Immigration is America’s DNA – How Should Reform Tap Our Secret of Success?

by Paul Ballard
April 1, 2013
Since last November’s elections, suddenly immigration reform has been taken out of deep freeze by Republican and Democrat politicians in Washington. The goal, as we know, is to reach out to the Latino community, destined to become America’s largest minority by mid-century. A Bi-Partisan Committee of U.S. Senators – encouraged by President Obama – is deliberating comprehensive immigration reform proposals.
Yet, listening to them, I am struck by a mood of only reluctant, grudging opening. Measures to open new opportunities – especially for the estimated eleven million ‘undocumented’ immigrants already here – mainly from Mexico – are hedged around with restrictive prior enforcement conditions. So, it would seem little will change any time soon. Republicans and Conservatives are adamant about blocking a “path to citizenship” to avoid all hint of “amnesty”. Border security and enforcement will come first.
Yet, this tone belies America’s history and current reality. For the U.S.A. is par excellence the nation that grew large in population, prosperous and globally powerful on the back of successive waves of immigration in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Moreover, major demographic shifts already baked-in worldwide and in America are set – almost ineluctably – to change the U.S.’ relative size and importance in the world by 2050. The future is clear. To prosper and remain strong, America will need to rely on large-scale immigration in coming decades, just as it has since its founding. Immigration is literally our nation’s DNA!
Key Questions – For me, these are : What forces in reality drive immigration into the USA and how has it contributed to US economic and political success as a society? Have past immigration control and border enforcement efforts contributed to the US economy and society? Then, what kind of future immigration policy will maximize U.S. prosperity and security? How close to this are comprehensive reforms currently under consideration?
How Immigration Built America : As the classic movie “How The West Was Won” tells us, the settlement and building of America ranks high as one of the world’s all-time success stories. From a mere twelve million in 1830, the U.S. population has grown steadily and rapidly for the past one hundred eighty years. It reached 31 million by 1860, over 100 million by 1900, over 140 million by 1940, over 200 million by 1970, and over 300 million today. This growth was fueled by arrival of over 75 million immigrants, who came, prospered and raised families. Over 30 million of them arrived through Ellis Island, New York in 1870-1920. Until 1930, most U.S. immigrants – over 80% – were Europeans, mainly Germans, Irish, Italians, English, Russians and Scandinavians. Since 1985, most – almost two thirds – have been from Latin America – particularly Mexico, and from Asia – notably Philippines, China, India and Vietnam.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, states across America advertised for settlers to come work to build a new society in virtually empty lands. Fueled by U.S. Government backed investments in railroads and agriculture, that attracted finance capital from Europe, rising immigration spread across America – building thousands of new cities, industries, farms, banks, businesses, and major infrastructure. New communities established tens of thousands of public schools and colleges to create the biggest, most progressive education system in the advanced world. Immigrants were attracted by and themselves created the U.S.’ high economic growth. This averaged over 4% p.a. during 1800-2000, and hit peaks of over 6% in the late nineteenth century.
This trend has continued to our day. In the 1990s the USA achieved rapid economic growth harnessing new technologies of the digital age, creating whole new professions and careers – like computer scientist, software engineer, biotechnologist – and attracting a fresh wave of rapid immigration – over 23 million since 1980. Nevertheless, joblessness was only 3% in 2001, showing the robustness and dynamism of our economy and our society.
Of course, as we know, both the U.S. economy and U.S. immigration have also experienced periodic setbacks. On the one hand, economic recessions and the Great Depression of the 1930s – like the Great Recession of 2008-10 – caused mass job losses. Just as growth pulled immigrants into the USA, recession has periodically pushed some immigrants to leave again. Alongside that, under political pressure from existing U.S. citizens, the U.S. Government has periodically clamped down on immigration through exclusionary laws, mass expulsions and much tightened border controls. Thankfully and to its credit, America today has left its more biased past behind more than ever before, and universal immigration from across the world has been U.S. policy since 1986.
What’s the Dynamic Driving U.S. Immigration? Ultimately, despite border security and control efforts over many years, it has always been economic forces and the prospect of getting ahead through individual effort in a free and open society that has been the key dynamic behind U.S.’ highly successful immigration policies. America has always understood that holding people back will not take our society ahead. Since the 1800s, there has been a dynamic link between immigration and the strong opportunity society symbolized by the American Dream – the “mountain of gold” as the Chinese call it. The prospect of individuals being able to come with little and succeed, get ahead, build their own families, and, in so doing, build an entire society.
As an immigrant myself, now a U.S. citizen, I am very proud of my country’s successful history as an immigrant-built society. Things I have seen in America are a real inspiration and a source of hope for mankind : ~ The Ellis Island Immigration Museum is truly iconic and should be visited by all. It vividly portrays the lives and challenges of tens of millions who came and settled here from all over the world. ~ Andrew Carnegie came to the USA in 1848 from Dunfermline, Scotland, as a poor teenage weaver with only a primary education. In twenty years he built the U.S. steel industry in Pittsburgh. ~ In 1972, while doing research in New York City, I interviewed a city sanitation department manager, who proudly showed me two photographs : One of his father, a first generation immigrant from Naples, who worked his whole life in the Manhattan fruit market, and did not finish primary school. The other, his son a third generation immigrant, who is a professor of engineering at Ohio State.
Through broad-based immigration from across the world, America has knit together over time a diverse, open, free and generally tolerant nation of people who share a common civic culture and a belief in the American Dream. It is fair to say, especially since 9/11, these have been sorely tested through fears about both political and economic security. And concerns about America’s future and prospects of long-term decline. Yet, surely, it is at just such a time we need to summon up the courage to stick with the Immigration Dynamic that is America’s DNA and has always served us so well?
Immigration and America’s Future : For, immigration, in my view, has still a critical and positive role to play in this country’s future. Positively and confidently managed, it can be a big part of the solution to the U.S. current and long-term economic challenges. The U.S. population is projected by demographers to grow to 438 million by 2050 – with 80% of the growth from new immigrants and their offspring. That’s the baseline – most likely – forecast. However, it could grow to as high as 496 million, or as low as 384 million. Where it ends up will depend upon U.S. economic growth and U.S. Government immigration policies. High economic growth and less restrictive immigration policies will spur and be spurred by higher immigration. Higher immigration increases the size of the working population, and thus raises tax revenues and contributions to the U.S. beleaguered entitlement programs.
Assessing Current Reform Proposals : Despite the crucial importance of immigration to America’s success as a nation, the recent proposals of the U.S. Senate Bi-Partisan Committee appear narrow, defensive and guarded. They are a pale reflection of America’s past success, and likely inadequate for the challenges of America’s future. Their main elements are : ~ A heavy focus upon enforcement and border control aimed at all but eliminating “undocumented” immigration from Mexico;
~ A protracted “path to citizenship” through much prolonged “probationary legal status” lasting decades, while all legal applicants are processed first – thus placing millions of hard-working folks in long-term legal limbo. ~ A narrow focus on future immigration aimed at pre-selecting individual immigrants who have desired skill-sets – especially in science and engineering – that meet the US’ perceived immediate economic needs. ~ Special treatment for migrant agricultural workers, because of their importance for the US food supply. ~ A lack of specificity concerning the future level of legal immigration to be authorized in decades to come. This even though it has been in good measure the overly restrictive quotas together with quite out-dated and inefficient administration of the legal immigration system that has resulted in today’s large backlogs and a massive under-class of “undocumented” immigrants!
Dynamic Immigration Reform ? I Have Ideas : How can the current opportunity for change best be capitalized on to enable immigration to contribute most to America’s future? ~ Treat existing “undocumented” immigrants in the USA more humanely, recognizing a flawed legal and administrative system was as much at fault. Enabling them sooner to play a fuller role will be a win-win for them and for the country; ~ Set narrow priority skill needs back in the context of a broad-based immigration strategy to attract strivers, entrepreneurs and creative folk from around the world and to build families; ~ Be more confident and realistic in setting future legal immigration targets as part of U.S. Government policy; ~ Do more to correct the U.S. decline since 1980 in upward mobility, through greater effort in public education and infrastructure; ~ Inspire and lead Americans to be more confident about their future, as this will enhance America’s image as an open and welcoming society, not a declining fortress building ever higher walls to keep unwanted people out!
I, for one, hope that our political leaders will take full advantage of this opportunity to chart a dynamic, and positive future course for our great country!