Immigration is a classic example of an issue where almost all would-be commentators perceive a binary: just two available opinions, one right, one wrong.
Yet of course it is almost never the case that the world actually works this way. There are many phenomena which I would need a lot of convincing to accept as either intrinsically good or bad.
In the case of Immigration specifically, it tends to be a good thing when accompanied by broad, mutual goodwill and adaptation by both incumbents and newcomers.
The benefits quickly emerge and accelerate.
The benefits quickly emerge and accelerate.
Conversely, when that adaptation stalls, across the board, not just on one side, negative patterns of integration are likely to catalyse each other, leading to a far more deleterious reaction across the society.
1 comment:
I have a great grandmother who I'm sure jumped the border in about 1900. She had 11 children, hundreds of descendants today. She is just the latest in a long line of people from my family, crossing the Atlantic ocean to make a life in the Americas. I'm a fan of immigration, ready made workers begging to work. There may be some downsides but I'm hard pressed to name any that would make me want to curtail immigration below our current levels.
I suspect Mexico's current economic upsurge is somewhat related to its current immigration level. Those workers were raised on another nation's dime-a gift of humanity.
Put me in the white category Mr. Howard.
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