Immigration and national identity

countries & regions — By Bob Riel on March 29, 2006 at 4:59 pm

It goes without saying that immigrants are central to the U.S. identity. But that doesn’t mean that Americans have always agreed about the issue of immigration. Far from it. Descendants of the early U.S. settlers struggled to assimilate the southern and eastern Europeans that came after them, such as the Italians and the Poles. Today, those immigrant groups are equally worried about the current influx of Latin Americans and, to a lesser degree, Asians. Today’s New York Times has a fascinating look at the immigration issue that is currently roiling national politics.

The Senate Republicans who voted on Monday to legalize the nation’s illegal immigrants look at the waves of immigration reshaping this country and see a powerful work force, millions of potential voters and future Americans.

The House Republicans who backed tough border security legislation in December look at the same group of people and see a flood of invaders and lawbreakers who threaten national security and American jobs and culture.

The question of how to cope with the 11 million illegal immigrants believed to be living here - whether to integrate them, ignore them or try to send them home somehow - is a question gripping many ordinary citizens, religious leaders, state legislators and policy makers in the White House. And in their bitter, fractious debate, Republicans in Congress are reflecting what some describe as the nation’s struggle to define itself.

The immigration issue is no longer a uniquely American topic. Interestingly, the Times is also running an article about a similar struggle in Europe (this article is focused particularly on Germany) over how to integrate new immigrants, mainly Muslims, into their societies.

… a demographic crisis is in the works, made up of an aging and a shrinking population and a foreign-born community that reproduces faster than the ethnic German community. The debate about the proposed citizenship test shows that Germany, like other countries in Europe in similar circumstances, is in a quandary about what to do.

As Germany debates a new citizenship test, meanwhile, the Netherlands is encouraging immigrants to watch a video that not only provides important information on national life and culture but also warns potential citizens about the trademark Dutch openness, which extends to acceptance of nude beaches and gay relationships.

Immigration presents a conundrum, no doubt, between issues of openness and compassion (and, pragmatically, a need for the type of work that many new immigrants do), on the one hand, countered by a fear that immigrants will one day irrevocably alter a country’s national identity. It’s an issue that has been dealt with in the past, however, and which is not going to go away in the near future.