L&T Publisher Earl Watt
America is a nation of immigrants, or so the saying goes.
And there is a lot of truth to it. People from all over the world have sought a better life in the United States for a variety of reasons.
Call it colonization if you will, that has been the case of migrating to North and South America throughout history.
The first were herders who crossed the Bering Strait between modern day Russia and Alaska. From there they populated the Americas and became known as “Native Americans.” They weren’t native, they were just earlier than most other peoples who found their way to the undiscovered continents.
When Europeans caught up to migrating in the 1400s, the English and other European nations colonized the North American seaboard while Spaniards and the Portuguese colonized South and Central America.
Spoiler alert — the modern-day descendants of these colonists are all of European descent no matter which continent you choose.
As time went by, nations were established.
Access to resources were similar, but there is no question the United States was more aggressive at claiming territory coast to coast.
While the United States defeated the British, nations like Mexico defeated both Spain and France in earning its independence, again, a very similar history.
Immigration continued including slavery, with a vast majority taken to Brazil and South America nations and islands. Only a small percentage of slaves were brought to the United States.
Again, a shared history.
As industrialization grew, European migration continued to the United States. The ranch lifestyle of Central American countries held little interest in migrating north.
From famines in Ireland to political refugees in Eastern Europe, migrants continued to come throughout the 1900s.
Mexico embraced a socialist Constitution in 1917, nd several other nations south of Mexico became dictatorships.
This led to increased poverty and class warfare.
These nations have little to no middle class but have a few very wealthy and large very poor populations.
Still, most immigrants from across the planet have come to America with very little.
After the Vietnam conflict, Vietnamese known as “boat people” were scooped up out of the ocean as they escaped communism and brought to the United States.
Since the 1980s, most immigrants have come from south of the border. Why has this immigration wave been met differently than other waves?
I am going to share some advice that could help change the narrative for those who are coming to America.
Embrace American exceptionalism
Other immigrants recognized there was something special about the United States, something that did not exist in their home country. They adopted the Stars and Stripes.
They understood there was something broken back home, and that their future was in embracing the opportunity in America.
They still loved their family, their traditions and their celebrations, but they understood that embracing the new country was their best path to prosperity.
Don’t talk about paying taxes
Some who try to justify immigration claim that new immigrants pay taxes like everyone else.
The problem is we don’t like paying taxes.
The argument about paying taxes is to justify receiving public benefits that come from taxes as if paying taxes should result in receiving free health care or food.
Rather than talking about taxes that come out of immigrants’ checks, talk about being a volunteer, talk about contributing to society, discuss how you want to grow the economy and help everyone prosper which would mean fewer people need government assistance.
Competing for jobs or creating new ones?
Immigrants are seen as suppressing wages because, as a very bad statement exposes, immigrants will do jobs others don’t want to do.
Those who work these jobs already are then pressured to work for less or lose their jobs.
One thing we see in Liberal is the entrepreneurial spirit of immigrants. What used to be mom and pop shops are now madres and padres.
With no opportunity back home, these people have worked to open new stores. This tradition is what makes America stronger. Competition means the best businesses survive. It’s the basic capitalist concept.
Talk about providing opportunities by creating jobs rather than taking someone else’s job.
Embrace the language
Whether Hungarian, German, Italian and countless others, many immigrants discuss how they required their families to learn English.
The importance of that is the ability to communicate is essential for a community to work together and relate with one another.
The hardest barrier to overcome is not cultural or racial. The shared histories of our nations make us very similar. But the language barrier makes it very difficult to create relationships.
What about legal status?
I intentionally didn’t mention legal status although it is very important.
In migrant waves in the past, those coming to America went through a legal process. Many Europeans came through Ellis Island. Vietnamese came through Pacific ports and were also processed into the country.
I support legal immigration and am working to make that process easier.
But if immigrants embraced these other suggestions, the heat about legal status wouldn’t be as hot.
Flying a foreign flag, signing up for government benefits or expecting accommodations are what create animosity.
Join us, and you create advocates.
