Supposedly, an estimated 10 percent of Americans can trace their ancestry back to the Mayflower.
Not surprisingly, former President George W. Bush — son of a president, grandson of a U.S. senator, first offspring produced by the marriage of the blueblooded Bush and Walker families — is a Mayflower descendant. President Barack Obama’s roots go almost that deep: He is a descendant of Thomas Blossom, who arrived in Plymouth Colony less than a decade after the Mayflower landed.
America’s two most recent presidents are distant cousins. But what distinguishes them from most of the rest of us is merely their ancestors’ earlier time of disembarkation, and maybe the place from where those ancestors initially departed. Unless you’re Mohawk or Mohican, Wampanoag or Wenatchi, you’re not really “from here.”
That being the case, why is there so much consternation about the latest, Latino-dominated generation of American immigrants?
The oft-repeated reasons for concern and consternation are familiar: that they violated the law to get here; that by increasing the labor supply they take jobs from, and lower the wages of, American workers; that they strain the legal, security, health care or social-service resources of our state and national governments, sticking taxpayers with the tab. But similar if not identical criticisms were leveled at previous immigrant generations.
My own ancestry is basically half German and half Italian. Both immigrant groups were scorned and reviled at critical junctures in American history.
The significant role of German-American anarchists, most notably in the 1886 Haymarket massacre in Chicago, brought down suspicion upon the broader community. German brewers were singled out during the run-up to Prohibition for leading the nation’s moral decay. And, of course, a number of “Huns” were interned during both world wars. Still, millions of young German-Americans fought bravely in each conflict.
Ditto for Italian-Americans. Because notable Italians led the American socialist and anarchist movements during the early 20th century, the patriotism of all Italian-Americans was questioned; Italian-Americans were also displaced or interned as “enemy aliens” during World War II; the “wops” or “Chinese of Europe” were frequently characterized as untrustworthy, swarthy people with a penchant for violence; a few were even lynched by the Ku Klux Klan. Still, more than 1.5 million Americans of Italian descent served in uniform during World War II.
I could write similar synopses about Americans of Irish, Greek, Japanese or Chinese descent, but I invoked my own German-Italian heritage for another reason: According to Census Bureau figures, as the 21st century opened, German was the most common ancestry in the United States — claimed, in whole or part, by more than 40 percent of Americans — with Italian ancestry not far behind, in seventh, at roughly 15 percent. Few people today consider either group “un-American” — least of all in Baltimore, with its proud history of German immigration and cultural influence.
But whether one’s ancestry is recent or Colonial in origins, common or uncommon, doesn’t matter: America is what America becomes. The immigrant we fear today is just the latest iteration in a long tradition that, for all but the most recent arrivals, includes our own grandfathers and great-grandmothers and ancestors even further back.
Immigration is also a critical aspect of America’s most cherished tradition: capitalism. In fact, immigration may well be capitalism’s most rudimentary form. New bloodlines introduce new ideas and legitimate challenges to old, outdated modes of thinking.
Economic pressure from immigrants forces those of us already here to work harder and smarter. Their willingness to take the jobs like house-cleaning and yard work that most other Americans don’t want frees the rest of us to do the jobs we do want — as will hopefully be the case someday for their own children. Immigration is competition.
And anyone who thinks today’s mostly Latino immigrants don’t work hard has never seen a construction site or the hardware store parking lots where they wait, sometimes for hours, in hopes of finding even one day’s labor. With unemployment at 8 percent officially and higher unofficially, why aren’t anti-immigrant xenophobes wondering aloud why other out-of-work Americans aren’t waiting alongside them?
I’m not advocating illegal immigration: People should follow the proper course to citizenship. But there’s nothing more un-American in spirit — albeit manifestly American in historical practice — than anti-immigrant hatred and fear-mongering.
• Thomas F. Schaller teaches political science at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. His email is schaller67@gmail.com. He wrote this for the Baltimore Sun.
Comments (18)
Add commentCrazy
Why are people hostile?
Seriously?
Perhaps because the country - unlike your examples of 17- and 1800s - is NOT expanding and growing. So we don't NEED any people to homestead land and create a new nation.
We're done with that. We're "full" so to speak.
I don't feel angry about Hispanics/Latinos for "stealing jobs" or nonsense like that.
I'm angry because THEY BROKE THE LAW TO GET HERE.
What a crazy letter to write. Apples and oranges.
We need to protect our borders and not reward folks who break the law no matter where they are from.
If your family were starving,
If your family were starving, you'd break any law to feed them. I don't think it's an 'apples and oranges' argument. A lot of laws were broken to bring slaves here, or put native americans off their lands. There were a lot of laws passed to allow those things to happen as well. Don't pretend a passed law is necessarily a just law.
"The law embodies the story of a nation's development through many centuries, and it cannot be dealt with as if it contained only the axioms and corollaries of a book of mathematics." Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Immigrants
"Unless you’re Mohawk or Mohican, Wampanoag or Wenatchi, you’re not really “from here.”
Not true. They, like everyone else, migrated to this continent. They just did it sooner.
Angel
Are you suggesting that preventing foreigners from entering and living in our country without authorization is 'unjust'?
shameless exploitation
the "hate-mongering" - at least at the national media level - is grounded in the shameless exploitation of the Latinos for political gain. They would represent a huge slice of the electorate, nicely dispersed in some key battleground states, if only we'll bend the rules and give them a giant leap toward citizenship and voter registration.
I'm saying we need to deal
I'm saying we need to deal with the reality of 11 million illegal immigrants, not sit here and think we can rent a big bulldozer and push them off the continent. My grandparents (on both sides) came here legally, and I have the utmost sympathy for those who are patiently waiting, trying to do the same thing. But the reality is my grandparents came at a time when this country was desperate for cheap labor and they were desperate to leave a war-ravaged country. High ideals are made by those with full stomachs.
If they want to enter LEGALLY
Legally entered immigrants I welcome with open arms, the ones the entered illegally need to be caught, prosecuted and returned to their country of origin. NO EXCEPTIONS.
If they are starving in their countries, that still does not give them the right to enter our country and be a part of draining our resources, in turn causing American Citizens to go hungry. We need to close our borders and ship all illegals out of here.
The difference between
The difference between immigrants of days gone by and the Mexicans coming in illegally today is allegiance to America. We are being balkanized by the Mexicans.
People are starving
People are starving in many places: some close to our borders, some far, some INSIDE our borders.
If we have laws, they should be followed. If they're bad laws they should be changed. But not simply broken.
You can't excuse people breaking the laws. It's not right.
DON’T DISMISS THE TEA PARTY ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
The deaths caused illegal alien drivers, inebriated or not has caused the town of Milford, Massachusetts and two other towns to sign up for the ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers (IMAGE) program. Employers that sign up for IMAGE agree to: apply E-Verify for new hires; undertake an I-9 form audit to expose illegal aliens currently in the workforce; plus hold training sessions for human resource employees on how to avoid hiring illegal aliens (e.g., on spotting document fraud). Since IMAGE helps extract currently employed illegal aliens, it is considered the best overhaul innovation for maintaining a legal workforce. After illegal-alien drunk drivers slaughtered two citizens a few years ago, Milford officials begin to scrutinize options for reducing illegal immigration. A third death last year forced the town, and local state legislators, into action.
The state legislators from the area led the charge on enforcement legislation that became law in Massachusetts this week. Each few months counties and cities are learning about the significance of E-Verify and what it would do for the overall populations of their communities. However, salvos of rhetoric and lies have been spread about E-Verify, the Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2885). But even so E-Verify is spreading --so fast and hundreds of thousands of business entities are now signed up. Of course either sides one way or another are courting the illegal alien invasion, whereas the Republicans to a lesser extent.
THE FED’S REFUSE TO ENFORCE IMMIGRATION LAWS; OTHERWISE ILLEGAL ENTRY WOULD BE A FELONY?
What American citizens must be aware of is the Democratic indifference to non citizens voting in our elections. The Liberal airwaves, including TV and radio broadcast, then especially the media deny this, but the avid reader can observe this for themselves. Just type into any search engine ‘Voter Fraud’ and the truth will be hard to conceal, certainly when Obama before being president, was employed by the notorious ACORN canvassing organization. What went on in its ranks was a serious violation of election laws.
With both the majority of the Democratic and Republican base failing to enact a mandatory E-Verify law, it’s easy to read between the lines why? Both political parties have been heavily corrupted by either corporate influence or for the Democrats a whole host of adversaries, as large radical minority groups, unions and even the church high echelons. Meanwhile low income Americans are suffering, not excluding teenagers who once looked forward for a part time job as it was in the not so distant past.
Today we have the Constitutional TEA PARTY, the ‘People’s Party’ who are not just represented by white people as the open border progressives would like you to think. The TEA PARTY is a mix of ordinary decent citizens and green card holders of different skin colors, but with one endearing agenda to rid us of illegal invaders; ObamaCare and everything that qualifies to raise taxes. If you don’t already know anything about Obama’s health care law, the hiring has begun for recruitment. ObamaCare means to recruit least 400.000 enforcement federal officers, which just adds up to the greatest expansion of Washington, that America has ever seen under this Democratic Party.
Doesn’t matter who is in control of America; either for Obama for another term or his antagonist Mitt Romney? Both must be held accountable by the TEA PARTY.
Although Obama started his president well in flushing out illegal aliens, the enforcement has slowed to a crawl. Not just to gain points in the ethnic groups by bypassing Congress, undermining the ‘Rule of Law’ but by enacting a loosely effective Dream Act, so that the illegal alien parents should be held accountable for their violating immigration laws, but now the administration is placing a strain on certain sectors of the border, by closing down entry ports. It’s all to do with votes and where the Democrats they are unconcerned who votes, shown by the attitude of the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. He is expanding his power by not only enforcing states who are enraged they have to support their population of illegal aliens, but this nasty little man is determined to let non citizens vote. He has attacked the sacred sovereignty of not only Arizona, but Alabama, Georgia and a bunch of others, who cannot sustain the huge financial burden of education, schooling, low income housing, benefits for low income Mothers, cash payments, children’s breakfast and lunch at school, interpreters for bilingual education and a great deal more welfare programs, that foreigners have been allowed to consume; which citizens cannot even touch.
While you’re working to pay your annual taxes to cover the cost of Obamacare, the IRS will be extorting even more money from you to pay for the free health care of illegal aliens, plus unknown numbers of ‘freeloaders’ and we know there are plenty of them. If Obama gets his way, a person will not even to have some reasonable excuse to gain acceptance for food stamps? Eventually we will turn into another country like Greece and the flow of the money from the government coffers, taxpayers will not be able to contribute enough funds to a least balance our debts.
Other than the exception of highly paid immigrants holding PhDs ‘s in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), who should be given expedited preference visas, all others should be deported. America has become a magnet from over 20 million plus foreign nationals, who have ignored our laws and through corporate favors both parties are handing out a million new visas annually than low skilled recipients. Then illegal females have hooked up to a free pass, by smuggling unborn children into this sovereign country. The 14th Amendment has mutated, that originally was for the emancipation of slaves and now used to allow pregnant females to gain a ‘foothold’ into the U.S. This is the inception of the Dream Act of illegal parents bringing unborn babies into America. Once here the female can then receive free health care, education for the child that is costing taxpayers a hundred billion dollars a year. The Birthright Citizenship bill (H.R. 140) sitting in Congress, should be passed—instead its gathering dust in some legislators filing cabinet.
Time to wake up the politicians in Washington and inform them all, they are swaying on a tightrope. That tightrope is the TEA PARTY and they are quietly infiltrating both political parties. YOU THE VOTER CAN ALSO CONTRIBUTE BY INVESTIGATING YOUR LOCAL POLITICIAN AND THEN VOTING THEM OUT ACCORDING TO HIS UN-AMERICAN PLANS. THE TEA PARTY LEADERSHIP HAS GAINED ACCEPTANCE BY MILLIONS OF VOTING AMERICANS AND IS RELEASING THEIR FURY ON THE DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS. BOTH PARTIES ARE CORRUPT AS THEY COME, WITH JUST A FEW REPRESENTATIVES WHO STAND FOR THE PEOPLE.
MANY Governors, Mayors, Police Chiefs and wide web of ‘oath of allegiance’ impersonators, who have signed such ordinances as Sanctuary Cities, allowing the illegal alien criminals to run rampant, because the police are not allowed to question the immigration status. There was ugly death of 3 family members at the bloody hands of a gang member in San Francisco, because of the dire incompetence of the prior Governor and his retinue. Nobody should think the deaths of innocent victims are isolated and very few, as throughout America death drives the highways; illegal alien drivers with no license, no insurance and hardly able to recognize the highway codes. Illegal aliens have been able to turn amok, because the government is badly flawed and remained unconcerned of the disastrous invasion.
There should be no acceptance of the illegal immigration invaders and the TEA PARTY agenda will have as many leaders they can fit into the seats in the Senate and House of Representatives, to do the bidding of the American People. If you want to see change—REAL CHANGE—in Washington, locate your local chapter of the TEA PARTY. It’s the time to look after our own future, our own people; not other countries problems?
URGENT NOTICE: Investigation of President Obama’s background history is due to be released by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio on July 17, 2012 and could stun everybody. The upcoming press conference is set to be held at 2:30 p.m. local time at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Phoenix, Arizona, with World Net Daily again providing live streaming video coverage.
Sorry dude. When you start
Sorry dude. When you start claiming the tea party is anything but an extreme block for any real progress you lose all credibility with people that like to think for themselves.
The tea party is what's wrong with this country. They can keep trying to bring us back to 1950 but it won't work. Open your mind or close your mouth. :)
To the point of the letter.
To the point of the letter. Like its been said. Do it right and legal and you'll have support. And yes while this country was started by taking anyone in, we CAN'T do that any more on a level that is being ignored. We can't take care of the people we have here now.
How could anyone think it's a good idea to let our population expand like that? I'd love it if we could, but it's not feesable in anyway.
THOMAS F. SCHALLER THE BALTIMORE SUN off base
There is a difference between illegal and legal immigration, no one denies that legal immigration is what this country is built on. I for one have no problem with legal immigration if our countries unemployment rate is down. But I do not condone pandering to illegals. We the taxpayers pay out billions in welfare, housing, etc for illegals, they in turn take those benefits in part remitting them back to their home country. Enough pandering, secure enforce our borders.
The unauthorized, like
The unauthorized, like everyone else in the United States, pay sales taxes. They also pay property taxes—even if they rent. At least half of unauthorized immigrants pay income taxes. Add this all up and it amounts to billions in revenue to state and local governments. The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) has estimated the state and local taxes paid in 2010 by households that are headed by unauthorized immigrants. These households may include members who are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants. Collectively, these households paid $11.2 billion in state and local taxes. That included $1.2 billion in personal income taxes, $1.6 billion in property taxes, and $8.4 billion in sales taxes. The states receiving the most tax revenue from households headed by unauthorized immigrants were California ($2.7 billion), Texas ($1.6 billion), Florida ($806.8 million), New York ($662.4 million), and Illinois ($499.2 million)
http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/unauthorized-immigrants-pay-...
@angelcrusher
I am NOT against LEGAL immigrants. But the paltry sums you just quoted are an embarrassment. Are you actually trying to claim that illegals are a BENEFIT to the United States? Really?
Think of the teachers, firefighters, police, and medical services provided to these illegal people and it FAR outweighs the small taxes they pay.
They are illegal and, as a group, do NOT provide more positives than negatives. .
@middle
Of course some people benefit! The people who make money with this cheap labor source. Think commercial agriculture, commercial meat industry, construction industry...
No payroll taxes, no OSHA, no unions, and low, low wages - they're a deal! You can be sure they have been quietly working behind the scenes to limit enforcement and keep the flow of bodies coming.
Raises an interesting dilemma for conservatives: Which are worse? Illegals? Or union workers? Because illegals help to displace those rotten union workers, I'd expect the Limbaugh crowd to be ushering them across the border.
@middle
It's estimated that illegal immigrants paid in $1800 per person more in taxes than they took out in government services and benefits in 2010. But don't take my word for it, do the research for yourself.
http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/unauthorized-immigrants-pay-...