With the relentless deluge of chaotic headlines, Americans are being confronted daily with disturbing images and conflicting narratives about immigration enforcement.
On TV and social media, ICE agents are increasingly seen as a shadowy, unaccountable police force—conducting raids, detentions and removals with little explanation of the broader strategy behind them. While the intensity of these images s concerning, what is also striking is the absence of a serious public conversation about what U.S. immigration policy actually is—or should be.
Most Americans agree on at least one point: the United States needs meaningful, comprehensive immigration reform. Rounding up immigrants—or anyone suspected of being an immigrant—is not a policy. It is a reaction. What is becoming increasingly evident is enforcement without strategy does not solve a problem; it makes it worse.
Here’s the real question: what is the U.S. doing to build a modern, strategic immigration system—one that attracts the workers we need, strengthens our economy, supports national security and upholds the rule of law? As the teacher in Ferris Bueller asks, “Anyone? Anyone?”
We are getting crickets. A serious immigration policy should be designed to draw people who want to contribute, work and become part of the American civic fabric. It should reward lawful behavior, promote assimilation while creating clear and humane pathways that align with our labor needs and national interests.
At the same time, Americans are right to reject chaos. Porous borders with no accountability undermine public trust and invite real risks—economic, social, national security. The Biden administration’s failure to enact coherent border policy created visible disorder and eroded confidence across the political spectrum. That failure had consequences, and voters responded.
But the chaos we are witnessing today is no better—and in some ways, it may be worse. Highly publicized mass enforcement actions, carried out with little transparency, are fueling fear and division.
Whether one supports aggressive enforcement or opposes it, the reality is unavoidable: scenes of people being rounded up and removed enmasse are having a radical impact. Scenes of people being shot are creating fear and anger. They harden hearts, deepen resentment and create ground for extremism on all sides. That is not a path toward stability or unity.
What makes this moment even more troubling is the silence around real reform. The American public is being shown enforcement, but not policy. And we are given no opportunity to ask our elected leaders the hard questions—because too many members of Congress no longer hold open town halls or engage directly with their constituents on difficult issues like immigration.
Immigration is not a problem that can be solved through optics, outrage or executive action alone. It requires legislation, compromise and common-sense leadership—none of which can happen without public accountability. Americans deserve to know what the plan is. They deserve to hear how enforcement fits into a larger framework of legal pathways, work visas, border security and integration. And they deserve representatives willing to face them, explain their positions and defend them in the open.
So, where’s the plan? Until our leaders stop avoiding the conversation and start offering real policy, the chaos—whether at the border or in our city streets—will continue to fill the vacuum where leadership should be. And, as we can see, that vacuum is becoming more increasingly dangerous.
Cindy Allen 