In this hectic, modern world sometimes it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The Myths and Counter Myths of Immigration in America
“The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and previleges [sic], if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the enjoyment.” – George Washington
The America as we know it today has always been a nation of immigrants. Except for the Native Americans, everyone in this country (or their ancestors) have immigrated to America at one point or another. On the one hand we love to circulate this myth of America as the glittering, golden city upon a hill (tracing origins back to the Puritans). But behind the rhetoric, behind this beautiful veil of diversity, lies the reality. While preaching the power and benefits of immigrants, America has passed legislation after legislation controlling and restricting movement into the country-- with the recent Arizona Senate Bill as the next chapter in a long, familiar saga.
Obama's rhetoric continues the myth that America is "the land of opportunity" that will always welcome immigrants into its borders. Obama suggests that America has always been this way, and that the entire world takes this myth as fact: "As a nation, as a people, we can choose a different future. A future that keeps faith with our history, with our heritage, and with the hope that America is always inspired in the hearts of people all over the world". We love the way this sounds, and as such we believe in Obama's words and the stories that have always told Americans that their land is the land of the free.
But despite this myth, whenever immigrants have entered the country, the are faced with opposition and resentment by those who consider themselves to be "natives". This resentment as led to a counter myth. This myth views illegal immigrants (especially Mexicans) as a problem and a threat to stability. The "native" opposition claims that illegals take welfare services like unemployment benefits, Social Security, food stamps, etc. as well as jobs away from natural born Americans. Furthermore, as Ted Hayes argues in his short piece "Illegal Immigration Threatens America", illegals damage America by refusing to assimilate with American culture and retaining their unique culture.
This counter myth of immigrants as a threat has been circulating for centuries and is made evident by immigration legislation. The Immigration Act of 1917 (also known as the Asiatic Barred Zone Act) established literacy tests for incoming immigrants and sought to limit the amount of asians entering the country. The 1921 Immigration Act established quotas for each country based on their numbers in the 1890 US census. Since there was very little diversity during that period, the quotas allowed for many Western European immigrants, while also restricting immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. The 1965 Act abolished those 45 year old quotas, and established limits for each nation per year at 20,000 immigrants. And finally the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 fined industries for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants, but granted amnesty for illegal immigrants who had entered the country prior to 1982. And finally, Arizona passed a bill in 2010, which requires all immigrants to carry their documents and allows police officers to detain suspected illegals. This bill promotes racial profiling of Hispanic-Americans.
But this counter myth fails to acknowledge the fact that illegal immigrants have so often been welcomed into the US. The agricultural business of the southern states and California depends heavily on the cheap labor of illegal immigrants. As Rodolfo Acuna asserts in his book "Occupied America: A History of Chicanos", the US has often adjusted its policies towards illegal immigration based on the current economic condition: "The postwar period brought relatively good times that encouraged more Mexicans to enter the country. However, in 1949, an economic recession caused massive roundups of undocumented workers...The Korean War broke the recession...The end of the Korean War brought another recession, which served as an excuse for the brutal massive roundup of Mexicans". This pattern of flip flopping can be found today as the recession has caused states (like Arizona) to tighten their position on illegal immigration.
Evidence exists which discredits the claims made by those who scapegoat illegal immigrants for the country's economic problems. The US Department of Justice found in 1992, that less than 1% of the immigrants granted amnesty by the 1986 Immigration Act had benefited from or used Worker's compensation, Social Security, or unemployment benefits. And an even smaller number had received food stamps.
America believes itself to be the land of the free. It's in our national anthem, it's woven into the rhetoric of presidents from Washington to Obama, it's engrained in our media and in our very perception of who we are. And we tell ourselves that immigration represents this freedom. That anyone can come from anywhere and through hard work they can live the American dream. But the reality of the situation is that many Americans feel threatened by immigration, which gives rise to counter myths. These counter myths of illegals harming the US (both economically and culturally) have culminated in multiple laws, the one in Arizona being the latest. But in reality these fears have little truth, and the US and its industries simply exploits them to their benefit depending on the economic climate. As James Fallows asserts in his Atlantic Article "How America Can Rise Again", one of the things that will keep America competitive is "continued openness to immigration". It's what's made us the melting pot of the world, and it's will allow us to keep adapting and changing in the future.
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