Xenophobia
I have little in common with the current incarnation of the Republican party but typically less in common with the Democratic party. Reading the exit polls from the recent United States election suggests to me that most people had the corruption of those in power or the Iraq war in mind when they cast their votes, but one the one issue that stood first in importance to me was the dismal attitude prevailing in this country towards immigration.
From the ranting radio talk show hosts, from most of the people I work with, from even those at the highest levels of political power I have heard a view towards immigrants and immigration that can most accurately be summed up in one word: xenophobia. “An irrational fear of foreigners or strangers.” Has America forgotten her history? I constantly hear that Mexican immigrants (nevermind that they probably comprise only half of undocumented entrants into the US, it’s all the same to these people) are only here to steal, murder, sell drugs, live it up off of our tax dollars, and take the jobs of good, hardworking Americans.
The United States, in case you have forgotten, was founded by immigrants from Europe, immigrants who were fleeing poor economic and social conditions for the chance to work hard to establish a new life. And throughout its history, a continuous flow of immigrant populations have maintained the strength and soul of America. Each was looked down on and oppressed by those who were “born in America,” imagining that this coincidence of parentage made them somehow better. And each has contributed in vital ways to the growth of America’s economy and culture. Where would the United States be today without the Italians, Irish, Germans, and Chinese, to name just four influential groups? Not the seemingly unbeatable economic and political powerhouse it is today.
The rush to prevent immigration from occurring, whether by old policies of artificially low legal quotas for certain ethnic groups or by new ones like a 700 mile long wall that evokes images of a divided Berlin, is extremely worrisome.
I shudder to think of what will become of the United States if those in political power continue to stay the course of an immigration policy rapidly turning from bad to worse.
November 12th, 2006 at 3:15 pm
In general, I agree with you, but I think you are making a couple of mistakes common to the pro immigration camp.
The first mistake is not acknowledging that because of the Nanny State the “live it up off of our tax dollars argument” has more force than we might wish. The government spends far more money on even illegal immigrates today then it did on the Italians, Irish, Germans, and Chinese, that came to this country 100 years ago. As is usual with government programs this money is not spent very wisely and thus raise the net cost of immigrants to this country considerably.
I happen to think that the evidence supports the view that immigrants are a net plus, but a fair minded person must confess that the data is ambiguous. This is especially true in regards to the poorly educated immigrants. The effect of the nanny state is to cause only the highly educated immigrants to appear fiscally beneficial when you look at only the hard data. See this for an example.
I still would argue that even with the added cost imposed by the Nanny State net immigrations is still economically beneficial to America. But I would have to use soft data to support that argument as the hard data tends to supports the anti immigration position.
But no matter what data you use or how you spin the soft data, I don’t think it is fair to blame immigrants for problems that are inherent in the Nanny State.
The word “fair” brings us to what I consider the biggest mistake of the pro immigration camp. For I belive that immigration is fundamentally a moral issue. That is why I don’t consider the word xenophobia to be appropriate. It is more of an issue of ethics than it is an issue of reason…..
But I think that my comment is longer then your post already so I will stop now.
November 12th, 2006 at 3:53 pm
I agree that the immigration debate is fundamentally a moral issue. “Come to me, all who are weary and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”