Immigration and Oppression Study Guide

Foundational Definitions of Oppression and Immigration Hostility

• Oppression: Defined as an action occurring when any entity (which may be a group or an individual) performs specific negative actions toward another entity and subsequently rationalizes these actions by either blaming or ignoring the victim. The core actions of oppression include:

  • Distributing resources in an inequitable manner.
  • Refusing to engage in the sharing of power.
  • Imposing an ethnocentric culture upon others.
  • Maintaining institutions that are unresponsive and inflexible.

• Xenophobia: This refers to the fear of or prejudice directed against people who are immigrating from other nations.

• Assimilation: A process wherein immigrants adopt the cultural traits of their host country and become absorbed into the host society.

• Nativism: An ideology held among native inhabitants that is opposed to immigrants. In this framework, certain immigrants are perceived as being threatening or inherently dangerous to the existing society.

• Native American Party: A specifically nativist group that advocated for increasing the eligibility period for citizenship from the existing $5$ years to a total of $21$ years.

Causes and Historical Manifestations of Xenophobia and Nativism

• Nativism as Anti-Catholicism: This was a direct response to the massive increase in the number of Catholic immigrants entering the United States during the mid-19th century.

  • In $1820$, there were approximately $200,000$ Catholics in the U.S.
  • By $1850$, this number had grown to more than $2,000,000$.

• Nativism as Anti-Radicalism: Immigrants were often viewed with suspicion because they were actively engaged in forming labor unions as a means to secure better wages, which was perceived as a radical activity.

• The Know Nothing Party: A political manifestation of nativist sentiment that achieved significant success in the mid-19th century. Their candidates represented:

  • Almost half of the members of the House of Representatives.
  • $8$ out of $62$ members in the Senate.
  • $9$ State Governors.

• The Decline of Nativism as a Dominant Movement: Nativism failed to become the primary dominant movement in the United States during the mid-19th century because the issue of Slavery, rather than immigration, became the most dominant and divisive national issue.

Evolution of Cultural Bias and Immigration Law

• Americanization: A process often centered in schools where immigrant children were indoctrinated to abandon their original heritage and conform strictly to American ways of living and behaving.

• Anti-Semitism: The possession of prejudices or stereotypes for, or the active discrimination against, Jewish people.

• Xenophobic Developments and Race Theories: In later years, race theories became popular, leading to a concern over the specific "race" of immigrants.

  • Jews were identified as a distinct race, leading to targeted anti-Semitism against immigrant Jews.
  • The $1924$ Immigration Law reflected these theories by restricting immigration primarily to white groups.

• The Immigration Act of 1965: This represented a major shift in policy as Racial Quotas were eliminated.

  • Since $1965$, approximately $80\%$ of immigrants have been people of color.

Modern Demographics and Nativist Attitudes

• Majority of New Immigrants: Current trends show that the majority of new immigrants are people of color.

  • From the period of $2010$ to $2050$, people of color are projected to account for $82\%$ of the total U.S. population increase.
  • Latinos represent $15\%$ of the workforce today, with a projected increase to $18\%$ by $2018$.
  • By the year $2050$, over half of all Americans will be people of color.

• The "English Only" Movement: Cited as an example of xenophobic behavior.

  • Statistics show that over $90\%$ of America’s residents are already fluent in English.
  • Less than $7\%$ of Americans speak no English at all.
  • The movement is funded by groups such as the Pioneer Fund, which has a documented history of xenophobic and racist activities.

• Contemporary Nativism and Anti-Latino Sentiment:

  • Much of today's anti-immigrant sentiment is directed specifically at Latinos, particularly undocumented workers (illegal immigrants).
  • Hate crimes directed against Latinos tripled in the period from $2011$ to $2012$.
  • Arizona enacted a law that outlawed the teaching of ethnic studies within K-12 schools.

Economic Contributions of Immigrants

• Entrepreneurship: Immigrant entrepreneurs generate more than $700$ billion dollars each year ($\$700 \times 10^9$).

• Undocumented Workforce:

  • Undocumented workers constitute almost $60\%$ of all farm workers in the U.S.
  • They pay billions of dollars in sales taxes and over $\$1 \text{ billion}$ in income taxes annually.
  • Illegal immigrants contribute approximately $\$7 \text{ billion}$ to Social Security and $\$1.5 \text{ billion}$ to Medicare.

Common Myths and Realities of Immigration

• Myth 1: Immigrant Education and Welfare Status

  • Myth: "Immigrants arrive ignorant with little education or money and go on welfare."
  • Reality: $33\%$ of immigrants possess college degrees. Additionally, the percentage of immigrants on welfare is similar to the percentage of non-immigrants on welfare.

• Myth 2: Cultural Preservation and Assimilation

  • Myth: "Past and present immigrants have wanted to cling to their culture and refuse to assimilate."
  • Reality: While new immigrants want to preserve cultural elements, they demonstrate a strong desire to become American. Backlogs in citizenship applications have actually delayed many requests by several years.

• Myth 3: Volume of Immigration

  • Myth: "The U.S. takes more immigrants than other countries."
  • Reality: When measuring countries by the percentage of their population consisting of immigrants, the U.S. ranks low, trailing behind Canada, Australia, Germany, and Switzerland.

• Myth 4: Illegal Immigration Proportions

  • Myth: "Too many illegal immigrants are getting into the U.S."
  • Reality: Illegal immigrants represent only $20\%$ of the total immigrant population and only $2\%$ of the total U.S. population. Furthermore, many Europeans overstay their $90$-day visas but are rarely stigmatized as "illegal."

• Myth 5: Crime, Disease, and Terrorism

  • Myth: "Illegal immigrants cause increased crime, disease, and terrorism in the U.S."
  • Reality: There is no medical research reporting an increase in diseases due to immigrants. General research into crime has concluded that "immigrants aren’t a crime problem."

• Myth 6: Job Market Displacement

  • Myth: "Immigrants are taking away jobs from Americans."
  • Reality: Various studies indicate that immigrants actually create jobs in the areas where they settle.

Language Diversity and Bilingualism

• Current Language Landscape:

  • $21\%$ of all K-12 students come from homes where a language other than English is spoken.
  • Of those students, over two-thirds speak Spanish.
  • Most people globally are bilingual or multilingual.

• Bilingualism Trends in the Latino Community:

  • $98\%$ of Latinos are fluent in English.
  • $35\%$ of Latinos are fluent in Spanish.
  • Children of immigrants typically lose their native language proficiency by the third generation.

• Bilingual Education:

  • This is intended to foster, rather than prevent, assimilation.
  • It values learning diversity, bilingualism, and multiple cultural perspectives.
  • Recent research provides evidence supporting bilingual education for English Language Learners (ELLs).

• Advantages of Increased Bilingualism:

  • Diplomacy/Security: Enhances the ability to conduct negotiations and detect potential terrorist activities.
  • Economic: Facilitates and enhances global trade.
  • Educational: Improves teacher education programs and enhances K-12 language learning opportunities.