OPINION: Finally, a grown-up conversation about the border

Last fall, Congressman Gabe Vasquez proposed an immigration and security plan that could lead to the first large-scale reform in decades.

It includes increasing border security by upgrading technology at ports of entry, where most illegal, bad drugs come in. He also wants more efforts to go after cartels and remove violent criminals.

Paired with that, he calls for a streamlined way for those who want to come here, work hard, follow the law and contribute to our communities to live without fear.

Why is this so important?

Unless your name is Begay or Runnigbear, your family came here from somewhere else. From the Pilgrims and Spanish Conversos looking for a safe place for worship, to the Irish, Chinese and Mexican immigrants wanting better jobs, the U.S. was built by people looking for freedom.

The Statue of Liberty says: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." She is right.

For those who say, “Well, do this legally like my ancestors did,” let’s be very honest about what that means. When my great, great grandparents got off the boat from Ireland, they went through a basic health screening and signed their names. It took a few hours, and you were in.

Now? It can take more than a decade. These are not the same things.

Vasquez’s proposal gets us back to Lady Liberty’s values. As the son of immigrants, he gets that in a personal way I could never imagine.

Additionally, Democrats now know that people care that this happens in an orderly way. There are valid concerns about cartels dealing drugs and trafficking humans. Many city residents feel overburdened with many refugees to responsibly care for. We haven’t done a good enough job publicly addressing this issue.

This has cost us all, as President Donald Trump used that anger to get elected. Twice. Now, he and Stephen Miller, a White House chief of staff for policy, want a terrifying deportation system based on quotas. Lying about only going after violent criminals, they are exposed by data showing hundreds of brown Americans being arrested. Families are being ripped apart and our communities lose good, hard-working neighbors who make us better.

After the killing of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent, even I, a white guy with a beard, am terrified going through Border Patrol checkpoints. If you can be killed merely for opposing their policies nonviolently, can I be shot for not answering illegal questions as well?

Vasquez’s effort shows he is listening. He acknowledges concerns and attempts to deal with them in a responsible, healthy way. Stopping drugs at the border and working to disrupt cartel activity without turning to policies dictators use regularly is good policy and good politics.

But in politics, saying "no" is easy. Destroying another’s idea takes almost no effort and is great for social media videos. Constructing something, though? That's hard. Issues are complicated. Feelings run high and people on all sides aren't happy unless they get everything they want.

Immigration reform is the poster child for this. We know it’s important, but the last major reform was passed by Congress 40 years ago. Four other major attempts have died since.

True leaders, though, know that not everyone agrees with everything on every issue, understanding that compromise is needed to get things done. Vasquez, by leading this push for a real, responsible immigration and security plan, is showing the qualities needed today — the courage and tenacity to take on something hard and make it better.

He is choosing something hard, but needed. We need more of this.

Bill McCamley is a former Doña Ana County commissioner, New Mexico state representative, and New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions Cabinet secretary.