We are as rich a nation as those who live among us

As the world wakes up to the Syrian refugee crisis and Congress returns to D.C.,  the news, social media, and watercooler conversations continue to be plagued with ugly and xenophobic rhetoric regarding the undocumented population in the U.S.  Policies of exclusion without orderly, fair and reasonable methods of population influx are being thrown around and if compassion isn’t enough to see why we should love our neighbors, perhaps cold hard economic facts can open some eyes.

America is home to 11 million human beings who are living an incomplete life. Notwithstanding the ray of light in the form of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), allowing hundreds of thousands to step out from behind the shadows and proudly join the communities in which they have long lived as “unknowns,” there are millions who have no line to get into and no way to move forward.   Many still hide, struggling to keep a roof over their heads, earning below poverty-level wages because they lack documentation to work; fearing they will be stopped and taken by federal authorities on their next morning commute or that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will pound on their door at 3 am looking for their spouse or relative.

{mosads}What are we missing out on? A recent survey of DACA recipients by the National Immigration Law Center showed that most recipients have been able to make the most of the program and better their work situation with an average wage increase of 45 percent. They’ve bought their first car, paid for college, helped their families, and spent money in their local communities as they’ve moved up the economic ladder. These talented young men and women now wave their employment authorization card with pride and a feeling of belonging to the one country they have called their home since their childhood.

As a result of the lies and inaccuracies that continue to be spread by the restrictionists, Americans have been fooled into believing we must protect ourselves from our neighbors whether they come from next door or from across the ocean. But the reality is that welcoming immigrants and refugees who will enrich our nation isn’t just living up to our American heritage, its good business.  AOL founder Steve Case bluntly wrote recently that “Our head-in-the-sand policies put our future at risk, and our insensitive language may scare away the very people whom we need to attract.” He is right. We need an immigration system that recognizes the value of those who are already contributing to our economy and allows for the orderly influx of those who wish to put their talents to work for America.

It is disheartening that we have not been able to appreciate the gifts of the immigrants already among us and that we continue to demonize those who dream of coming to our soil.  Some have labeled them “criminals,” “thieves taking our jobs,” or “leeches depleting our public benefits.”  But they are none of those things. They are no different from any of us and are simply trying to live the American Dream.

It is not that solutions have not been presented.  The Senate presented an imperfect but workable solution in 2013, but the House stalled.  President Obama’s administration delivered a workable remedy with Deferred Action, yet it is temporary and fragile.  With this administration ending in 2016, those same talented young individuals who are already making valuable contributions to our economy are living with the anguish of a possible “end date” to their opportunities.  Although exclusion is easier than inclusion, it comes at a high price: the loss of a treasure, an opportunity, and progress.

Despite evidence of the endless contributions of immigrants, our leaders continue to use them as scapegoats for our social and economic problems using derogatory terms and spreading xenophobia and fear. We need to turn away from that hostile rhetoric. We can recognize the benefits and contributions of immigrants, the value of refugees’ lives, and the wealth of our humanity in creating a reasonable and orderly immigration system based on humane, fair and rational laws.  Let’s show the world we can come together to relieve despair, and to embrace the human behind the “immigrant” label.

Padilla is first vice president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.