What’s the purpose of immigration?

Last updated on: September 2, 2016 at 8:39 am by Jane the Actuary

What’s the purpose of immigration? 2016-09-02T08:39:18-06:00 Jane the Actuary

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

that is, in the year 2016, why do we allow strangers into our country?

Is it in order to enrich our country and its citizens?

Or is it as a form of charity, a work of mercy, “welcoming the stranger” and providing a sort of foreign aid right here in our own country?

I write this after having just read an article in the Tribune today, “No more nation of immigrants: Trump plan calls for a major, long-lasting cut in legal entries” (viewable online at the LA Times), in which the author seems truly surprised at Trump’s proposals:

If Trump is elected, the shift he advocates would greatly reduce immigration overall and move the U.S. from an immigration philosophy of allowing strivers from around the world to take advantage of American opportunities to one focused on bringing in people who already have money and job skills. . . .

After four decades of high levels of immigration, Trump said, the country needs to “control future immigration” to “ensure assimilation.”

The model, he said, should be what the U.S. did after “previous immigration waves” — a reference to the restrictionist legislation passed under President Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s that remained in place until 1965.

The goal should be “to keep immigration levels, measured by population share, within historic norms,” he said. Groups that call for a return to “historic norms” often point to the 1960s and 1970s, when the foreign-born share of the U.S. population fell to about one out of every 20 people, rather than one in eight as it is today.

I’m not sure what to make of this reporting, which takes as it viewpoint that it’s “natural” and “normal” to have unrestricted immigration, and that the period from 1920 to 1965 (the latter half of which coincided with the progressives’ “Golden Age” of middle-class prosperity) was an aberration.

And the subsequent reporting makes it clear that the reporter views Trump’s position as “nativist” and wrong-headed, citing experts who say that we need immigrants to continue to grow our labor force and maintain a strong economy. The article also reports that prior proposals to bring in more skilled immigrants were always in the context of net increases in the number of immigrants, by maintaining the existing immigration of the unskilled as well.

Now, I could speak at length of my skepticism of the idea that human beings are interchangeable, and that all we need, to keep our economy strong, are bodies, of whatever kind. You cannot replace a retiring engineer or accountant or even tool and dye maker with a barely literate landscaper and keep the economy humming solely by inertia. And culture is not interchangeable. You cannot swap out an individual raised to value hard work, education and achievement, and to value the equal rights of women, and the importance of delaying parenthood ’til after marriage and the equal role of fathers in raising their children, for an individual without those values. (Here’s an old post on the subject: “Killing the goose that laid the golden egg, or, Culture Matters,” about the situation in Germany.)

But let’s focus on that first sentence of the quote: the author seems to express an “occupy” sentiment in the context of immigration. Do you favor the 1% — those who have education and job skills? That’s bad. Do you favor the 99% — the “strivers”? Good for you!

Do we, as Americans, have a moral responsibility to give preference in admission into the U.S. those who are most needy? Remember, Emma Lazarus wrote a poem; “Give me your poor” is not an article in the constitution. For that matter, the Works of Mercy are a religious belief — and aren’t we hearing repeatedly that the government shouldn’t be implementing anyone’s religion?

But if we do agree, as a nation, that admitting into the U.S. unskilled individuals is a meritorious thing to do, either legally or de facto via illegal immigration without enforcement, regardless of their cost to the public treasury, then how do we assess the right numbers of needy? We could do a calculation: X unskilled immigrants times Y cost per immigrant — but there is no consensus on the cost of increasing the proportion of unskilled workers in the country.

And, of course, the situation a century, or a century and a half ago, when the country’s cities teemed with poor, who eventually assimilated and became a part of the mainstream American economy and culture, isn’t something we can import today — since cities teeming with the desperately poor are not something we’re willing to shrug off today.

Your thoughts as we head into the weekend?

image: Arrivals at Ellis Island, from Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEllis_island_1902.jpg; See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Uncategorized

illegal immigration

immigration

Previous Post

August 31, 2016

To fix Chicago's murder rate, we need more famous people

Next Post

September 5, 2016 Update from Madiganistan

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Actuarial/Retirement Issues Politics Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 December 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 August 2021 June 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Gospel emphasizes Jesus as the Son of God?

Select your answer to see how you score.

John Mark Luke Matthew