Unlikely Bedfellows

Too often, people stereotype opinions based upon labels.  If you're conservative, then you must think "y".  If you're liberal, you have to embrace "x".

Reality, however, is that people of diverse philosophical views can come together on individual issues.  Here are three men with clearly disparate political ideologies.  Yet, their views on immigration are quite similar.

There is an abundance of empirical evidence that immigration is a tremendous economic driver. A study by the Partnership for a New American Economy, a coalition of mayors and business leaders advocating for more rational immigration laws, is awash with eye-opening data on immigrant entrepreneurship. More than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children, and immigrants are now more than twice as likely as US natives to start a business. Though the foreign-born account for less than 13 percent of the US population, they created 28 percent of all new American businesses in 2011.

Murdoch and Bloomberg, two of the partnership's co-chairmen, argue that if only more Americans understood what remarkable job-creators immigrants tend to be, fewer politicians would feel the need to play to anti-immigrant xenophobia. Fewer voters would believe the popular canard that foreigners enter America to live off welfare -- or the equally popular, if contradictory, canard that immigrants steal jobs that would otherwise go to Americans.

"People don't come here to put their feet up and collect welfare," Bloomberg said. They come here to work. If there are no jobs, they don't come."

Add in Jeff Jacoby and myself as two more who share their positive opinion of immigration.

What hasn't declined is the hunger of strivers and dreamers the world over -- talented entrepreneurs eager to bring their gifts here and make a success of themselves. Those would-be immigrants are an extraordinary growth hormone we can't afford to spurn. A broken immigration system threatens America's future economic vitality. Fixing that system must become a priority -- for left, right, and center alike.

Many Americans are the progeny of immigrants.  They came to this nation to find opportunities that were non-existent in their own lands.  Not only did they work their rear ends off and make something of themselves once here - they revered our country, its liberties and abundance.  As Jacoby states, we should all come together and reform our immigration system so it is more "user friendly" to people of other nations who want to re-create what our ancestors achieved.  It's a "win-win" proposition - if only enough of us realize it!

Comments

[James A. Donald]

You are mixing like and unlike. The problem is not immigrants, but inferior races.

Companies are founded by disproportionately by white, Indian, and Chinese immigrants, but most of our immigrants are brought in by welfare to vote democratic. The proportion of immigrants on welfare is higher than the proportion of whites on welfare, but the category of "immigrants on welfare" is a stupid category. The big indicator of social disfunction is blacks and mestizos on welfare.

Smart Indians from India, typically Brahmins and Kshatriya are brought in by corporations to smart jobs. Dumb Mestizos are brought in by politicians to vote democratic.

[Peg]

James - you sound like many who talked about immigrants a century ago - the inferior Irish and Jews and other "undesireables."

You can definitely put me down as someone who does not believe there are superior and inferior races. Cultures? Yes. But races? No.

If people want to come here and are willing to work hard, live by our laws and mores and be good citizens - I welcome them. No matter what color they may be.

[J. Reed Anderson]

I think, Peg, the argument is not about immigrants, but illegal immigrants. Yes, all of us are the progeny of immigrants (and that includes those who came east over the land bridges or west following the ice pack). Starting primarily with the Irish migration, immigrants came, and became Americans, proudly waving the American flag. That isn't too apparent with many recent immigrants, especially the illegal, want to live by our laws and mores. No matter what color they may be. (My own lineage is maternal side Free Dutch in 1647, Welsh 1860's; paternal Italy 1902, England 1911.)

[Peg]

J. Reed, I think that many of us who are the descendents of immigrants might not have had that opportunity had similar laws been in effect a century ago.

I agree that we should enforce our immigration laws and that we shouldn't have a "come one; come all" attitude. Nevertheless, I think that our current system of immigration laws should be revamped so that they are more humane and easier to navigate for the next "we want you here" generation of immigrants.

If this were the case, I think that we might see not as much illegal immigration to battle.

[J. Reed Anderson]

Peg, I disagree. There were laws on the books, The Chinese Exclusion Act, and beginning the early part of the last century and lasting several decades a law all but forbidding immigrants from southern Europe. By the standards of a century ago, we're a very welcoming people, regardless of laws. Imagine if you will, the notion that a legal form be in Lao, Spanish, Somali, et. al. New people were hated. You didn't have to be black to get lynched; Italians were. We've never had a "come one, come all" attitude, but what we did have was the ideal that if you came, you dumped the old world overboard during the crossing and walked off Ellis an American. Not an Italian. Not an Algerian. Not a ________.
We're a nation of immigrants that never wanted immigrants. The great quote from a TV show years ago, "My family's been having trouble with foreigners ever since we came to this country," is the American Experience. And it has been, only within recent decades, since Nixon made descendants of Iberia a different race, that this nation has welcomed immigrants.

[Peg]

Like so many topics, J. Reed, I have only a cursery knowledge of history. But - I looked at a few items online, and it seems that our immigration laws were actually fairly open until the 20th century. Even then, immigration was plentiful.

That immigrants might not always be welcome here is another story. I am well aware that other groups were not wanted here in the 20th century. Nevertheles, they came and many ended up being just the sort of people who made America great.

I like to think that we can learn from mistakes and misunderstandings of the past. There is a lot of evidence that many of those who wish to come here would enhance our nation. So - for those people, I'd like to have laws that allow for that immigration.

Sorry if I did not express myself well. It was not that immigrants were welcomed; it was that they were able to come.

And - I agree with your point about immigrants that come here should accept our laws, our Constitution - and our way of life. It doesn't mean they have to forget and leave all from the "Old World." It does, however, mean that "when in Rome, do as Romans do" - so to speak!