A LOOK BACK AT IMMIGRATION

"People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors."  Edmund Burke

I recently read a timely article reviewing a history of the forced emigration of thousands of Scottish people from their homeland. (The Scottish Clearance: A History of the Dispossessed 1600-1900. By TM. Devine) Wealthy English land owners needed more space to graze their livestock, principally sheep. Entire villages, first in the Scottish Lowlands, later in the Highlands, were given the option of starving to death or embarking on boats for America, Canada and Australia.

A well read English periodical in 1739, the Gentlemen’s Magazine, gave the following justification for the forced emptying out of Scotland:

“Being destitute of all means of knowledge, and without any schools to educate their children, [they] are entirely ignorant of the principles of religion and virtue, live in idleness and poverty, have no notion of industry, or sense of liberty, are subject to the will and command of their popish disaffected chieftains, who have always opposed the propagating of Christian knowledge, and the English tongue, that they might with less difficulty keep their miserable vassals in a slavish dependence.”

The ancestors of Scottish Americans were summarily exported from their homeland, not unlike the bales of wool that replaced them. The number of Americans of Scottish descent today is estimated to be 20 to 25 million (up to 8.3% of the total US population), and Scotch-Irish 27 to 30 million (up to 10% of the total US population). The Scotch-Irish immigrated to Ireland before coming to America.

This article gave me pause to consider the views of any American supporting the Trump policies on legal immigration, who happens to be of Scottish heritage.  How is it possible to deny the same opportunity to others, an opportunity that literally saved the lives of their ancestors and made a path for their forbearers to thrive and contribute to the American dream?

 Other immigration histories tell a similar story. Approximately 84% of Italian immigrants came from Southern Italy and Sicily, which was still largely rural and agricultural. Much of the populace had been impoverished by centuries of foreign misrule, and an oppressive taxation system. In 1870, there were less than 25,000 Italian immigrants in America.  Shortly thereafter about 5.5 million Italians immigrated to the United States and Italians are now the fourth largest group of Europeans in the country.

The Irish were an even a bigger mass migration.  About 33 million Americans,10.5% of the total population, reported Irish ancestry in 2013. This compares with a population of 6.7 million on the island of Ireland.  A significant factor was the Irish famine. During the mid-19th Century, Ireland experienced the worst social and economic disaster a nation could suffer. A quarter of the island's population starved to death or emigrated to escape truly appalling conditions.  England did little to help and was more than happy to see their catholic neighbors seek greener pastures.

Closer to home, my Quaker ancestors immigrated much earlier, in the late 1600s. But the reasons were no less severe. English religious persecution made life unbearable in the homeland. Lastly, almost all Jewish Americans can trace their journey to America through European and Russian pogroms or the rise of fascism.   

The point is that other than African Americans, brought to America against their will and forced to endure the unthinkable, we are all here and our American family stories permitted to take root because of persecution, hate, or starvation in our ancestral homelands.  No nation is as diverse as American.  Other than Native Americans, no ethnic group can lay claim to owning the historical foundation story of America.  We were all once unwanted, unwashed, penniless, facing certain death and/or considered undesirable.

Attempts to label America “a Christian nation” in order to exclude those of other faiths is a false narrative.  The very reason for our national formation was to cobble together a nation built on religious freedom.  Moreover, those masses of people at our southern border, attempting to immigrate legally from Latin America, are often more dedicated Christians than those who seek to block their path.

This commentary is not about illegal immigration.  There is no hiding behind the claim: “my ancestors immigrated legally, and I only oppose illegal immigration.” The discussion point is much less complicated.  Given the opportunities that were afforded our ancestors, how can any of us support the Trump Administration’s assault on legal immigration?

Part II of this commentary will review Trump policies on legal immigration, the response of the legal community and the courts, and why this matters to all of us.

THE TRUMP ASSAULT ON LEGAL IMMIGRATION

“Shall we refuse the unhappy fugitives from distress that hospitality which the savages of the wilderness extended to our fathers arriving in this land? Shall oppressed humanity find no asylum on this globe?” Thomas Jefferson, First Report to Congress

Part one of this commentary reviewed the history that brought our forefathers to America.  What follows is a summary of the Trump Administration’s concerted effort in 2018 to reverse years of legal immigration policy.  While there were other egregious attacks on legal immigration that took place in 2017, the most significant actions took place last year.  If such a hostile immigration environment had been permitted to take hold in previous generations, most of us would not be Americans today.

·      *Despite the fact that the number of displaced people is at the highest level since WWII, the Trump Administration lowered the refugee cap for 2018 to 45,000 and then only admitted half that number, 22,491, the lowest number in 40 years.

·      *Immigration authorities in 2018 denied 37 percent more filings related to immigration including travel documents, work permits, and green cards.

·     *The number of immigrants who received visas to move permanently to the United States, normally highly skilled workers, dropped 12 per cent in 2018.

·      *The Trump Administration began seeking a regulatory policy change in 2018 to deny the spouses of H-1B visas, the right to work.  If this change receives final clearance, over 100,000 spouses could lose their jobs.

·      *In 2018 the Administration separated thousands of children from their families. The humanitarian crisis that resulted was blamed on the Latin American families with young children fleeing violence and oppression rather than on the misplaced policy which had been set in motion with no method of uniting the families in the future.  Internal Administration documents have revealed that the program was designed as a threat to cut the flow of families seeking legal asylum.

·      *The separation of families was exasperated on April 6, 2018 when then Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced his “zero tolerance” policy to criminally prosecute asylum seekers who were not afforded a timely review at ports of entry and crossed the border without inspection.  This policy was in direct opposition to immigration laws passed by Congress. In short order, 3000 children were forcibly separated from their families.

·       *Throughout 2018 the Trump Administration systematically ended temporary protection status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who fled natural, criminal and political disasters.  When deadlines came up for certain countries, the Administration simply refused to “redisignate” a TPS for each country.  This placed immigrant from those countries in immediate peril of deportation and made it impossible for new individuals to be classified under TPS. The countries most affected by this policy were Salvador; Haiti; Nepal; Honduras; Syria; and Yemen.

·     *In May and June 2018, the number of individuals permitted to enter the country to seek asylum dropped by 42 percent.  This was due in great part to new implementation rules adopted by the Administration.  First, more restrictive guidelines for the first screening interview, narrowed the qualifications for entry.  Second, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) exasperated backlogs under a new policy of “metering” that limited the number of individuals seen each day at ports of entry.  The hope was that long waits would turn the asylum seekers around.  Third, the Administration began limiting the “credible fear” test for asylum to “persecutions by the government” and by removing “gang violence” as a factor to be used in granting asylum. (there is great irony in this given Trump’s use of the horrors of Latino gang violence as a reason to wall-in the border)

·    *  The Department of Justice sought to make major changes in the asylum process by making the immigration court system more restrictive. First, a long held requirement that asylum seekers receive a full hearing before an immigration Judge was eliminated.  Second, after an asylum seeker passed the “credible fear screening” test they must now remain in detention, unable to collect the data needed to be granted asylum.  Third, there have been Administration attempts, not yet implemented, to charge $50.00 for an asylum application.

·     * In June, 2018, Donald Trump nixed Congressional attempts to address the backlog of immigration cases by increasing the number of immigration judges.

There are other actions taken by Trump and his minions of political appointees throughout the federal government designed to undermine legal immigration.  The above examples are merely the highlights.  What I hope is clear is that none of these policies has anything to do with illegal immigration, or building a wall, or providing more security for the American people.

Whatever one thinks about the ACLU, we must be grateful at the fortitude of this organization in swiftly filing lawsuits to protect the recognized rights of immigrants.  The ACLU’S guiding principle is that when the government has the power to deny legal rights and due process to one vulnerable group, everyone’s rights are at risk. The ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project is dedicated to expanding and enforcing the civil liberties and civil rights of immigrants and in combating public and private discrimination against them.  In 2018 they were busy filing lawsuits around the country…and winning.

It would be a mistake to assume that America’s approach to immigration was a fair and equitable one, prior to 2016.  Before Trump was elected President, our immigration system was already in need of major repair.  For example, individuals from many countries were forced to wait for decades to receive a green card. Workers without college decrees only received 5,000 green cards despite the overwhelming need for agricultural workers.  There was no immigration category for entrepreneurs who wanted to start a business. There was an unreasonable cap on immigrants with “extraordinary abilities” (scientists, business leaders, professional athletes).

Now that Trump has placed the spotlight on immigration by attempting to further destabilize a troubled system, it would be a good time for a more enlighten Congress to consider and overhaul all aspects of immigration. We need to return to the fundamental belief that: “all are welcome”.  Unfortunately, the present policies tell the world: America is closed to those who need our help the most.