http://www.journalnow.com/opinion/columnists/luis-g-lobo-welcoming-nations-are-the-beneficiaries-of-immigration/article_2409821a-3871-5743-8a1d-573c143e94f9.htmlhttp://www.journalnow.com/opinion/columnists/luis-g-lobo-welcoming-nations-are-the-beneficiaries-of-immigration/article_2409821a-3871-5743-8a1d-573c143e94f9.html
Published by the Winston Salem Journal 9-13-15
Except from "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus
Welcoming nations are the beneficiaries of immigration
By Luis G. Lobo
I have often used an article on immigration, written some
years ago by Winston Salem Journal reporter Bert Gutierrez, to illustrate the
circumstances that drove some individuals to flee their native countries in
Latin America in the 1980’s. Political
instability, religious intolerance and economic destitution rank high on the
list of what brought the non-conforming Pilgrims from England to what became
America in 1620, the starving Irish and war-torn Germans in the 1840’s, and
refugees fleeing genocide from Vietnam and Serbia in our most recent past.
Today searing images depict millions of migrants moving
through North Africa and the Middle East, some drowning in the Mediterranean or
asphyxiating in the back of a truck crossing into Europe. The flower of Syria,
Eritrea and West Africa will permanently damage their home countries by their
exodus. Most are unwelcomed and viewed
with suspicion because of their perceived Islamism (apparently Poland and Slovakia
will only allow Christian refugees), their inability to speak European
languages, and the fact that they are “different”. One would expect beneficence
from countries that endured Nazi and Communist atrocities, and were aided by
allied forces and international relief in the 1940’s, again in the 1950’s and
even beyond the fall of communism. Yet, racism along with its close companions
of ignorance and nationalism has shown its ugly face.
There is a sense that the world is less stable than before.
Maybe when the sun could not set on the British Empire or during the 20th
century when the first and second world wars were fought? I am NOT sure when
the world has been stable. The seed of what is being described as the largest
migrations since the near-destruction of Europe at the end of World War II were
planted on September 11, 2001. The
western world’s response to global terrorism and its supporting regimes, along
with access to rapidly democratizing technology, have caused very motivated
people to renounce and attempt to escape their oppressors. A person living in
an isolated village clear across the globe can today “see” that there are other
societies and political structures. Given the choice, we have ample evidence
that the motivated will seek freedom.
American scripture speaks to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit
of Happiness”. All life is precious and thus it is protected by the Bill of
Rights within the Constitution of the United States. We believe what is written in those
documents, not only for ourselves, but also for all human beings. The reason we despair at the picture of a
drowned boy is because we understand and admire those that seek freedom.
Our current political fixation on immigration has its origins
in the calamity experienced by massive unemployment in Mexico and murderous
civil wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua in the 1980’s. Driven and motivated
individuals walked across the southern border, or came through air and sea,
some with temporary protected status (TPS), such as was issued to certain
Salvadorians and Nicaraguans ensnarled in the socialism vs. fascism
conflicts. Others came with a tourist
visa and remained past its expiry; others came only with their barest
possessions. The children of these
migrants were evident in the 2000 U.S. Census, which reflected the first significant
increase in the Latino population in the nation. The 2010 U.S. Census evidenced a third
generation.
The Pew Research Center estimates that 75% of the 53 million
Latinos were born in the United States. Today African Americans, Asians and
Latinos make up 1/3 of the nations population.
Last year the birth rate became 51% minority. “In 1960 our population
was 85% white; by 2060 it will be 43% white” according to Paul Taylor,
executive vice president of Pew Research. The current optics, even as Asian
migrations are now outpacing those from Mexico and Latin America, are of a
permanently changed American demographic balance.
I am reminded of the poem “The New Colossus” written by Emma
Lazarus and enshrined at the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled
masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the
golden door”.
The United States is a nation of immigrants. Yet, only the
motivated are willing to change the outcomes of their lives and put themselves
and their progeny at risk. The welcoming countries of Germany, Austria, Britain
and, I hope, the United States and others, will be invigorated by these
motivated migrants and their offspring well into the future.
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| Ellis Island Medal of Honor 5-9-15, NY, NY |
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| Published by Pew Research, DC |
Luis G. Lobo
September 9, 2015