food, water or medical care. Last year was the deadliest year for ICE detainees since the 1990s, with more than 30 reported deaths, including at least one homicide.
There is a simple truth: We cannot deport our way out of this situation. Over the next decade, according to the Wharton/Penn budget model, mass deportation is projected to cost $1 trillion, shave 4 percent off the nation’s GDP, devastate industries and tear families apart. At the same time, according to Reuters, federal prosecutors and law-enforcement agents have been diverted from pursuing drug trafficking and white-collar crime to focus on immigration enforcement, which caused prosecutions for those serious crimes to plummet in 2025.
Let’s get real: Contrary to the widespread narratives, the choice is not open borders or mass deportation. There is a middle ground, a modern, common-sense immigration system built on three pillars.
First, an earned pathway to legal status. Long-term residents who have no serious criminal record should be able to come forward, pass background checks and earn legal status in the only home many have ever known. That is not amnesty; it is accountability paired with opportunity.
Second, smart, targeted enforcement, not political theater. ICE should focus on “the worst of the worst,” not families, workers and students. Border management should rely on technology, orderly processing and due process, not cruelty. Also, ICE’s increasingly unconstitutional and chaotic tactics must be reined in, and the agency held to the same professional and constitutional standards expected of other law-enforcement agencies.
Third, as outlined by David J. Bier of the Cato Institute, we must fix our legal immigration system to reflect economic reality, making immigration courts independent, expanding lawful pathways for both high- and low-skilled workers based on labor demand, removing arbitrary caps and per-country limits that create decades-long backlogs, modernizing temporary worker programs, and removing punitive rules that discourage legal compliance. A flexible, lawful system would reduce illegal immigration by allowing people to enter, work and reunite with their families legally, while meeting the needs of an economy that simply will not grow without immigration.
This is not a radical vision. It is practical, supported across the political spectrum and advanced by presidents from Reagan to Biden. What we lack is not consensus, it’s the leadership and political will to replace xenophobic slogans with comprehensive solutions. We The People must make up for that lack of vision and will and call on our representatives to make this happen once and for all.
Ultimately, this is about who we want to be: a nation that solves problems or one that exploits them; one guided by fear or one guided by fairness and common sense. Let’s get real: Immigration has never been a drain on America, but rather is a vital source of its strength and greatness.
Roger Street Friedman is a singer-songwriter who lives in Sea Cliff.
