Arthur Schaper: Immigration Issues in Massachusetts

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Friday, January 17, 2014

Arthur Christopher Schaper, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

Immigration to the Americas (and Massachusetts) was not a big deal in the past, but has become a heated issue in this century. Where did most of us come from, how did New England’s population emerge then change over time, and how has immigration impacted the commonwealth today?

Before the United States, the Americas were a fledgling continent without much of an edge. Consider that Europeans and Asians believed that the world had an edge, or that nothing worth finding was waiting for them beyond their own lands. According to modern geographical reports, the American continents as a whole were populated with migrants. Whether you believe in evolution or creation, these United States have hosted immigrants from all over the world since recorded history.

Just Googling the question “Where did the Native Americans. . .” yields research regarding origins of life, which including speculations as far ranging as mountain ranges in Southern Russia as well as Asia. Whether by land-bridge or waters, separate migrations brought the extensive populations which greeted (or attacked) European explorers. French explorer Jean Lery posited that they descended from Semitic peoples, too.

Immigration in the Bay State

What about Massachusetts? Everyone knows about the Puritans, the Pilgrims, the Separatists, but what about afterwards, during the inaugural years of the Republic? Aside from the Conquistadores of old and the religious dissenters in years to follow, not a lot of people were living here to seek a new life. From the 1600s, English and Scottish teemed to New England shores. From the founding to the late 1800s, Europeans seeking work in the Northeastern textile mills wove their way into United States civic history, including the largest population of Irish migrants (Kennedy, anyone?). Northern Europeans, with a rising number of French-Canadians, moved to the Commonwealth.

By the late 1800’s until the next century, Southern European migration peaked. Following World War I, Russian and Slavic immigrants arrived. From the end of World War II to today, the Immigration Policy Center reports that the Latino and Asian communities feature prominently in the Bay State, with the population of foreign-born rising steadily over the past two decades. Modern concerns surrounding Massachusetts immigration policy cannot be ignored.

“Mister Governor” Patrick agreed to permit undocumented students pay in-state tuition, even though legally they should not be in the state to begin with. Granted, young illegal immigrants who have grown up in the US all their lives did not put themselves into their legal predicament, yet neither are the (few remaining) taxpayers in Taxachusetts at fault, nor the federal government, nor the United States Constitution. In a better (howbeit imperfect) world, immigration would freely respond to market forces, where anyone seeking a better job and better life can freely move to the United States, pass a health screening and criminal background check, then settle and make the most of their stay. National Review’s Ramesh Ponnuru recounted that his parents immigrated to the United States with little fanfare or fuss. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s father came to the US, and right away picked up the phone and dialed for work until he got a job.

Why has immigration become more difficult fifty years later? Free-market economist Milton Friedman argued about the same perceived inconsistency regarding immigration, which was welcomed in the 1900s but not today. His response: “You can have free immigration to work, but not to welfare”. A generous welfare state which promises to everyone a certain level of sustenance paid for by the state has discouraged free immigration, since in effect it’s not free!

The welfare problem is all the more pressing Massachusetts, since the Tsarnaev terrorists who bombed the Boston marathon were subsisting off of government welfare while plotting to attack their own adopted homeland.

Federal Immigration Reform

How has the President responded?

Frustrated over the stalling of immigration reform in Congress, President Obama has circumvented the legislature, issuing executive orders to discontinue deporting young illegal immigrants who have finished school and have not committed a crime, along with friends and family of military personnel. Why anyone would migrate to this country seeking the rule of law, when the President routinely flouts the rule of law is just mind-boggling in its inconsistency

What steps should the federal government take to effect effective immigration reform? Go Local Mindsetter Tom Finneran offered a list of essential reforms, such as securing the border, as well as streamlining the naturalization process. It’s a humanitarian crime (and crisis) for well-intentioned, law-abiding immigrants to waste decades before earning citizenship. Later on, Finneran mentioned the welfare abuses in connection with the Tsarnaev terrorists, which segues to another immigration reform:

Amnesty of the welfare state. Require citizenship as prerequisite for enrolling in a public or using an American hospital. The Mexican government requires proof of citizenship for public education, and militantly controls its Southern border. Why doesn’t the US do the same?

And quickly. Domestic workers in Massachusetts are already rallying against worker abuse, demanding a bill or rights, and one Bay State couple has plead guilty to underpaying their Bolivian-born nanny and housekeeper for thirteen years. This country needs responsive, and responsible immigration reform, now.

 

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance. Follow him on Twitter@ArthurCSchaper, reach him at [email protected], and read more at Schaper's Corner and As He Is, So Are We Ministries.

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