Illegal migration is potential problem here

In the 1966 Cold War film “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming,” a Soviet submarine runs aground off New England. It has no hostile intent, but villagers go into a tizzy. The movie was a comedy. All ended happily. But a movie made today might be called “The Migrants Are Coming, the Migrants Are Coming.” Today’s invaders also may have no hostile intent. But what happens after they arrive might not be a comedy. And there might not be a happy ending.

This all occurred to me when I recently heard a rumor that some migrants are illegally occupying vacant housing in East Cleveland. Such occupations happen in other American cities. It is not paranoid to imagine the same might be happening so close to where we live.

Many illegal migrants will come to our area because there is a federal immigration court in downtown Cleveland. They will wait for their asylum cases to be heard. And they must wait for years because of the large volume of cases. In the meantime, they must live somewhere, and East Cleveland has a lot of vacant houses and apartments. So, the rumor I heard makes sense. It could be true.

Squatting in East Cleveland would be a warning sign. This neighboring city is not the only one with vacant houses and apartments; there are many in Cleveland Heights, too.

Relatively few illegal migrants eventually will get legal permission to remain. Most seek economic asylum that does not qualify for such permission, rather than political asylum. Many might expect to receive housing, food, education, and medical care at taxpayer expense. After all, other cities provide such benefits.

Should Cleveland Heights offer benefits? If it did, would that incentivize illegal migrants to locate here?

And what if some illegal migrants are poor, desperate, and occasionally violent? What if they commit crimes? Will Cleveland Heights cooperate with prosecution and deportation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), or will it seek to provide illegal migrants with sanctuary?

I wonder if our local government even has given such matters any thought.

Our self-described “welcoming” community may [have to] confront such questions because every state now is a border state. Cleveland Heights residents will not have the luxury to pretend that immigration problems only exist elsewhere.