By FRANK WATSON
Contributor 

Solve migrant invasion by investing in Central America

Guest Commentary

 

Last updated 12/6/2018 at 5:24pm



The President’s methods and manner usually leave much to be desired, but once in a while he gets something right. He is spot-on when he calls the growing crowd on our southern border a “migrant invasion.”

I can’t understand why this concept seems new to anyone or why the national press objects to the title. Migrant invasions are as old as recorded history.

When Moses led his people out of Egypt seeking the Promised Land, it was a migrant invasion. After 40 years wandering in the desert, they became strong enough to take up arms and overwhelm the prior inhabitants.

The pilgrims who landed on Plymouth Rock were the vanguard of a migrant invasion. They, too, sought the Promised Land. After losing almost half their number the first winter, you would think they would turn back, but instead, they sent for their families and neighbors.

That migrant invasion continued in waves all across the continent displacing prior inhabitants as they went. The caravan on our border is not new, it is a continuation of the 12 or 14 million who have already crossed our border illegally. I applaud increased border security, but I don’t think we will be able to completely stop them any more than the Canaanites could stop the followers of Moses. We need to give them a reason to stay home.

I understand Tesla plans to build a plant in China. They claim the tariff war between China and the U.S. has driven them to build their new plant in Shanghai to supply the China market.

The proposal is about as nearsighted as anything I have ever heard. When Tesla strikes the deal, they will give up their battery technology. There is no way that this can benefit America. Consider the benefits, however, should Tesla build a new plant in El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras? They would avoid the China/U.S. trade war and the seven thousand or so migrants in the caravan would have an incentive to stay home.

China scares me. Their economic aspirations are open for all to see. They have made no secret about their intentions to dominate the world marketplace. They are a planned society and can afford to be patient.

For decades, our tool and die industry supported the industrial growth of the free world. China build facilities and subsidized their production until our factories closed. Now we buy tools from China.

We once had the largest garment making industry in the world. China undercut our prices and our industry went away. Look at the tag on your Levis. They are made in China. In addition to Levi’s, iconic American products made in China include Barbie Dolls, the omnipresent iPhone, and a long list of others. If those products were made in Central America, migrant caravans wouldn’t be storming our border.

Our government needs to do more than impose tariffs. Even if we win this tariff war and achieve true free trade, we will still have our immigration problem. Why not try to solve both problems at once?

Levi Strauss and Mattel have had plants in China for over 20 years. Those plants are aging. Why can’t our government broker a deal between Levi Strauss and Guatemala or between Mattel and El Salvador?

Apple is expanding. Their iPhone requirements will soon exceed current plant capacity. Why can’t our government broker a deal between Apple and Honduras to build a plant there?

If we are held back by some misguided need to avoid upsetting China, we should get over it and put America first.

Frank Watson is a retired Air Force colonel and long-time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free-lance columnist for over 19 years.

 

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