Immigration and loyalty and Rashida Tlaib

Last updated on: August 13, 2018 at 10:54 am by Jane the Actuary

Immigration and loyalty and Rashida Tlaib 2018-08-13T10:54:13-06:00 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.

Here’s an AP report in the Sunday Chicago Tribune: “Palestinian-American candidate is source of West Bank pride.” The article features Rashida Tlaib, a progressive candidate who just won an open primary in Detroit.

The story would be an interesting one without the immigration angle, as Tlaib, a 42 year old former state representative generated excitement and cash (over one million in donations, far outraising her five opponents) to defeat the favored, and establishment/union-endorsed Brenda Jones, Detroit city council president, in the primary to replace former U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. in the 13th Congressional District, with 33.2% of the vote vs. 29.2% for Jones. One quirk of the race as that Conyers had resigned so a simultaneous election was being held to determine his replacement for the remainder of the term, and this one, Jones won, 37.5 percent to 35.6 percent, leaving her in the unpleasant circumstance of leaving her current post for a meaningless Congressional partial term. (Why did this happen? I can only guess that some of the other 4 candidates were not on both ballots.) (See the Detroit News for more reporting.)

Why did Tlaib win over Jones? Was this the equivalent of the Ocasio upset, the primarying of a moderate by an upstart far-leftist? Looking at the candidates’ websites, Tlaib was not noticeably more radical that Jones — both supported the by-now usual platform of free college, $15 minimum wage, single-payer healthcare provision, and the like. Presumably Tlaib had the edge (and remember, it was a slim edge, and not even close to the majority) because of greater voter enthusiasm for a young, fresh face; perhaps it was because her experience was with the legislature, and Jone’s city council background was a negative rather than a plus. Was it her heckling of Trump in 2016? Commenters at the Detroit News say that it was because the vote still ends up on racial lines, and the Black vote was split among multiple candidates. Perhaps it was simply that enthusiasm both in- and out-of-district, and out of state, for a Muslim, and the money she raised as a result, that gave her the win. Or perhaps she’s just the better candidate, smarter and more effective at what she does.

But that’s not what drew my attention. Rather, it’s the emphasis the AP article places on her Palestinian-ness. While the candidate herself on her website says nothing other than, in a brief biography, that she is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, and a Huffington Post profile simply says that she wants to “humanize” Palestinians, her extended family in the West Bank has much higher hopes, according to the AP article.

“It’s a great honor for this small town. It’s a great honor for the Palestinian people to have Rashida in the Congress,” said Mohammed Tlaib, the village’s former mayor and a distant relative. “For sure she will serve Palestine, for sure she will serve the interests of her nation. She is deeply rooted here.” . . .

While celebrating her win, Tlaib was embraced early Wednesday morning by her mother, Fatima, who briefly wrapped a Palestinian flag around Tlaib’s shoulders. “My mom is really, genuinely excited,” Tlaib said of her victory. . . .

Mohammed Tlaib said some 50 people from the small village have immigrated to the U.S. and now have children in schools and universities in America.

“They are Americans, like other Americans, and have deep roots here. So we expect them to serve their occupied and embattled country there,” he said. . . .

Rashida Tlaib’s uncle Bassam, 54, said the family always believed she had a bright future and has high hopes for her career in Washington.

“She told the family that she wants to run for election to defend human rights, women rights, immigrant rights and the Palestinian rights,” he said.

So what do you make of this? Is this a matter of an AP reporter looking for a new angle? Would Rashida herself in a private moment say, “yes, my extended family expects me to somehow solve everything for them, but I am an American and a Michigander and a Detroiter and these are my people, and my life’s work is to help them”? Or is Mohammed right that she will serve the interests of the Palestinians, that that is “her nation” and that she’s just one of many immigrants whose primary objective is to serve the people of their native country?

Of course, one might say, “well, duh, why can’t she do both?” and that is a fair point, insofar as she’ll be called on to cast votes on all manner of legislation and voting one way or another on a piece of foreign policy legislation won’t prevent her from casting votes on other legislation. But if she’s as determined to Make A Difference as she claims to be, she’ll need some areas of focus, some ways in which she immerses herself in issues. From her website, her main cause is an initiative she calls the Justice For All Civil Rights Act, which would be wide-ranging in its scope, for instance, eliminating the ability of insurance companies to charge higher premiums in high-crime areas, prohibiting water and utility shut-offs, and allowing disparate impact discrimination lawsuits.

But in any case, would it be quite OK, or rather unsettling, to have a representative in Congress if her loyalty was indeed to Palestine, if her votes cast, if her attention and her time were devoted to this cause, rather than the needs of her constituents? And would the answer be any different if she represented a district primarily populated by people with that same dual loyalty, or if that second nationality is one with large numbers of residents in the United States as a whole? Or, to take an alternate example, is more or less right or wrong for someone of Mexican ancestry to advocate for amnesty and greater ability for Mexicans to immigrate, or better guest-worker arrangements or ease of remittance-sending, in order to advantage Mexicans, than for someone to do so out of a general sense of globalism?

Image: from pixabay.com; https://pixabay.com/en/flags-belgian-flag-irish-flag-993629/

Uncategorized

immigration

Palestine

Previous Post

August 11, 2018

My beef with "institutional sin"

Next Post

August 14, 2018 Die, lice, die!

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

Who was the Roman emperor when Jesus was born?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Tiberius Julius Caesar Nero Augustus