Rebuilding Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge will require an all-hands-on-deck effort. The enormous undertaking will require all levels of government to work together to reconnect communities and clear a path for ships to enter the Port of Baltimore. If done right, it will show what good government can do.
But it’s also essential to recognize the people who will do the heavy lifting in this effort. Local construction workers, many of them immigrants, will put things back together piece by piece.
Tuesday’s bridge collapse reminds us of the on-the-job risks for those who build our country’s bridges and roads. Eight construction workers, all men, were filling potholes when the bridge crashed into the water. Two were rescued, the bodies of two others were recovered, and the rest are presumed dead. They were all immigrants from Mexico and Central America who had moved to Maryland to provide better lives for their families.
The work of many more immigrants will be needed to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The sister of Maynor Suazo, one of the victims, said her brother “fought day after day for our family to get ahead.” In an interview with Telemundo, she added: “He gave us strength for everything.” Suazo, who is originally from Honduras, shares a story with millions of immigrants: He left his home country in search of opportunity. As much as his family benefited, Maryland did too.
Undoubtedly, the work of many more immigrants will be needed to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The United States relies on immigration to complete these kinds of projects, and the work of immigrants has contributed to the nation’s post-pandemic rebound. It’s a great American success story. According to CNBC, hiring immigrants has helped curb inflation by reducing the worker shortage.
That economic reality, immigrants making America great, is in stark contrast with what is being peddled in the right-wing echo chamber. Just hours after the bridge collapse, Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo tried to connect the tragedy to President Joe Biden’s handling of immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. Quick geography lesson: Maryland does not share a border with Mexico, and the Dali cargo ship sails under a Singaporean flag. Other far-right figures have tried to link the collision to terrorism, even as investigators concluded it was a horrible accident and not an act of terror.
These performative gimmicks fly in the face of the truth and rob victims of their humanity. They are also a dangerous distraction in the aftermath of a crisis that demands clear and steady leadership. This catastrophe near a major U.S. port threatens to strain America’s supply chain and will disrupt the daily lives of tens of thousands of residents for months, if not years, to come. Americans need results, not fearmongering.
Biden has vowed to “move heaven and earth” to rebuild the bridge and reopen the port as soon as possible, promising the federal government will pay for the significant reconstruction effort. On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the White House would likely need Congress to approve emergency funding for the project. While this is a leadership test for the Biden administration, it is also a test for House Speaker Mike Johnson. Will the chaos-embroiled GOP-led House be able to govern in this moment? Americans are waiting ... and watching.
Leaders in Washington have met the moment before.
Leaders in Washington have met the moment before. In 2007, Congress quickly passed a $250 million bill to rebuild Minnesota’s I-35W bridge after it collapsed into the Mississippi River. Just last year, crews quickly rebuilt a stretch of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia after a fiery truck crash caused a portion of the roadway to collapse.
Good governance will require quick, unified action. That is obvious. But this week’s tragedy also reminds us that good governance will require a narrative shift in how leaders frame the debate around immigration, away from crisis and toward opportunity, not just for the immigrants themselves but for an American economy that relies upon them.
For more thought-provoking insights from Alicia Menendez, Michael Steele and Symone Sanders-Townsend, watch “The Weekend” every Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. ET on MSNBC.