You are aware are you not that the vast majority of these from Central America which apply for asylum, and then go through the due process, end up being denied asylum. We don't grant political asylum just because a nation is poor.
++ I haven't seen the stats, but it wouldn't surprise me is what you say is true, for two reasons: first the mingling of economic migrants with legitimate asylum seekers, a problem that has been around for decades here and in other hemispheres. If a hurricane strikes Honduras or Chavez screws up Venezueza's economy, the hunger and joblessness created don't justify an asylum claim. Second that Trump deliberately made asylum seekers fleeing drug gang violence ineligible for asylum. I assume that this will not stand court scrutiny, as it goes against decades of precedent accepted by many administrations.
If we did, then half of South East Asia, most of Africa, and half of India would all be allowed to come here. So my question remains: What makes Central America and Mexico so special? Just because it is easier to get here and game the system? What message does that send to the rest of the world about fairness in our immigration system?
++ Central America and Mexico are not special. The only country that I am aware of that is "special" is Cuba, as those nationals get immigration "benefits" upon arrival. The "message" sent is in US law and treaty obligations. That it is easier to get here is also a factor obviously, but irrelevant, an accident of geography. People being persecuted in Nigeria, say, can't organize a caravan to come here. People fleeing Chile during Pinochet's time might go to a post-Falklands War Argentina. People fleeing Vietnam went to Thailand, Kurds fleeing persecution went to Europe.
I'm not saying that America doesn't need new immigrants; our aging population and our lowered birth rates pretty much indicates we do. But we need to have control of our system and our borders, or we won't have a nation in the future. Plus, with advancements in automation, robotics, and AI, we won't need as many of these people as we may thing we do.
++ We do have control of our borders. I have argued that we could get greater control if we fined employers or had a national ID system, but some conservatives who complain about illegals seeking jobs oppose such things. We also could control things like caravans and discourage ineligible asylum claims if we responded with some other suggestions I have posted, and processed asylum claims more efficiently.