A World Still Yearning to Be Free, Part Two

Part two of TFP's conversation with Ben Johnson about our broken immigration system, how to fix it, and why so many still flee to the U.S. “seeking hope and opportunity.”

Hands reach through the U.S.-Mexico border wall (iStock, Benny Winslow).

By Michael Judge

Last week, in part one of my conversation with Ben Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, we discussed the Trump administration’s misguided “zero-tolerance” approach to asylum seekers at the border; the Biden administration’s embrace of at least one aspect of that approach, Title 42; and how the U.S. has failed our Afghan allies by not passing the Afghan Adjustment Act. But we also talked about the hope the U.S. continues to offer the world, and why millions still risk everything to come here. Below, Ben and I discuss specific ways to fix our broken immigration system and bring the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country out of the shadows. As Ben explains, “[W]e can’t keep challenging the world to arrive at our southern border. We’ve got to figure out ways to create relief mechanisms and legal immigration channels away from the border.” Th…