A time when people from all political walks of life understood that being a “shining city on a hill” meant flocking to the world clamoring to be part of our American dream. had.
But a recent Rasmussen poll shows Nevadans aren’t necessarily keen on welcoming such crowds to their corner of their small country.
The poll’s results aren’t all that surprising, given the abysmal state of immigration policy under Biden and previous administrations. For example, 71% of Nevadans believe the government should require the use of the federal electronic verification system, E-Verify, to ensure workers’ legal status. Similarly, 60 percent of Nevadans support broader “reductions in immigration.”
But what’s more interesting is how these attitudes permeate how Nevadans feel about population growth overall, even outside the context of the national illegal immigration crisis. be.
Just over half (51%) of poll respondents said they want Nevada’s local and state governments to “make it more difficult for people to move to Nevada from other states.” Stated.
Forget about the Mexican border wall, Nevadans apparently want to build a wall between the US and California.
To be sure, there is some legitimate concern about the state’s rapid population growth and the large number of new residents arriving each year. Polls show that Nevada has the fastest growing population in the nation since the 1980s, and that kind of population growth inevitably creates unique challenges for those who call this state home. .
From concerns about water supplies to a lack of affordable housing, rapid population growth can cause severe growing pains for communities. But these challenges do not justify sealing off our state with (metaphorical) walls to prevent others from enjoying the paradise we have found here in Nevada. After all, as President Ronald Reagan said in his Oval Office farewell address, if a “shining city on a hill” needs walls, those walls must contain “the will to get here.” There must be a door that is open to anyone with a heart. ”
Just as countless desperate immigrants crawl through bellows of wire and trudge across vast deserts to seek refuge in the United States, those of us lucky enough to already live in America can live our best lives. They tend to flock to states where they can. . The fact that so many see Nevada as such a promising state means that for many ambitious and hopeful Americans, we are the best state this country has to offer. It’s proof.
Deliberately destroying that reality by making it “more difficult” for individuals to carve out a piece of the American Dream is an insult to the spirit that made this a great place to call home in the first place.
Put more simply, if we want to continue to be a great place to live, work and play, we must accept that people will want to come here to do just that. It doesn’t have to be.
Whether it’s immigration issues at the national or state level, we should be proud of the fact that what we’ve built here is so appealing to so many people from elsewhere. And our ambition should be to share this land with others, not hoard it for ourselves.
Certainly, there will be cultural and political challenges to such continued population growth. But none of these challenges is insurmountable, as long as we adopt policies aimed at keeping pace with growth rather than restricting it.
The bipartisan push by Gov. Joe Lombardo and Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.) to streamline the development process on certain public lands is an example of such a policy. After all, it’s not just housing demand that’s driving up prices. Regulatory and legal restrictions placed on the ability to increase supply are just as problematic, if not more so.
Of course, water availability is another issue. We live in arid conditions and rely heavily on finite amounts of snowmelt water from nearby and distant mountain ranges to keep water flowing in our faucets.
But like many challenges related to growth, our problems are largely as much political as they are physical. In many important respects, water policy in Western countries has changed little since the mid-1800s, encouraging overuse of such a precious resource. And most water policies still rely on water rights allocations that were developed when rivers were more plentiful and conservation was less needed.
As this columnist has previously written, strict and wasteful water regulations across the West are not suited to modern challenges. However, such policies are not firmly established. As in other areas of public policy, reform is possible and, in some cases, already happening.
In other words, addressing these challenges doesn’t need to make it “more difficult” for people from other states to move to Nevada; it’s enough to make it easier for the economy, infrastructure, and public policies to catch up. . .
And such growth is not something we have to endure reluctantly. In fact, it’s critical to our long-term economic well-being. Immigration has been shown to boost wages, diversify the economy, and even lead to increased employment in local communities. After all, inbound immigration is also needed to combat some of the alarming demographic trends in many parts of the United States, including declining birth rates, increasing retirements, and a shrinking number of native workers.
Fortunately, there are many people from all over the world who are eager to come and help our economic growth, as you can see by the frantic masses flocking to our southern border. America continues to be a haven of opportunity in the modern world. That shining city remains on the hill. Immigration policy needs to mean more than building figurative or literal walls. It must also mean building the doors so that we can welcome those who have the “will and heart to come here.”
And that’s true whether we’re talking about the crisis at America’s southern border or the wave of Californians crossing the Nevada border in search of a more attainable American dream.
Michael Schaus is a communications and branding expert based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Schaus Creative LLC — An agency dedicated to helping organizations, businesses, and activists tell their stories and inspire change. He has over 10 years’ experience as a public relations commentator, News He has worked as a director, columnist, political humorist, and most recently as a director of public policy think tank Communications. Follow him at SchausCreative.com or on Twitter. @ShausMichael.
