Views on Immigration Policies

Last week, CNN featured a documentary, Documented, a film that lasted several hours.  In one segment, it followed the plight of a young Filipino man, who came to America illegally when he was barely 12 years old, smuggled in by his grandparents.  His story was a gut wrenching one.  He was separated from his mother for so many years that after a while he stopped corresponding with her.  It was too painful for him to reconcile the notion that his mother had consented to his being shipped over to America at such young age.

This 30-year-old man became an avid advocate for the legalization of the youth who came to America illegally through no fault of their own.  Kids who grew up in America, and who, for all purposes, see themselves as Americans.  He was overjoyed when he heard about the Dreamer executive decision by President Obama to stop deporting those young people who had come here illegally prior to 2007.  The cut-off age was 29 years old.  One can imagine the disappointment of this young man when he realized that he had missed the cut-off by mere months.

The documentary pointed out to me many squalid performances by our politicians.  Some examples:

·   They send misleading or erroneous signals to wannabe Americans

·     They selectively enforce existing laws

·     They are ambivalent about securing our borders

·     They overlook the plight of defenseless border States

·     They manipulate the national consensus

·     They pass laws with incredibly tough family reunification quotas

·     They fail to differentiate between economic and political  reasons

·     They make it possible for coyotes and scoundrels to victimize desperate people

Who Are the Undocumented?

There are a number of categories.  One size does not fit all.  Twelve million people leaving in the shadows, afraid to come out, insecure about their future, willing to accept a precarious situation in order to stay in America.  Nativists like to call them illegal; the politically correct prefer to call them the undocumented. Regardless of the name, their situation remains desperate.

Most are driven by dismal economic conditions they face back home.  Some are minors brought across by their parents.  Others are escapees from totalitarian regimes or unsafe conditions.  Some are lured by higher pay scales – these tend to be mostly, but not exclusively, highly educated. Many are students who came on a student visa and decided to stay.  Some come to rejoin their family. Most come from Mexico, but they also come from Central and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania.  

Currently, a surge of young, unaccompanied youth from Central America, estimated at around 60 thousand, has invaded the Southern border, creating a catastrophic human dilemma.  They come because their parents are under the impression that America will not deport unaccompanied children.  They come because parents think the time window will soon close. 

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the US immigration laws are flawed or broken.  Many want the borders secured before other steps are implemented.  Some folks believe that any changes in the law will be implemented selectively by the current Administration.  Others view the issue through different lens.  They believe that the magnet is the unscrupulous employer who takes advantage of the undocumented by paying them low wages and providing them with dismal working conditions.  Some advocate that a stronger verification process should be forced on employers.  A minority believes that all undocumented should be deported for violating US laws.  

Rome is burning while politicians seem to be playing the fiddle …

Immigration has been a hot potato in America for more than 150 years.  Imagine the following factoids:

A Little History Lesson

• Immigration was almost impossible until the 1960’s from many countries or continents, e.g., Africa, Asia, and parts of Southern and Eastern Europe, and South and Central America.
• Immigration from Northern (Western) Europe was encouraged, while immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe was subject to strict quotas (until the 1960’s).  The latter were seen as less desirable.
• Immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Greece, Russia, and other Eastern European countries  were subjected to inhuman detention upon arrival, up until WWII.
• Following some disturbances, “foreigners” were routinely accused of crimes they might have not committed, and a few were even lynched.
• Stereotypes abound that immigrants are mostly lazy, uneducated, untrustworthy, and in the country lured by welfare assistance.

We talk about the American Dream – someone comes to the US and becomes rich and famous.  That is a very small percentage.  Many languish in entry-level jobs, are poorly paid, and have difficulty assimilating.  The main difference is that, in America, you have fewer barriers to success and many more opportunities, if you are willing to work hard, and advance your education.  The “system", albeit imperfect, is much more friendly, business-wise, than elsewhere.

My Own History as An Immigrant

I came to this country at age 18-year-old in 1955, documented (legally) on a look and see mission with my parents, siblings and paternal grandmother.  After 2 years in 1958, my father chose to return to Italy with my mother, youngest brother (Angelo) and grandmother.  He did not adjust easily to the American lifestyle and did not agree with many of its practices.

My brother Carmelo (by then, 18 years old then) and I (by then, 20 years old) decided to stay.  Why?  We are both entrepreneurs and adventurers by nature, and we saw many opportunities and some intriguing aspects to the American way of life.  Our family has had a love affair with America for over 100 years.  Both of my grandfathers came to America at the turn of the 20^th century.  One, grandpa Carmelo, stayed a couple years, and the other, grandpa Antonio, did not return home, except for a brief period during WWI, when he served in the Italian military.  He is now  buried in New London, Connecticut.

Our family was an atypical immigrant family.  We were middle class, reasonably educated, and property owners.  We came because my father’s brother, who lived in Connecticut, invited us to come.  I remember father saying to me: Let’s go and see, and if we like what we find, we stay, if not we come back. 

I was attending the classical lyceum, a tough program for the intellectually capable young elite.  Coming to America was not my goal.  I was, more or less, assured that my future would be a good one in Italy.  However, if I did not choose to come with my family at that time, I faced potentially separation for the rest of my life.  In those days, when people emigrated, it was lights out in terms of reunification.  My father’s visa was for his wife and minor (younger than 21) children.  He had weighed 5 years to receive his visa.   

Carmelo and I have done well in America through hard work and dedication.  Neither one of the two of us had notions of grandeur.  We were brought up to work to live, and not live to work.  America did change us.  We have done well for America too.  I volunteered to serve in the US Army (proud to say that to any nativist who has not done so).  We obey our laws, pay our taxes, and mind our own business.  Neither one of us has ever been a burden on the State.  People tell us that we have lived the American dream.  They are mistaken.  We were both at the right place at the right time doing something that we loved and that others valued. 

On a personal basis, with my education, work ethic, and social skills, I believe that I would have had success in Italy as well, had I decided to go back.

Carmelo and I are proud dual citizens.  Why dual?  We are proud and fond of our birthplace. How can you cancel your own heritage?  How can you expunge your own memories?  We love both countries, for different reasons, of course.  But, America is our home now.  Our kids were born in America.

Who is an American Anyway?

Some people believe that the ‘real’ Americans are those who are born on American soil.  I disagree!  They are Americans by accident. Naturalized citizens are Americans by choice.  Carmelo and I fall in the latter category.  Our kids in the former.

True Americans are those who value the American principles: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  There are many such Americans, perhaps millions, who are not American citizens, who live elsewhere, who do not aspire to come here, but who believe in the founding principles of this nation. 

What are your thoughts?