Collaborations

We're already in an impossible situation and need to accept that the vast majority of undocumented immigrants in the country are here to stay. Instead of overtaxing our immigration courts with cases involving the majority of people who have entered the country and have been good, productive members of the communities they now reside in, we should free up those resources to focus on expediting the cases where certain individuals have caused harm or present harm to our communities. The humanitarian purposes of this objective are obvious. Many, if not most, of these undocumented individuals endured severe hardships in their migration, and continue to endure hardships here in the US. Not granting them a pathway to citizenship despite knowing the vast majority will never be removed is an indefinite punishment for having bypassed lawful immigration processes. The US should not be a country that operates from vindictive grounds. Conditions can be negotiated separate from the accomplishment of this objective. A pathway to citizenship strictly means a process for establishing that individuals are no longer subject to removal from the country solely for not having the legal standing to remain in the country. Additional benefits include increased tax revenues, gains to national GDP, and a stronger case to provide additional funding for enhanced border security. If necessary, enhanced border security can be made a prerequisite to a legal pathway to citizenship.

People put off seeing a doctor, skip prescriptions, or wait until a problem becomes an emergency because they’re worried about the bill. By then, a condition that could have been treated earlier can be harder to manage and more expensive to treat. And even with insurance, an illness or injury can leave a family paying off medical bills for years. Nobody should have to choose between getting the care they need and paying rent or buying groceries. Affordable care gives people a chance to get treated sooner, stay healthy enough to work and care for their families, and recover from an illness without it becoming a financial crisis. That’s worth working toward for as long as people are still making that choice.

When immigration agents detain the wrong person, even a short time in custody can cost that person wages, leave children without a parent to pick them up, and leave a family scrambling to find out where they are. When agents use more force than a situation calls for, the injuries can last long after the encounter is over. Immigration enforcement will continue under future administrations. As long as agents have the power to detain people and use force, we have a responsibility to prevent avoidable harm, correct mistakes quickly, and hold agents accountable when they misuse that power. People deserve those protections regardless of their immigration status.

Progress should be measured by how much it improves our lives, not simply by what technology can do next. AI might become better at filing taxes than a CPA, but what problem would replacing that CPA actually solve? Who benefits, who loses, and are the benefits worth the disruption? Being able to automate a job doesn't mean we should rush to do it. Before letting AI take over one field after another, we need to take an honest look at the consequences for workers, families, communities and the country as a whole. Some uses could solve serious problems. Others could mainly increase profits while leaving everyone else to absorb preventable harm. Our objective should be to use AI where it makes life better, with Americans' livelihoods and our country's long-term well-being guiding those decisions.