A lot of conservatives employ apocalyptic language when it comes to immigration. People are pouring over the border, there is a crisis at the border, we are being invaded, and sooner or later we will no longer have a country. You have heard this from former President Donald Trump, but you have probably also heard similar rhetoric from the Democratic Party. These are mere talking points, however. The reality is that these people are, first and foremost, human beings. They are not rapists, murderers, or terrorists as Trump and some of his followers seem to think. In fact, the vast majority are totally nonviolent and are desperately poor people seeking to improve their lives.
From the outset, perhaps the most crucial thing to point out is that human beings are incredibly cruel. We often do not like people who are “different” than us. For centuries, there have been all sorts of horrible stereotypes against people (e.g., Germans, Italians, Chinese, Irish) who are perceived as different. And the sad thing about all of this is that they are not different at all. Like all of us, they desire the same peaceful end: To find work, support their families, and live a decent life. This anti-immigration rhetoric is not only harmful, but is plainly fallacious. That being said, let’s now explore three common stereotypes about immigrants. There are many others, of course, but these are the three I find most pressing and worthy of discussion.
Immigrants are a major source of crime
This is a myth that has been around for about a century. You can read Hasting H. Hart’s paper, Immigration and Crime to see how easily this claim is debunked. Immigrants are, in fact, less likely to be incarcerated for violent and property-related crimes, and cities with more immigrants and their descendants are often more peaceful. Some immigrants do, however, commit violent and property-related crimes but, by and large, they are less likely to do such. One of the main reasons this myth is still alive is through the use of selective anecdotes. For example, when an illegal immigrant rapes and kills a child, instead of looking at this as an isolated case, all immigrants are now seen as potentially dangerous. If only this illegal immigrant was not in the country, this would have never happened! I can totally understand the emotional rage. After an arduous day of work, you return home and turn on the evening news. On one side of the frame, you see a beautiful little girl. On the other side, you see the mug shot of an angry drifter who snuffed her out of existence. But if we want to think critically and carefully about this, we have to see it as an isolated case. Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, the man accused of raping and murdering this child, is a vile monster who would have most likely committed the same crime in his own country or elsewhere. The fact that some immigrant committed an isolated crime, does not mean that all immigrants (legal or illegal) have some sort of intrinsic desire to do the same.
They are taking all of our jobs
Many people claim that immigrants hurt native job seekers, but this is false. The effect of immigrants on an economy is the same as the effect of people having children. They are new people competing for jobs who spend their money on goods and services, which creates the demand for more goods and services, which finally creates the demand for more jobs. The displacement effect has little to no impact on native wages. In short, immigrants are advantageous to the economy since they create more jobs and increase wealth.
Immigrants abuse the welfare state
It is common to hear people say things like this: “I am not paying for some lazy immigrant to sit on his ass and collect my hard-earned money. They are taking from a system they have not contributed to.” But it may surprise you to discover that legal immigrants do not have access to means-tested welfare for their first five years here in the States. Illegal immigrants, on the other hand, do not have access at all, except for emergency Medicaid. I think this claim rests on a fundamental misunderstanding of the welfare state. Here is a rough sketch of its functionality: It takes money from those who earn it and gives it to those who do not—whether they are immigrants or native-born Americans. The welfare state confiscates money and redistributes it based on the needs of its citizens. The productive sacrifice for the not so productive to ensure they live, at the bare minimum, a decent life. Immigrants also make massive contributions to Medicare and Social Security, which are among the largest portions of the welfare state. Check out this article by Vox for further analysis on how immigrants contribute a whole lot to Medicare, Social Security, and so forth.
Like everything else, we need to get past the fog of rhetoric. I encourage you to push emotions aside and think critically and carefully about the claims that people advance. I hope this short piece introduced a new perspective that you may have not considered before.
This is spot on, fully accurate writing, and yet, will it - or similar efforts - have any effect?
Often, the most vociferously anti-immigrant folks are the 2nd generation: “I’ve got mine, forget anyone else.”
There’s also the ties to folks who stayed behind; and perhaps some guilt? My father left Cuba in 1933 when the dictator Batista took over; the woman who was the housekeeper for his father, Luisa, came to stay with our family in 1959 when Castro took over, and Luisa’s son, Santiago, later became one of the most pro-American anti immigrant folks imaginable.
We see this with folks from India, Peru, Poland, Sierra Leone, Vietnam, etc etc.
But I don’t know; if someone besides Trump (or Biden) ends up in the White House, maybe a new tone will be set here and there may be some learning possible?
Or maybe David Bentley Hart will be the leader and we’ll hear not only of universal salvation but universal love and human unity!