The following is adapted from a talk I gave in 2015. I don’t often comment on the politics and morality of immigration but here I go. Not surprisingly I favor immigration and believe we need major reforms to make our system more sensible and workable. I’ve read many books on immigration; a good one to start with is “A Nation of Nations” by Tom Gjelten.
There’s always the fear that the latest wave of immigrants, wherever they’re from, are ruining the country – a tribal reaction. 150 years ago, some Protestant men of British ancestry known as “Know Nothings” viewed German and Irish Catholic immigrants as a dangerous threat. 100 years ago there was fierce sentiment against southern and eastern Europeans arriving at our shores. Today the biggest targets for hostility are Mexicans and Muslims.
To America’s credit, peoples of different backgrounds mix more successfully here than in many other places. Like all Americans except American Indians, I have an immigrant background. My parents traveled to the U.S. from the Netherlands when I was in the womb.
I now realize they had much in common with other immigrants. We were in-between two cultures and languages. My parents strongly believed in education, and worked hard to succeed. They settled in a tiny Illinois farming town because they had Dutch friends nearby – a classic immigrant network: you go where your family and friends are.
There are over 7 billion people in the world today. Only about 3% settle in countries other than the ones they were born in, including the European Union which has freedom of movement between member states. Most people want to stay where they grow up or to return there someday, where they’re part of the culture and have family and friends.
But when that small percentage moves it doesn’t always go well. It can be hard to distinguish between refugees, who fear persecution, and other migrants, who move to another country for many reasons including economic opportunity, natural disasters, to join family members, education, love, adventure, and climate change which is making many countries harder to live in. Often those migrants are not the poorest or least able. It takes money to make the trip and to settle far from home. And it’s a risky enterprise, not for the faint of heart.
There are always push and pull factors in immigration regardless of the country – a struggling economy will push people out, and eager employers in the U.S. or other better-off countries pull them in. Immigrants send money back to family in their home countries, called remittances, which can be a major source of income in their home countries. When our economy is humming, we need immigrant labor; when there’s a recession we blame our troubles on immigrants. Unfortunately, soundbites are too short to capture the complex history and context surrounding the reasons for immigration, such as the devastating effect NAFTA had on Mexican farmers. Changes in immigration law in the 1980s and 1990s led to more Mexicans staying in the US permanently instead of returning home after seasonal work, as they used to do legally. We’re often left with a picture of people banging on or breaking through our country’s doors for no good reason. That’s not a true picture.
Until 1875 there were no immigration restrictions in the U.S., then we decided to bar the Chinese from entering. The 1924 Immigration Act allowed northern and western Europeans in kept others, especially Asians and Africans, out. 50 years ago, in 1965,-the current immigration law passed, as part of historic civil rights legislation to allow immigration from all countries although many restrictions were also set. Since then many millions of people have immigrated legally to the U.S. from countries around the world, changing the faces of America in ways that many people don’t like.
I can understand that many people don’t welcome or are fearful of such dramatic changes. However, I can’t understand how those who dislike the change churn out so-called facts that just aren’t true and blame the foreign-born for every societal ill they see.
The nation’s and the world’s economies have changed enormously over the last 30 years. Some less-skilled native workers have been undercut and replaced by easy-to-exploit immigrant workers. But globalization has changed our economy as much or more than immigrants have. The cry of “they take our jobs” assumes that if one person gains a job, then another must lose one but that’s not how it works. Many economic studies support the positive impacts of immigration – immigrants need to eat, have housing, clothes and other essentials that support businesses. Most immigrants do pay taxes, even if they’re undocumented they can get a tax ID number, and they’re not eligible for most public benefits. It’s all too complicated for soundbites, but our soundbite culture often just wants to have simple answers and to point fingers.
There are a few things to remember about our overly complex system. First and foremost, there’s no line that people can get into. There are many different lines for many different visas, some permanent – green cards – and some temporary, and for many people there’s no line, no way to immigrate. In total there were about 1 million green cards of all types issued last year, for family members, employment, and a few others. There are also many types of temporary or nonimmigrant visas – for visitors, students; skilled, professional and religious workers, employee transfers, fiancées of U.S. citizens, athletes, artists and entertainers, and quite a few more. Each one has its own set of rules. Some have numerical quotas, and some don’t.
It’s hard to get a green card, even for many in “easy” categories, like the spouses of U.S. citizens. 9/11 made the system much tougher and slower. The process takes anywhere from 6 months to 25 years. I represent many Filipinos who immigrate legally; they have some of the longest lines of 20+ years.
You’ve probably heard of DREAMers who were born elsewhere but came to the U.S. as children. The DACA or deferred action program that President Obama created in 2012 allows those who qualify to get 2 years of relief from deportation, and a work permit. They don’t get green cards, they don’t get citizenship, and so far they still have no secure path to staying in the country they’ve called home for many years.
And you’ve no doubt heard that we’re overrun with criminal aliens and that they’re streaming across the border. We’re not and they’re not. The Obama administration has deported over 2 million people – many more than any prior administration. It’s slowed down some but immigrants continue to be deported for little reason and many immigrants live in fear. Most are not hardened criminals by a long shot. A while ago I got a call from a lawyer acquaintance; her husband, in his 50’s, had committed a crime 30 years ago, had been punished, and had just been picked up to be deported. What sense does that make? If you’re one of the roughly 11 million people here without legal authority – either because of an unlawful entry or by overstaying a legitimate visa, which is very common, there is often no legal way to “get right with the law.” A strong majority of Americans believe there should be. A wall is not practical, it’s not humane, and it’s not the answer.
Our immigration system has not adapted to a changing world, especially in the employment sphere, and that’s a large part of our current problems. Most developed countries – but not the U.S. – have merit-based systems that favor more educated, skilled, and younger immigrants who add to the nation’s resources and replace older workers who retire. This is one of the reasons Germany welcomed refugees in 2015 – they need them. We make it tough for everyone, and as a result many of the most talented foreign nationals are going to other countries. An immigration overhaul, like the one that almost became law in 2013, will undoubtedly focus less on family reunification and more on economic needs, sad as that will be for many families.
It doesn’t make sense for a life to be determined largely by the luck of where you’re born, or the birthright lottery as one author puts it. Why do so many Americans, and citizens of other first world countries, feel so entitled to their privileges just on the basis of this random bit of luck?
The U.S. is a nation of immigrants, unlike most other nations, many of whom are very protective of their traditionally homogenous populations. The core discussion between those who see immigration as good or bad for our country is whether our tradition is “Anglo-Saxon” aka white, the peoples who first forcibly occupied America or whether it’s based on a voluntary allegiance to American principles including democracy and opportunity. I see immigration as good for all countries. I want to be part of a nation committed to principles of fairness and tolerance, part of a global tribe that includes all, and harms none.
