Who Will Tell the People the Truth About Immigration?

SINCE THE DEFEAT OF THE IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL ABOUT THREE WEEKS AGO in the U.S. Senate, we've heard most analysts say that this will be the last chance for this Congress and this Administration to attempt any such broad-sweeping overhaul.

Next year, they note, is an election year, so no sane politician, especially those who are standing for reelection, would dare bring up such a dangerously controversial policy matter, no matter how badly this country needs to retool what everyone agrees is a broken immigration system. Indeed, it seems we don't even have to be in an election year for the politicians to be stepping gingerly around the issue. Many on both sides of the partisan divide who we had assumed favored some sort reform scrambled for the cover of "no" votes at the last moment for fear that they would run into a buzz saw of voter discontent (and opposition distortion) in 2008.

Sadly, they have reason to be concerned. We all know about the tsunamis of phone calls and e-mails that swamped Senate offices, incited, some believe, by right-wing talk radio shouters and other anti-immigrant (or, more kindly: "restrictionist") rabble rousers.

And we've heard about instances like the one I mentioned last week of Prince William County, Virginia, which was considering a local measure to prohibit access to public services to illegal immigrants. The measure eventually passed, as this story in the Washington Post reports, though it was softened a bit from the proposed version. My favorite quote from the story came from Woodbridge, Va.'s Chris King, who supported the measure because it would supposedly stop the cultural decay that immigrants have brought to the community: "I'm tired of pressing '1' for English" on the phone," he said.

Okay, I'm being a little cheeky; in today's Post, there is a story about how many immigrant residents of the very same Prince William County have a tendency to keep chickens in their suburban backyards -- which is a violation of local zoning laws and such a terrible annoyance to other neighbors that many are moving out and property values are dropping. I won't dismiss that, just as has always been the case, immigrants often clash with the dominant American culture and the romantic notion of the melting pot should not always trump the hardship that it can create for others. There are laws and mores that newcomers must follow.

Just yesterday, The Gallup Poll released some emipirical data that, I'm sorry to say, backs up much of the anecdotal evidence our politicians have been reacting to. It basically demonstrates that most Americans think immigrants have detriminent impacts on the the nation's economy, morality, crime and tax situation.

                                                                                 

For each of   the following areas, please say whether immigrants to the United States   are making the situation in the country better or worse, or not having much   effect. How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?
2007 Jun 4-24 based   on "better"   (sorted by "total")	Better	Worse	Not much   effect	Net better   minus worse
	%	%	%
Food, music, and   the arts	40	9	46	31
The economy in   general	28	46	23	-18
Social and moral   values	19	37	41	-18
Job opportunities   for you and your family	12	34	52	-22
Taxes	11	55	28	-44
The crime situation	4	58	34	-54

What's more, these negative views of immigrants seem to be getting more intense over the last several years as this next table shows.

                                                                                     

For each of   the following areas, please say whether immigrants to the  United States are making the situation in the country better or worse, or not having much effect.Net: % better minus % worse
	Crime	Job opportunities	Food, music, and the   arts	Economy	Taxes	Social and moral values
Total
2007 Jun 4-24	-54	-22	31	-18	-44	-18
2004 Jun 9-30	-41	-26	34	-19	-33	-9
2002 Jun 3-9	-42	-23	44	-4	-38	-5
2001 Jun 11-17	-43	-20	50	0	-34	1

So, yeah, a "smart" politician will wait this issue out, watch the tide roll away from the shore until voter antipathy toward immigrants (much of which, Gallup points out, corresponds to concerns many Americans more generally about the economy and personal economic opportunity) turns around.

John McCain, pundits are saying, was more "courageous" than smart. In addition to holding fast to his position that we stay the course with respect to Iraq, he has been an leading advocate for immigration reform. That, according to many, has done him no favors, and his campaign is in a fundraising and organizational tailspin. His standing in the polls has plunged, too.

Rudolph Giuliani used to be one of the shining examples of the pro-immigration advocate when he was Mayor of New York City. (About 10 years ago, I personally -- and successfully -- lobbied my own organization to offer him a keynote address at our annual meeting because of this even though some of my liberal colleagues were uneasy about giving a podium to a guy who pushed a conservative agenda in other ways.) Now, as a Presidential candidate, he is backing from his pro-immigrant profile. I won't say he's not the same person, but he -- and the other candidates who have taken steps in the same direction -- obviously know which way the wind is blowing.

So much for leadership. So much for profiles in courage. Again, without minimizing the real concerns that many Americans have with the changes immigrants are bringing to this country, who will stand up and speak loudly and clearly on behalf of immigration? Notice I didn't say "on behalf of illegal" immigrants. No one is in favor of illegal immigrants. Certainly, the illegals themselves would rather  have a system that enables them to come here legally and fill jobs, which are readily available and often unfilled.

That's what the proposed immigration reform legislation was about, or supposed to be. Who knows if it would have truly achieved the results we wanted, but we can be sure that now we'll have the same bad situation we've always had.

What we don't need are the Tom Tancredos, Lou Dobbs's, the FAIRs, the far-right talk show shouters and the other masters of intellectual dishonesty who are devoted to misleading the public about what immigrants offer this country. We need someone who will speak intelligently, without hyperbole and without dismissing the real difficulties that accompany immigration -- unlike the restrictionists, who paint immigration as only a bad thing, or the ones on the very opposite end of the spectrum who seem to get upset with any regulation on immigrants.

Businesses, ethnic groups and bleeding hearts (like me, I suppose) have long played the role of convincing the public that immigration is good for the country. But they have been discredited (unfairly) by the anti-immigrant crowd as too self-interested to be objective (as if the anti-immigrant types aren't).

The question is, then, who will most Americans believe when he or she stands up and tells them the truth: that immigrants are, notwithstanding some difficulties, enormously valuable to this country?

I'm not sure I have the answer myself. But we need to find out.

Jeff