LEARNING ENGLISH KEY TO IMMIGRANT ASSIMILATION
One of the saddest features of modern political life is the
separation of freedom and responsibility between the two major parties. If you believe in both, you have to
choose. Nowhere does this have more
tragic consequences than illegal immigration.
The pro-freedom case for immigration is pretty strong. The average age of an immigrant is 28, which
suggests that immigrants come during their prime working years. They are disproportionately represented in
lower-skilled areas of the workforce, but also in highly skilled areas like
medicine and science.
Low-skilled and high-skilled jobs are both areas where
demand outstrips supply in
Nor can anti-immigration forces claim the country is
overrun. Right now, we let in 4.3
immigrants per 1000 residents, less than half the rate at the turn of the
century. Since 1910, the percentage of foreign-born residents has dropped from
14.7% to 11.7%. Hardly a crisis.
But if that’s the pro-freedom case, what about
responsibility? Why do self-styled
supporters of illegal immigrants never talk about this equally important
consequence of freedom? For immigrants
to contribute to American culture, society, and prosperity, they must be held
responsible for two things.
First, they must find work, at wages the market will
bear. Many advocates for illegal
immigrants will talk of how the American economy “depends” on low-wage workers,
and how capitalism exploits them, Their
best alternative is to become legal (I agree), to join unions (I disagree), to
demand more rights (really entitlements) and to mobilize politically (vote
Democratic). This is a recipe for
disaster.
The American economy doesn’t “depend” on any one part of the
labor force, skilled or otherwise. If,
heaven forbid, all illegal immigrants were deported tomorrow, wages, goods and
services would eventually readjust at a different equilibrium point. It wouldn’t be as good as the one we have
now, but the American economy would continue to grow.
Low wage jobs are simply where supply meets demand, nothing
more. That’s a good thing, because
everybody benefits. Mobilizing to reduce
economic freedom in the name of helping immigrants just reduces the prosperity
that makes immigrants want to come here in the first place.
But if
I studied hard to be able to speak a foreign language. I know from personal experience that if you
can’t speak the language of the country you’re in, you have no idea what that
country is all about. That’s why
bilingual education for immigrants is a bad idea. In addition to finding work, immigrants
should be responsible for learning English.
All government documents should be English-only, not because
English speakers are superior to everybody else, but because history has made
it our national language. Public school
classrooms should be English-only, not because we want to hurt children from
other cultures, but because we want to help them become Americans as quickly as
possible.
It’s ludicrous to call opponents of bilingual education
racist, although it happens all the time.
Polish, German, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Indian immigrant
children all become Americans very easily without the benefit of bilingual education. The Hispanic immigrant community can do the
same. I believe most genuinely want to.
Because “freedom with responsibility” is a new kid on the
political block, people who support it will have to pick and choose for a
while. But new ideas take time to catch
on, and I’ve always believed in politics for the long haul.
Somewhere, I’m hoping there’s a Hispanic Republican
up-and-comer who’s willing to stand up for the value of immigrants against
demagogues like Pat Buchanan. Or maybe
we’ll get a Democrat with the courage to say that assimilation and freedom, not
separatism and handouts, are the best ways to improve the lives of
immigrants. Whichever comes first,
they’ll have my support. I hope they’ll
have yours.