America turned away over 2 million undocumented migrants in 2023. That is hardly an "open border".

America and Canada both face the same problem: an aging workforce and a falling birthrate. At the same time they have the lowest level of unemployment since the 1960's. Their economies are screaming for more workers.

For the last 150 years, Canada's total immigration from all sources has usually been above 0.6% of population per year, sometimes as high as 3%. In 2022 it was 2.27% because of the wars in Ukraine and Afghanistan.

Canada's current target is 1.25%, i.e., 500,000 people. That is the equivalent of America admitting 4.5 million people per year.

Canada does that because otherwise its labor market would seize up. Canada has good programs for integrating new arrivals.

The US is much richer than Canada. It could easily adopt similar programs.

But, instead, America has choked off immigration.

For 400 years, immigration has been the fuel of economic growth in America. Immigrants are not a cost. They are a benefit.

They make America stronger and richer.

The basic problem of immigration to America - documented and undocumented, or all kinds and all sources - is currently much too small, and has been for the last 25 years.

We all know that if the immigrants at the southern border were all tall blond, blue eyed Norwegians, Republicans would be welcoming them with open arms.