The Big Picture
- John Stewart discusses the complexities of the migrant crisis, calling for thoughtful planning beyond political rhetoric.
- Journalist Jonathan Blitzer emphasizes immigrants’ crucial role in the US post-COVID, and urges the need for immigration reform.
- The situation at the border highlights the need for comprehensive immigration reform to break the chaotic cycle.
When you pair up a presidential election year with the return of Jon Stewart to The Daily Show, you can expect nothing less than sensitive and complex topics to be discussed on the talk show – and that’s certainly what’s going to happen till November. This week, Stewart dedicated a segment to an issue that’s on the radar of political adversaries Joe Biden and Donald Trump: the migrant crisis.
The host started by pointing out that the issue is a lot more complex than meets the eye. While Republicans are vocal about the possible dangers of opening the borders to immigrants, Democrats stress that the slogan “land of opportunity” is not just for show. At the same time, the segment underscored that both forms of discourse ignore that this issue needs to be thought through. While you can’t just label every immigrant a criminal, there are also logistical issues about opening up the border that need to be thoroughly discussed and planned.
Stewart singled out the case of New York Mayor Eric Adams, who could hardly deal with two busloads of immigrants after stating they were welcome. If you do decide to shelter them, these people need to be fed, housed, taken care of, and eventually, they’ll need to find jobs, and effective policies to deal with all of that currently don’t seem to be crossing the minds of a good number of politicians.
Immigrant Work Often Goes Unnoticed By Politicians, ‘The Daily Show’ Stresses
In the follow-up to this segment, Stewart interviewed Jonathan Blitzer – a journalist and immigration expert who’s releasing a new book titled Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here. Blitzer stressed that, especially in the post-covid era, immigrant work is what kept the United States afloat. As Last Week Tonight with John Oliver stressed last year, one of the sectors that largely benefits from the immigrant (and undocumented) workforce is produce, with farmworkers making sure vegetables make it to Americans’ tables for very little in return, while working under extreme conditions.
Blitzer also stressed that the immigrant issue is a cycle that needs to be broken: “For years and years we’ve watched kind of in this loop as politicians in Washington say ‘We can’t pass comprehensive immigration reform because of the situation at the border.’ And yet the situation at the border is in a state of chaos because we have not passed immigration reform. And as a result, the asylum system at the Southern border has borne the brunt of the otherwise failing system.” The border was visited by Trump and Biden this past week, but it doesn’t look like the duo will meet in the middle to solve the problem.
Check out the segments above and below and be sure to watch The Daily Show on Comedy Central.
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