P E R S P E C T I VAS - Princeton Theological Seminary

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Perspectivas/Occasional Papers • Fall 2006Perspectivas/Occasional Papers • Fall 2006ing in this country hardly present a security threat. When given anopportunity they have assimilated like the members of othergroups. Only ignorance and fear in tandem with political opportunismcan explain the present state of things. In the next sectionI give attention to ten points concerning the reality of immigrationto the U.S.Immigrants: Assets or Burdens?The best way to understand immigration—both legal and illegal—is by enumerating the facts that surround it.• Fact One: Most immigrants to the United States come from asingle country—Mexico. More than half of all legal entries tothis country are Mexicans and more than half of illegal alienscome from Mexico with smaller but fast rising groups originatingin Central America. About a third of all immigrantssince 1965 are Asians (Portes 2006). For the most part, firstgenerationAsians and Mexicans do not become involved incriminal activities or terrorist acts.• Fact Two: Unemployment among first-generation immigrantsis virtually nonexistent; most immigrants arrive in this countryeager to work and easily find jobs. Although the overalleffect of immigration on the U.S. economy is small, immigrantworkers are vital to the stability and growth of sectors such asagriculture, the hospitality industry, construction, and otherlike services (Alba and Nee 2005). Working-class immigrantstend to take jobs that are unlikely to be filled by native-bornresidents. There is some debate about the effect of immigrantworkers on the urban poor. Nevertheless, most studies concludethat such an effect, when present, is minuscule.Moreover, to base concerns over immigration on its impact onracial minorities is disingenuous—the members of long establishedU.S. populations would not be competing for entry16level jobs if adequate channels for their economic mobilitywere in place.• Fact Three: Most illegal immigrants pay taxes (Massey 2003).Even when using counterfeit documentation, illegal immigrantsmake contributions to the nation’s coffers. In addition,their illegal status makes it difficult for many of them to obtainpensions and other benefits reserved to citizens. Their contributionsrepresent a net gain for the nation. Immigrants alsorepresent a burgeoning market and, when presented with theopportunity, they tend to participate constructively in politicalprocesses.• Fact Four: Most illegal immigrants do not use services ordepend on public assistance for fear of deportation. It is truethat in some localities immigrants crowd schools and emergencyrooms. That problem would be largely resolved if immigrantswere legalized. Citizens and permanent residents areless likely to cluster in low-income neighborhoods with overtaxedresources.• Fact Five: Whether legal or illegal, most immigrants in the U.S.endorse the norms and culture of the United States. Someauthors, like Samuel Huntington (2005), argue that culturaldifferences among Hispanics threaten prevailing Americanvalues. That argument flies in the face of reality. Mexicans, forexample, have a long tradition of European and Americanacculturation; they espouse Christian values and are conversantwith mores and aspirations familiar in this country(Portes 2006). It is, in fact, their devotion to family and work—two central tenets of American culture—that first propels themin their journey to the U.S. The complaints regularly airedthrough talk show radio and, most notoriously, through TVseries like “Broken Borders,” the unhappy creation of journalistLou Dobbs, eerily echo the chauvinistic rantings against17
Perspectivas/Occasional Papers • Fall 2006Perspectivas/Occasional Papers • Fall 2006Irish, Polish, Jewish and Italian immigrants heard more than ahundred years ago, at the turn of the twentieth century.• Fact Six: It is not true that immigrants from Latin Americarefuse to speak English or maintain a separatist attitude.English is far from being a beleaguered language in need ofdefense. More than 90 percent of immigrants in the U.S. speakEnglish, at least to some extent. Almost universally, they try tospeak the dominant tongue to better communicate withemployers and service providers. English as a SecondLanguage courses are oversubscribed throughout the nation.It is unreasonable to think that people who first came to thiscountry in search of opportunity would spurn a major skillnecessary for their own economic and social advancement.Most second-generation immigrants speak only English(Portes and Rumbaut 2001). In fact, where immigrants areconcerned, the problem is not that they refuse to learn English,but that they lose the language of their ancestors so quickly.• Fact Seven: All attempts at curtailing illegal immigration to theU.S. have failed largely because the availability of legal residentvisas is in great disparity with both employer demandand labor supply. Under present regulations, Mexico—aneighboring country with a population of 107 million peopleand a long trajectory of economic interdependence with theU.S.—is entitled to the same number of legal entries as tinycountries in Africa and Oceania (Massey 2003). The waitingperiod to gain legal admission to this country ranges betweenten and twenty years. Less costly and wasteful than currentproposals for the construction of fences and the expansion ofvigilante squads along the U.S.-Mexico border would be toclose the quota disparity in ways that reflect true market conditions.• Fact Eight: Reputable studies show that, on the average, first-18generation immigrants exhibit better health indicators than theU.S. public at large (Rumbaut 1996; 1999). That is partlybecause limited resources prevent them from partaking of thedangerous distractions that so often doom more establishedpopulations. Child mortality and morbidity rates are lowamong first-generation Mexicans as is the consumption of controlledsubstances. The evidence does not support the claimthat illegal immigrants are carriers of disease.• Fact Nine: At least a third of illegal immigrants in the UnitedStates are youngsters who first entered the United States withtheir parents. Those children did not make an independentdecision to cross borders illegally. They have grown up in thiscountry, speak only English, and many have no memory oftheir ancestral nation. Yet, given their irregular status, thosechildren face limited opportunities in education and employment.Their fate should be a central concern among policymakers.• Fact Te n : Mounting evidence, the result of painstakingresearch, clearly shows that, in the age of globalization andwith growing points of contact between Mexico and the U.S.,illegal immigration will continue unabated. The question isnot whether people will keep flowing to points of opportunitybut whether more will have to die or sink to the bottom of thesocial ladder in the process.Conclusion: On Whose Side is God?To reconcile American values and history with present attitudestowards immigration boggles the mind. A country knownfor its reliance on democratic ideals, market forces, and culturaltolerance is presently engaged in a denial of its own tradition. TheAmerica that overcame Nazism and Communism now sees a few19
Page 1 and 2: H I S P A N I C T H E O L O G I C A
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTSThe 2006 HTI Summer Worksho
Page 5 and 6: FROM THE EDITORU.S. Latina/o theolo
Page 7: Perspectivas/Occasional Papers •
Page 12 and 13: Perspectivas/Occasional Papers •
Page 56 and 57: HTI DISSERTATION SERIES COLLECTIONI
Page 58: Perspectivas/Occasional Papers •

P E R S P E C T I VAS - Princeton Theological Seminary

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?