The great immigration crackup

It begs belief on one level that so many prominent U.S. leaders want to block immigrants who are from a certain country and that some politicians, incredibly, would give preference to immigrants who practice a certain religion. But from another angle, the trend looks inevitable. It is simply the next stage of a journey that's putting increasing distance between our politics and our founding principles

If you can't believe what you're hearing and yearn for a reminder of America's better angels, go see "Brooklyn." The movie, set in the early 1950s, tells the story of a young Irish immigrant and her Italian boyfriend. Nobody threw them back on the boat for fear that his family had Mafia connections or she was part of the Irish Republican Army. Instead they settled in and became the type of people who built America. It's a feel-good movie and also a feel-bad one, because if they were Syrians trying to come now, odds are we wouldn't let them in.
It begs belief on one level that so many prominent U.S. leaders want to block immigrants who are from a certain country and that some politicians, incredibly, would give preference to immigrants who practice a certain religion. But from another angle, the trend looks inevitable. It is simply the next stage of a journey that's putting increasing distance between our politics and our founding principles.
The trend was evident in the 2012 presidential campaign in the Republican candidates' tough line on immigration and Mitt Romney's expressed hope that illegal immigrants would self-deport. From the moment real estate developer Donald Trump erupted in abusive, unfounded rhetoric about immigrants at his campaign announcement, it was clear that the 2016 environment would be even more hostile.
And then came the Paris attacks, turning an already inflamed political debate into a highly competitive race to the bottom. Half the nation's governors want to block Syrian immigrants from their states. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would even bar orphans under age five. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says we should focus on helping Syrian Christians rather than Muslims. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is introducing a Senate bill to bar Syrian immigrants altogether. If they somehow manage to get inside America, thefront-running Trump pledges to send them home.
From 2012 to 2015, according to the 2015 American Values Survey released this week by the Public Religion Research Institute, the share of Americans saying illegal immigration is a major problem rose from 28 percent to 36 percent. Whether that's a cause for Trump's popularity or an effect of it, there's definitely an association. Nearly 7 in 10 of his supporters (69 percent) said the immigration issue was critical to them personally, compared with 50 percent for Republicans backing other candidates and 46 percent for the country overall.
Given U.S. demographic trends, hostility toward immigrants is a losing political strategy, as many Republicans well know. But more than that, it is a disturbing mindset – a stew of suspicion and fear that cuts deeply against the optimism and diversity that are the hallmarks and lifeblood of America.
There are antecedents to this moment in our history, but they are not ones we would want to repeat. We put Japanese-Americans in internment camps during World War II. We denied entry to Jews trying to flee the Nazis – including 20,000 children. When Rupert Murdoch tweeted in connection with Syrian immigrants that President Barack Obama should consider a "special exception for proven Christians," liberal blogger Oliver Willis was reminded of the Salem witch trials. "if he floats he's a christian, if not, oh well," he tweeted.
Those episodes are now viewed as disgraceful, but that's doubtless no comfort at all to today's Syrians. One can only imagine how they feel about this whole mess, and the United States in particular. First we stage a gratuitous and disastrous invasion of Iraq, which helps destabilize the entire region and fosters the rise of al-Qaida and the Islamic Staten group. Then, when trapped innocents try to escape the barbarism and bloodshed, we tar them all as possible terrorists and slam the doors shut.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Syria, Paris and radical Islam generally are forcing us to make fundamental choices about who we are and should be. The 9/11 attacks provoked an urgent debate over the right to privacy versus the government's need and right to snoop in the name of protecting the citizenry. The intrusions violated the very core of what it meant to be American, civil libertarians argued. The Paris attacks have reignited that debate and triggered a darker immigration backlash as well.
The irony is that in order to be true to ourselves as a nation of immigrants, we may need to sacrifice some privacy rights so our spy agencies can make sure we are not welcoming terrorists. I'm interested in an America that continues to be inviting, dynamic and energized by many newcomers and cultures. So that's an acceptable compromise to me, one that strikes a balance between two core American values.
Syria is a profound test of those values, but the answers are self-evident in the context of the season. Many of the Pilgrims came to the New World in pursuit of religious freedom, and all of them were immigrants.
 
The writer is a U.S. News contributing editor who writes about politics and policy. She is a member of the USA Today Board of Contributors, author of the Brookings Institution's Profiles in Negotiation series, and a contributor to "The Surge: 2014's Big GOP Win and What It Means for the Next
Presidential Election

 

The great immigration crackup

It begs belief on one level that so many prominent U.S. leaders want to block immigrants who are from a certain country and that some politicians, incredibly, would give preference to immigrants who practice a certain religion. But from another angle, the trend looks inevitable. It is simply the next stage of a journey thats putting increasing distance between our politics and our founding principles

If you cant believe what youre hearing and yearn for a reminder of Americas better angels, go see Brooklyn. The movie, set in the early 1950s, tells the story of a young Irish immigrant and her Italian boyfriend. Nobody threw them back on the boat for fear that his family had Mafia connections or she was part of the Irish Republican Army. Instead they settled in and became the type of people who built America. Its a feel-good movie and also a feel-bad one, because if they were Syrians trying to come now, odds are we wouldnt let them in. It begs belief on one level that so many prominent U.S. leaders want to block immigrants who are from a certain country and that some politicians, incredibly, would give preference to immigrants who practice a certain religion. But from another angle, the trend looks inevitable. It is simply the next stage of a journey thats putting increasing distance between our politics and our founding principles. The trend was evident in the 2012 presidential campaign in the Republican candidates tough line on immigration and Mitt Romneys expressed hope that illegal immigrants would self-deport. From the moment real estate developer Donald Trump erupted in abusive, unfounded rhetoric about immigrants at his campaign announcement, it was clear that the 2016 environment would be even more hostile. And then came the Paris attacks, turning an already inflamed political debate into a highly competitive race to the bottom. Half the nations governors want to block Syrian immigrants from their states. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would even bar orphans under age five. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says we should focus on helping Syrian Christians rather than Muslims. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is introducing a Senate bill to bar Syrian immigrants altogether. If they somehow manage to get inside America, thefront-running Trump pledges to send them home. From 2012 to 2015, according to the 2015 American Values Survey released this week by the Public Religion Research Institute, the share of Americans saying illegal immigration is a major problem rose from 28 percent to 36 percent. Whether thats a cause for Trumps popularity or an effect of it, theres definitely an association. Nearly 7 in 10 of his supporters (69 percent) said the immigration issue was critical to them personally, compared with 50 percent for Republicans backing other candidates and 46 percent for the country overall. Given U.S. demographic trends, hostility toward immigrants is a losing political strategy, as many Republicans well know. But more than that, it is a disturbing mindset a stew of suspicion and fear that cuts deeply against the optimism and diversity that are the hallmarks and lifeblood of America. There are antecedents to this moment in our history, but they are not ones we would want to repeat. We put Japanese-Americans in internment camps during World War II. We denied entry to Jews trying to flee the Nazis including 20,000 children. When Rupert Murdoch tweeted in connection with Syrian immigrants that President Barack Obama should consider a special exception for proven Christians, liberal blogger Oliver Willis was reminded of the Salem witch trials. if he floats hes a christian, if not, oh well, he tweeted. Those episodes are now viewed as disgraceful, but thats doubtless no comfort at all to todays Syrians. One can only imagine how they feel about this whole mess, and the United States in particular. First we stage a gratuitous and disastrous invasion of Iraq, which helps destabilize the entire region and fosters the rise of al-Qaida and the Islamic Staten group. Then, when trapped innocents try to escape the barbarism and bloodshed, we tar them all as possible terrorists and slam the doors shut. It is not an exaggeration to say that Syria, Paris and radical Islam generally are forcing us to make fundamental choices about who we are and should be. The 9/11 attacks provoked an urgent debate over the right to privacy versus the governments need and right to snoop in the name of protecting the citizenry. The intrusions violated the very core of what it meant to be American, civil libertarians argued. The Paris attacks have reignited that debate and triggered a darker immigration backlash as well. The irony is that in order to be true to ourselves as a nation of immigrants, we may need to sacrifice some privacy rights so our spy agencies can make sure we are not welcoming terrorists. Im interested in an America that continues to be inviting, dynamic and energized by many newcomers and cultures. So thats an acceptable compromise to me, one that strikes a balance between two core American values. Syria is a profound test of those values, but the answers are self-evident in the context of the season. Many of the Pilgrims came to the New World in pursuit of religious freedom, and all of them were immigrants. The writer is a U.S. News contributing editor who writes about politics and policy. She is a member of the USA Today Board of Contributors, author of the Brookings Institutions Profiles in Negotiation series, and a contributor to The Surge: 2014s Big GOP Win and What It Means for the Next Presidential Election