Hold Two Thoughts at the Same Time
History tends to repeat itself when people, especially those who are supposedly in charge, cannot hold two opposing thoughts simultaneously.
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Recently, when I was speaking to a book club, someone asked about my opinion about the rising number of “military-age” young Chinese men entering the U.S. illegally through the U.S.-Mexico borders because they could be spies or sleeper cells who would cause us harm someday. It wasn’t the first time I was asked about this. Whenever I heard of this question or some similar versions of it, I often thought about the people I met at church.
I attend a Chinese Baptist church. Our pastor is from Taiwan, and our church are mostly immigrants from Taiwan and mainland China. Our church provides services in both Chinese and English (for non-Chinese visitors). Over the years, I have noticed young people, often newly arrived college students or young professionals who have been in the U.S. for a while, have been the fastest-growing segment in our congregation. In the last several baptism ceremonies my church held, those willing to be baptized were young men and women from mainland China. Their testimonies sometimes made us cry, sometimes made us laugh, or sometimes made us laugh with tears.
I don’t know most of my fellow churchgoers’ immigration status. When I talked to some of them, I found that seeking a better life and religious freedom were the top reasons they gave me for coming. China’s economic situation has worsened, and young people’s unemployment rate is incredibly high. Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party has intensified its persecution against religious believers in the country. These young Chinese immigrants and sources inside China told me that many Chinese, especially young people, are desperately trying to leave China by any means necessary.
For those Chinese who are not wealthy enough to quickly obtain legal residency in another country by making millions of dollars’ worth of investments, President Biden’s open border policy made coming to the U.S. illegally through South America a popular option. We don’t see many young Chinese women take this route, likely for two reasons. First, the South American route doesn’t come cheap—it usually costs several thousand dollars or sometimes over $10,000. In a culture that still values boys over girls, if the family has only enough financial resources to support one person to escape China, they will choose a son over a girl.
Second, it has been well publicized in social media that the journey through South America is especially perilous for women, who are often the victims of sexual assaults. Therefore, most Chinese women shy away from it. Thus, we end up witnessing most young Chinese men come through our southern border illegally.
Undoubtedly, some of them might be spies or sleeper cells sent by the Chinese government to take advantage of our chaotic border situation. We don’t know how many and who they are because the Biden administration has abandoned one of its fundamental duties, securing America’s borders. At the same time, whenever I think of my church congregation, I have a hard time picturing all of these young Chinese men as dangerous tools sent to the U.S. by the Chinese government.
Immigration is a complicated issue, but I believe most of us can hold two thoughts at the same time: opposing open borders while supporting common sense legal immigration reform (i.e., the merit-based legal immigration I described in my book, “The Broken Welcome Mat.”); opposing illegal immigration while rejecting the rhetoric or policies that treat all immigrants of a particular country of origin as spies or members of an invading army.
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