By Alan Caruba
I was fortunate to know both sets of grandparents, people who immigrated from Russia and Italy. It was not until they had passed on and I was older that I realized that they never spoke of their nations of origin. In the late 1800s they were nations that offered little opportunity and America was all about opportunity.
In the “Atlas of Human Migration” it says that “The message of this book is so important that it bears repeating here at the outset: migration is the history of the world. Humans are born migrants; human evolution is linked to the very act of moving from one habitat to another and then adapting to that new environment.” Migration scholars have called the last twenty years the “age of migration.”
“Some people—mainly the residents of the rich countries of the world—are allowed, even encouraged, to move. Others—the nationals of poor countries—are not. This exposes the stark social inequities that result from globalization and migration control policies.” The result for the United States and Europe has been the rise of “illegals”, people who find a way to access a better life in a better place. Some, however, have brought with them a variety of social problems. Some—Muslims—have demanded changes their adopted nation’s laws to accommodate the oppression they experienced in their home countries. Quotas worked in the past, but are rejected today.
Since 1986 when President Reagan signed an amnesty act—which he regarded as one of the worst mistakes he made—America has been grappling with a migration of illegal immigrants that includes not only those from Latin America, but also from Islamic nations.
As a recent Wall Street Journal editorial noted of the previous effort to address immigration that the reform “offered citizenship to (then) current illegal immigrants but it failed to set up a process for future legal immigration to meet the needs of fast-moving labor markets. Thus it created an incentive for foreigners to arrive illegally and never leave lest they never be able to return to the U.S. if they did go home. Avoiding that mistake should be one of the main goals of this or any other immigration reform. On that point, the Senate framework has promise, but also has a long way to go.”
The current bipartisan bill owes much to the fact that Hispanic immigrants voted three-to-one against Republican candidates in the last election. Politically, that changing demographic cannot and should not be ignored. The Republican sponsors of the proposed bill are the now-classic “RINOs”—Republicans in Name Only—as comfortable with Democratic initiatives as any of their own party.
As just one example, the Huffington Post recently reported that “Hispanics for the first time will become California’s largest ethnic group by the end of the year, according to a report on California’s shifting demographics contained in Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2013-2014 budget proposal.” Hispanics now represent 20% of California’s electorate. There were 5.9 million eligible Hispanic voters in 2012. As reported in The Hill, “Comprehensive immigration reform could make millions of people suddenly eligible for assistance under President Obama’s healthcare law, assuming a final deal paves the way for undocumented immigrants to receive papers.”
What was true in 1986 is true today. Illegal immigrants will continue to come to America and clearly legislation to address this is likely to fall short of deterring them. The expansion of the federal government to address the problem has failed and we’re told that a larger one will be needed to process the newly empowered illegals with a means to work here and gain citizenship.
There is little discussion of building a fence long enough and high enough to deter the traffic across our southern border and even less of the well-worn trails and areas that are known to provide access.
The cliché is that “America is a nation of immigrants”, but those who arrived before and since the 1800s were different in ways than today’s. They were eager to assimilate, learn English, and to prosper. They brought skills and labor necessary to the expanding industrial base of the nation. They did not have a panoply of government programs to provide them with healthcare insurance, food stamps, financial assistance for housing and other benefits. Today’s do and that puts further pressure on a nation that is already in serious financial trouble.
The reality is, however, immigrants—legal and illegal—will keep coming and some effort must be made to integrate them into our society. We cannot send eleven million people back to their home countries. We cannot export their children who have been born and grown up here. We must address the problem of “anchor babies” born here for the purpose of securing citizenship for their entire families.
As the Wall Street Journal editorial says, “A path to citizenship would also assist the process of assimilation that has been one of America’s historic strengths. The U.S. should not want a permanent class of residents who can never be citizens and thus have less incentive to adapt to U.S. cultural mores, speak English, or move out of segregated ethnic enclaves.”
With or without immigration reform, history demonstrates that people will migrate, so are response to the current population of illegals and some kind of reform is now a priority.
© Alan Caruba, 2013
Comment
Fuzzy logic! Just because the natural impulse is to migrate (an assertion I question, BTW), it doesn't follow that any country is obliged to allow random immigration!
For almost 200 years we had immigration policies that promoted orderly influx and assimilation. It was when the Feds started tampering with - and ignoring! - the lawful policies and procedures that it started becoming a problem. I say restore the old policies, including a modern equivalent of Ellis Island to screen for disease. (And how about 'universal background checks' for all who enter, as well?!)
Comment by Jeff Dover on January 31, 2013 at 11:18am People will migrate as long as other people allow them to migrate. That would be us doing the allowing. Here's a thought: let them migrate south.
Alan, you must be on Senator McCain's staff!
Comment by Debrajoe Smith-Beatty on January 31, 2013 at 8:48am Rewarding criminal behavior is not reform.
Comment by Jeff Dover on January 31, 2013 at 7:48am Why can't we send 11 million people back to the nations where they are citizens? They've been coming here for years and years and if it takes years and years to repatriate them, so what? We move thousands of troops around in little time. The vast majority of the illegals here will go to one country, making the task even easier. So, again, why can't it be done?
As for anchor babies, no problem: they were born of people who were here illegally so the law doesn't apply.
Comment by Doug Nicholson on January 31, 2013 at 1:15am "We cannot send eleven million people back to their home countries." True. However, they will go home on their own if they can't find work and can't qualify for government assistance. Passage of a law making it mandatory that ALL employees must pass E-Verify, along with very stiff penalties (jail time) for employers who violate the law, would quickly end the illegal immigration problem. Illegals would stop coming since they couldn't find work and those already here would self-deport for the same reason. The problem is that Congress will never pass such a bill because they don't really want to solve the situation.
Comment by Linda Rund on January 31, 2013 at 1:11am When he was president....Gen. Dwight Eisenhower dealt with the immigration problem infiltrating the southern borders by ordering 2+milliion illegals in 1954 to be rounded up & deported back to Mexico.....it was called "Operation Wetback" ....the 'round-up' sweep was done by 750 border patrol agents.
A lot has changed since then, as we no longer have leaders who are dedicated to preserving the integrity & laws of this country.
Even legal immigration has to be stopped until we get this mess straightened out and it's going to take a rebellion to get their attention. They could care less how we feel about it and many may lose their lives before it is all over.
Comment by Thomas Nunn on January 30, 2013 at 10:55pm "With or without immigration reform, history demonstrates that people will migrate, so are response to the current population of illegals and some kind of reform is now a priority."
Which is precisely why immigration laws were written in the first place. but if those laws are not enforced,
does anyone think any kind of "reform" laws will stop the tide of illegal immigration??
America can not become the homeland of every person on the planet.
If people want to live in a country like America, let them create that country in their own homeland.
The only "Reform" we need in immigration is control over immigration, and enforcement of present laws.
Comment by Jo Gonzalez on January 30, 2013 at 10:04pm One cannot blame people, for wantng to escape from poverty, and locations where they know ,they or their Children have no future. Mostly, we are dealing with people leaving Mexico. Okay, it is not our job, to nurse another whole Country of people, due to the fact Mexico wouldn't. If you want to come here, change your life, learn our Language, and become American, and take advantage of all the good things we have, then become American, do not bring your Mexico mess with you, do not come for "Freebies", come, get a job, and make a contribution. We do not want Freeloaders, we already have them. Some type of plan for assimilation, gradually, could be adopted, once the Border is completely closed. To act now, without closing the Border, or Leftist promises of Border closure is crazy. John McCain is an old embarrassment, actually stating thar we must comply for "Votes". That is such a demeanng statement, that any person with self respect, would automatically be repulsed by such people. If I was a Mexican, the last people I would vote for, would be people like John McCain, who equates me, not a human being, but a vote.
Comment by Ann Pincus on January 30, 2013 at 9:46pm What we need is to enforce the immigration laws that are on the books and find a way to keep people from overstaying their visa's. Yes we have a huge illegal problem and will continue to have one as long as RINO's continue to pander to them and provide social services and welfare to those who sneaked across the border and stayed to have multiple babies with American citizenship. The 14th amendment needs work so that practice will be stopped. It was never meant to apply to anchor babies. I have a huge problem with rewarding lawbreakers with welfare, never mind citizenship. Yes, we will eventually let the majority of them stay, but it should come with rules that must be enforced and obeyed in order for them to stay here and take our jobs.
© 2013 Created by Judson Phillips.
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