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SAN DIEGO -- The relationship between Americans and the millions of undocumented immigrants who live in the United States is complicated.

Contrary to the whine served up by President Donald Trump and other right-wing politicians eager to score points with the nativist wing of the Republican Party, our country is not undergoing an "invasion" by people who are desperate to do our chores. It's more like a gigantic job fair. The ready availability of household labor that is both affordable and dependable allows American families to enjoy an upper-class lifestyle while earning middle-class salaries. Plus, the fact that someone else is doing the laundry, cleaning the house or trimming the hedges gives us time to call talk radio shows and complain about immigrants.

Like I said, the situation is complicated.

Yet what is even more complex is the relationship between the migrants and their sending countries. In 35 years of writing and speaking about immigration, I've interviewed dozens of migrants all across the country. I've actually never run across even one who hated where he or she came from and never wanted to go back. Rather, what I hear most often in their voice isn't resentment or anger but lament, regret and sorrow. Many wish they could have earned enough money working at jobs back home so they never had to leave. They would have loved to have been able to support their families without having to abandon their families. For this harsh reality of life, many migrants blame the corrupt and inept politicians back home who let them down.

Speaking of politicians, regardless of party, they're not too bright. Republicans resist efforts to convey U.S. citizenship onto the undocumented because of the voting privileges that go with it. Most of them must realize they've been cruel toward immigrants, and the last thing they want to do is give the people they've abused the power to get even at the ballot box. But what U.S. politicians don't consider is that migrants who come to this country often do so because politicians in their own country failed them. They have very little trust in government. Accordingly, most of them couldn't care less about voting. In fact, in my conversations with them, politics never comes up.

Another factor that complicates the relationship between migrants and their home countries is economics. While it might not be convenient for Mexicans to spend much of their lives in the United States, it would be even more inconvenient for Mexico if they were to return. The countries often don't have room in their economies to accommodate the workers who fled to the United States.

Besides, they benefit enormously from remittances that migrants send to relatives back home. According to Banxico, Mexico's central bank, in 2023 our neighbor received more than $63 billion in remittances -- most of it from the United States.

Now for the latest complication: Donald Trump. The president has vowed to deport every undocumented immigrant in the United States.

I don't want to spoil the ending to this fairy tale, but he won't get anywhere close to that goal. The Republican will be lucky to match the current record holder, who happens to be a Democrat. In his eight years in office, former President Barack Obama deported more than 3.2 million people. Given the limits of the federal immigration enforcement apparatus, that's where Trump is likely to land.

Nevertheless, some deportations are already underway.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro initially refused to accept receipt of citizens of his country who were being returned. But Petro gave in once Trump offered both a stick and a carrot. The U.S. president threatened to impose a 25% tariff on Colombian imports while also agreeing to make the repatriation process more respectful.

Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum -- who was also not crazy about letting Trump dictate terms of deportations -- reports that her country took in more than 4,000 migrants during Trump's first week in office. Now she appears to be on board, and she has even launched a new slogan to welcome back returning Mexicans. In English, it translates to "Mexico embraces you."

MAGA supporters couldn't be happier. Their junkyard dog appears to be doing its job by getting rid of trespassers.

It's adorable that Trump supporters actually think the leaders of Latin American countries are bending to the president's will. The truth is, what choice did these foreign leaders have? They couldn't very well turn away their own citizens. How would that look?

I'll tell you. It would look like they failed their people twice.

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To find out more about Ruben Navarrette and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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