Politics is once again subsumed by the immigration debate.

Some cable news commentators and politicians are ominously warning that waves of COVID-19-infected Latin American immigrants are crossing from Mexico into the United States. I fear that the ugly scourge of xenophobia and virulent anti-immigrant sentiment seems to have once again seeped into our public discourse. For some, perhaps, it is little more than a fear tactic designed to score political points in border states. Regardless, these days, it is near impossible to discuss in a rational manner what is a legitimate national security concern. Namely, how to balance our nation’s inspiring history of true compassion for the downtrodden with overstretched government resources that are woefully insufficient to care for those in need. We are no closer to solving the complex immigration issue given the nastiness of the rhetoric.