The title of this post is from a song written by Paul Simon, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover. The lyrics are certainly not applicable to recent actions by Governors Abbott of Texas and DeSantis of Florida when they removed non-citizens from their states who were fleeing political and economic oppression. These people were loaded on buses and sent to the Northeast. The lyrical analogy does fit when we think about deeds precipitated by the Nazis in rounding-up Jews and other “miscreants,” and forcibly putting them on buses and trains. Their primary destinations: Concentration Camps wherein they were exterminated.

Other similarities abound: passengers included women and children and all were told they were headed to places other than where they were actually sent; then and now, the forced removals were designed to use individuals as political pawns with larger goals in mind—murder in the former case and tacit deportation in the other. Given the immigrant status of most of us, I am sure that Americans could relay other horrendous stories about their ancestors or their own arrival in America.

But the policies and procedures of the two Governors stand-out exactly because they so resemble a time many of our own relatives remember. Only five years ago, a certain ex-President used pejoratives in describing potential immigrants to this country based upon their ethnicity and religion.

And by the way, don’t forget what happened to our Native American and African population populations: the former were exterminated so primarily White Americans could settle on their lands, and the latter were forcibly seized in order to work as slaves in America. This is the record of “welcoming the immigrant” that American history tries to portray. Too much cruelty, shame and deception are, in fact, the sordid hallmarks of the American immigrant experience.

This border crisis is leaving too many victims in its wake. Yet, I do believe that open borders are a mistake: the hatred and political opportunism engendered by border violations is self-defeating. Letting people immigrate freely to our shores without restrictions violates common sense and makes a mockery of the law and its system of equal treatment for everyone. This only feeds the present crop of American racists and demagogues. Democrats and Republicans must modify their ambitions in pursuit of justice. A better America with law-abiding citizenry must be the goal. Historical analogies and poor outcomes are not on our side unless the political cowardice and racism stop now. I hope we can do better.