US immigration system needs fixing, but Trump's hostile approach is not the solution

Washington, DC

WEBSTER'S Dictionary defines "emergency" as "a sudden, urgent, usually unexpected occurrence requiring immediate action". By that standard, US President Donald Trump's claim that the United States faces an immigration emergency is simply not credible. Immigrants have been coming to the US since its inception, and since 2007 their net numbers have actually been falling. Because this issue is so often framed in a misleading way, it is important to get the facts straight.

To be sure, the current system is broken. There are three major concerns: the US needs to improve how it treats immigrants, it needs better ways to curb illegal immigration, and it needs to reform the visa system in order to increase benefits and reduce costs.