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America's Immigration Problem Is About More Than Just the Law
Mark Jansson, ICAR Certificate Student
Posted: 06/15/07

The influx of well over one million immigrants per year and recent estimates placing the total undocumented immigrant population at over twelve million have, understandably, given rise to varieties of trepidation.

Writing in The National Interest, Dimitri Simes forebodingly suggests that uncontrolled immigration “risks changing America from a melting pot to a tossed salad to the Balkans . . . [and that] if this issue is not adequately addressed, America could become unrecognizable in a matter of decades”. Such is the sentiment of many Americans.

The tone of the discourse on the subject of immigration understandably follows from the intensity of the feelings on all sides of the many immigration-related issues. But these feelings and the attendant demands for a solution, overwhelming as they may be, should not obscure the fact that the layers of problems associated with immigration – locally, statewide or nationally – cannot be erased with a “grand bargain”.

This is because nested within the complicated web of macroeconomic and national security debates lay deep-rooted concerns among “host” citizens about the changing size, appearance and basic social composition of their communities.

Since it is neither possible nor morally defensible to summarily round up and deport upwards of twelve million people, America simply must find a way to deal with the large number of immigrants already taking up residence inside its borders, not to mention those on their way in (legally or illegally).

Indeed, adequately addressing immigration will require much more than a policy bargain on the first issue of border security and, secondly, on paths to citizenship. It will also require thoughtful management of what might be called the “third dimension” of the immigration issue – and that is the relationship between immigrant and host communities. Over the long term, it is the health of these relationships that will determine whether or not immigration flows, whatever their volume, strengthen our nation as they have in the past, or tear us apart.

In recent history, the warmth of American attitudes towards immigrants has roughly corresponded with the strength of the economy and the stability of the security environment.

But as the number of undocumented immigrants has soared, concerns about immigration have changed in a way that scarcity models cannot explain. In fact, much of the present hostility towards immigrants flows not from fears of terrorism or even from economic competition, but from more basic quality of life issues such as the appearance of neighborhoods, competing definitions of acceptable social behavior and the inability communicate.

As these problems persist and further accentuate daily life, frustrated hosts will continue to attach their aggravations to issues that are more politically viable writ large, e.g. border security, and express them evermore vociferously.

Understandable as hosts’ concerns may be, immigrant communities are not unjustified in responding commensurately with public displays of solidarity – and surely they will continue to do so. The upshot is that the danger of uncontrolled escalation of antagonistic behavior that may in fact be equally injurious to American life over the long term as the more immediate problem of uncontrolled migration across borders.

Therefore, what is needed as much as a policy resolution regarding the specifics of border security and paths to citizenships is for policymakers to think long term about how to massage stressed relationships between immigrant and host communities.

For starters, it seems relevant to ask how a skill set-based point system for determining immigrants’ desirability will affect host Americans’ perceptions of them as mere economic utilities? How might these perceptions influence second generation immigrants’ tendency to over-identify with their native country/culture? And how might the nature of the interaction between hosts and immigrants change as these conditions obtain?

These kinds of questions will matter more and more over the long term, and so it would behoove policymakers to consider them now. It is a fact that America’s immigration problems did not emerge overnight - nor can they be solved in that fashion.

The volume of immigrants permitted to remain or enter the country is indeed a critical matter. So is the manner in which citizenship is granted to those who desire it. But the third dimension to the immigration issue, the nature of the interaction between host and immigrant communities, is just as important. Ultimately, our collective skill in managing this third dimension will mean the difference between America becoming a tolerably healthy tossed salad or a not-so-tolerable Balkan tinderbox.

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ICAR News Network America's Immigration Problem Is About More Than Just the Law Mark Jansson, ICAR Certificate Student Posted: 06/15/07 The influx of well over one million immigrants per year and recent estimates placing the total undocumented immigrant population at over twelve million have, understandably, given rise to varieties of trepidation. Writing in The National Interest, Dimitri Simes forebodingly suggests that uncontrolled immigration “risks changing America from a melting pot to a tossed salad to the Balkans . . . [and that] if this issue is not adequately addressed, America could become unrecognizable in a matter of decades”. Such is the sentiment of many Americans. The tone of the discourse on the subject of immigration understandably follows from the intensity of the feelings on all sides of the many immigration-related issues. But these feelings and the attendant demands for a solution, overwhelming as they may be, should not obscure the fact that the layers of problems associated with immigration – locally, statewide or nationally – cannot be erased with a “grand bargain”. This is because nested within the complicated web of macroeconomic and national security debates lay deep-rooted concerns among “host” citizens about the changing size, appearance and basic social composition of their communities. Since it is neither possible nor morally defensible to summarily round up and deport upwards of twelve million people, America simply must find a way to deal with the large number of immigrants already taking up residence inside its borders, not to mention those on their way in (legally or illegally). Indeed, adequately addressing immigration will require much more than a policy bargain on the first issue of border security and, secondly, on paths to citizenship. It will also require thoughtful management of what might be called the “third dimension” of the immigration issue – and that is the relationship between immigrant and host communities. Over the long term, it is the health of these relationships that will determine whether or not immigration flows, whatever their volume, strengthen our nation as they have in the past, or tear us apart. In recent history, the warmth of American attitudes towards immigrants has roughly corresponded with the strength of the economy and the stability of the security environment. But as the number of undocumented immigrants has soared, concerns about immigration have changed in a way that scarcity models cannot explain. In fact, much of the present hostility towards immigrants flows not from fears of terrorism or even from economic competition, but from more basic quality of life issues such as the appearance of neighborhoods, competing definitions of acceptable social behavior and the inability communicate. As these problems persist and further accentuate daily life, frustrated hosts will continue to attach their aggravations to issues that are more politically viable writ large, e.g. border security, and express them evermore vociferously. Understandable as hosts’ concerns may be, immigrant communities are not unjustified in responding commensurately with public displays of solidarity – and surely they will continue to do so. The upshot is that the danger of uncontrolled escalation of antagonistic behavior that may in fact be equally injurious to American life over the long term as the more immediate problem of uncontrolled migration across borders. Therefore, what is needed as much as a policy resolution regarding the specifics of border security and paths to citizenships is for policymakers to think long term about how to massage stressed relationships between immigrant and host communities. For starters, it seems relevant to ask how a skill set-based point system for determining immigrants’ desirability will affect host Americans’ perceptions of them as mere economic utilities? How might these perceptions influence second generation immigrants’ tendency to over-identify with their native country/culture? And how might the nature of the interaction between hosts and immigrants change as these conditions obtain? These kinds of questions will matter more and more over the long term, and so it would behoove policymakers to consider them now. It is a fact that America’s immigration problems did not emerge overnight - nor can they be solved in that fashion. The volume of immigrants permitted to remain or enter the country is indeed a critical matter. So is the manner in which citizenship is granted to those who desire it. But the third dimension to the immigration issue, the nature of the interaction between host and immigrant communities, is just as important. Ultimately, our collective skill in managing this third dimension will mean the difference between America becoming a tolerably healthy tossed salad or a not-so-tolerable Balkan tinderbox. 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