Immigration is in the news again this month because the rules at the US/Mexico border are about to change again. Trying to stop it is a fool”s errand for the same reason that King Canute could not command the tide. The soviets could not stop the Berlin wall from being torn down it is a fool”s errand to try.

My solution is to let a lot more people come in. Require sponsors or bonds to lower the burden on local jurisdictions; perhaps require a civics class and offer ESL classes but let them in like we did in the nineteenth century. Most of the new immigrants will end up good citizens and we will have the numbers to compete in the world.

When people move from California to Arizona we adjust. The Arizonans celebrate and the Californians see sour grapes. But when people move from Mexico to Texas we act like the sky is falling. Maybe the problem here is our attitude.

The photo is of a great petroglyph panel near the Dixie Mine site north of Phoenix. It is a stark reminder that all of us are immigrants to this land. The worst thing we can do is slam the door now.