Welcoming nations are the beneficiaries of immigration! by Luis G. Lobo published by WSJ 9-13-15

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 20^th 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.

Ellis Island Medal of Honor 5-9-15, NY, NY

Published by Pew Research, DC

Luis G. Lobo

September 9, 2015