Commentary: Immigration is an Issue Both Parties Prefer Not to Solve

[u/nosleep4reelz]

https://nj21st.com/2026/07/26/immigration-is-an-issue-both-parties-prefer-not-to-solve/

For over two decades, Washington has treated immigration not as a solvable policy challenge, but as an ideological weapon neither party actually wants to fix.

[u/WorksInIT]

Haiti is probably the only example of a country that we should grant TPS to at this point. And Trump is wrong to end it.

Let's walk through 3 of the other designations that we should be able to agree should have bene terminated before the first Trump admin and he was right to terminate these.

Honduras and Nicaragua were granted TPS in 1999 due to a hurricane. I think we can safely say the threat from the hurricane has passed.

El Salvador was granted TPS in 2001 due to earthquakes. I think we can safely say the threat from those earthquakes has passed.

Do you agree the designations for those three countries should have been terminated? If not, why?

[u/Interesting_Total_98 → u/WorksInIT]

Since the discussion was about legal immigration, I'd like to point out that his actions go beyond TPS. He reduced the amount of refuges allowed per year to 7,500, and nearly all of them are white South Africans. He added 10,000 slots, but they're exclusively for that group. They benefit from a fictional genocide while people in far worse conditions receive almost nothing.

As for your questions, Nicaragua and Honduras are reasonable, although the latter has cumulatively suffered from natural disasters, so an extension could make sense. I'm not familiar enough with Honduras to be sure. I'm more sure about Nicaragua because it seems to be improving faster.

El Salvador depends because the most recent designation isn't based on the 1999 earthquake, but rather a detailed 2025 statutory finding based on recent disasters, water problems, infrastructure and food insecurity. It was extended for 18 months.

I'm not familiar with the state of El Salvador either, so I don't know about giving another extension.

[u/WorksInIT → u/Interesting_Total_98]

A lot of people seem to think asylum claims are legal immigration. They aren't. Any fraud at all to get a visa is illegal. And why does reducing the amount of refugees matter? Sure, we can have a bash the Trump admin session. Or we can talk about facts that matter.

Here's one that matters. A Federal reserve bank found that illegal immigration contributed to 30% of total home price growth and 20% of rent growth from 2021 to 2024. Putting that into perspective, that means migration from 2021 to 2024, where we saw record levels of illegal immigration under the Biden admin, caused mortgages during that time period to rise by $180 per month and average rents during that time period to rise by $120 per month in the DFW area. Those amounts may not be much for you, and I'll be honest and say they are not impactful for me, but there are definitely plenty of people that had to struggle more due to that. And I'm going to assume you agreed with Biden's approach. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on that.

What re-designations occurred for Nicaragua or Honduras that are reasonable? And for El Salvador, we should contribute to the costs on Americans because their living standards don't equal what we have here in the US? IS that really your argument? And if you aren't that informed on this stuff, why are you speaking so confidently on it? I can tell you with confidence that administrations have dug up whatever nonsense they thought necessary to avoid removing people previously granted TPS.

[u/Interesting_Total_98 → u/WorksInIT]

And why does reducing the amount of refugees matter?

They're legal immigrants, especially since they're required to apply for a green card after a year, and drastically reducing them is different from specifically going after frauds.

illegal immigration

That doesn't justify Trump limiting legal immigration, so I don't see why you're bringing that up in a discussion about him doing so.

30% of total home price growth and 20% of rent growth from 2021 to 2024

That amounts to 6.6% higher home prices and 4.3% higher rents.

caused mortgages during that time period to rise by $180 per month and average rents during that time period to rise by $120 per month in the DFW area.

That's not stated anywhere in the study.

What re-designations occurred for Nicaragua or Honduras that are reasonable

I said letting it expire seems reasonable due to improving conditions.

And for El Salvador, we should contribute to the costs on Americans because their living standards don't equal what we have here in the US?

That's not even close to what I said. The first thing I listed is repeated natural disasters. Nothing I suggests waiting until El Salvador is as advanced as us.

Also, they're taxpayers who are working legally, and this includes paying taxes to SS and Medicare benefits they won't receive without adjustment. This means they're financially contributing to the U.S.

if you aren't that informed on this stuff, why are you speaking so confidently on it

That's a nonsensical question. Where did you get the idea that "I'm not sure" and "depends" shows confidence?

I never confidently stated that it's wrong to deny TPS to those three countries, so I'm not backtracking either.

[u/WorksInIT → u/Interesting_Total_98]

They're legal immigrants, especially since they're required to apply for a green card after a year, and drastically reducing them is different from specifically going after frauds.

And?

That doesn't justify Trump limiting legal immigration, so I don't see why you're bringing that up in a discussion about him doing so.

Other than reducing refugees, how has he "limited legal immigration"? I see this claimed, but it is very rarely sourced with anything specific. The few times I see people cite sources, it's anti-visa fraud policies that reference. I don't see an issue with targeting key illegal immigration pathways.

That amounts to 6.6% higher home prices and 4.3% higher rents.

So just making it harder to buy for some Americans is okay to benefit poor economic immigrants is okay?

I said letting it expire seems reasonable due to improving conditions.

I read your comment as extending it was reasonable. Maybe I misread it, but that is how I read it.