During our recent visit to the border, Isabel García of the
Tuscon, AZ organization Derechos Humanos discussed that though our nation was
founded on ideals of liberty, justice and equality, we have a long history of
human rights abuses that deny justice to people – especially to immigrants and
people of color. Isabella shared that the only way to create change is through
reeducation. Much of our public education system zeros in on the progress that
the U.S. has made to bring liberty, justice and freedom to people, while glossing
over the ways in which we have denied liberty, justice and freedom to many. My
hope through this post is to aid in your and my reeducation in some small way.
My hope is not to paint the U.S. as a monster that denies justice, but rather
to reveal a more realistic picture that recognizes that the freedom and justice
that reigns in our country is also mixed with abuses of power, acts of
injustice, and a refusal to welcome the foreigner. In the following space, I
retell snippets of U.S. history that speak to how we have treated the
immigrant, the foreigner, the other. I do not provide a solution, nor do I want
to convince you how to think. My hope is that you will see the way that history
has repeated itself in different eras and with different people groups in hopes
that we can move toward being a nation that is welcoming and accepting of the
other – a nation that respects the human rights of EVERYONE.
***
The land that is now called the United States of America
holds a long history of immigration and the interaction of various people
groups. Academics believe that the first people to migrate to this land came
from Eurasia tens of thousands of years ago. After this great migration, these
peoples established various cultures and ways of life throughout the Americas.
Over the following thousands of years, lots of internal migration would occur
in the Americas. Trading and wars took place between different people groups.
But nothing would so shake this landmass as the arrival of outsiders at the end
of the 15th Century.
In 1492, Columbus and his crew “discovered the Americas.” By
1521, the Spaniards were “settling” Mexico and interacting with the indigenous
people in a diverse variety of ways. They would eventually explore much of the
“new world,” including what is today the South and Southwest United States. In
1607, the English established
their first settlement – in what is today the United States – in Jamestown,
Virginia.
The
interaction that ensued between the English and indigenous peoples – Native
Americans – was fascinating. Native American tribes frequently attacked
European settlements. Europeans unintentionally gave Native Americans diseases
that would wipe out vast numbers of people. Natives traded Europeans food and
animal pelts for guns and ammunition. Natives taught Europeans to grow maize,
beans, squash and more. Europeans pressured Natives to “tame the wild” and to
adopt sedentary, agricultural lifestyles. Europeans tried to “civilize” the
Native Americans and make them Christians. As the Europeans adapted to the “New
World” over time, greed seemed to take over.
The demand for land was met by
invading and conquering larger and larger swaths of territory. American Indians
became a growing impediment to white European “progress,” and during this period,
the images of American Indians promoted in books, newspapers and magazines
became increasingly negative. As sociologists Keith Kilty and Eric Swank have
observed, eliminating “savages” is less of a moral problem than eliminating
human beings, and therefore American Indians came to be understood as a lesser
race – uncivilized savages – thus providing a justification for the extermination
of the native peoples. (Alexander, 2011, 23)
***
Many of the first English and Western European settlers were
dissenting Christian groups who came to the “New World” seeking the freedom to
practice their faith without persecution. Other European settlers came to seek
wealth, or to escape economic languor. The well-off English settlers
established plantations, where crops such as cotton and tobacco were grown for
export. The rest of the English settlers came as indentured servants. Their
voyage across the Atlantic was paid for in trade for years of labor on a
plantation. At the same time, Europeans began to capture African men and women,
sending them to the “New World” where they were also forced to work on
plantations.
Initially, the African bondsmen occupied the same status as
the white indentured service in the new world. These white men and black men
were said to have worked together and relaxed together. (Alexander, 2011, 22-23).However,
things soon changed.
The growing demand for labor on
plantations was met through slavery. American Indians were considered
unsuitable as slaves, largely because native tribes were clearly in a position
to fight back. The fear of raids by Indian tribes led plantation owners to
grasp for an alternative source of free labor. European immigrants were also
deemed poor candidates for slavery, not because of their race, but rather because
they were in short supply and enslavement would, quite naturally, interfere
with voluntary immigration to the new colonies. Plantation owners thus viewed
Africans, who were relatively powerless, as the ideal slaves…
By the mid-1770s, the system of bond labor had
been thoroughly transformed into a racial caste system predicated on slavery.
The degraded status of Africans was justified on the ground that Negros, like
the Indians, were an uncivilized lesser race, perhaps even more lacking in
intelligence and laudable human qualities than the red-skinned natives. The
notion of white supremacy rationalized the enslavement of Africans, even as
whites endeavored to form a new nation based on the ideals of equality, liberty
and justice for all. Before democracy, chattel slavery in America was born. (Alexander,
2011, 23-25)
“Here, in America, the idea of
race emerged as a means of reconciling chattel slavery – as well as the
extermination of American Indians – with the ideals of freedom preached by
whites in the new colonies.” –Michelle Alexander, The
New Jim Crow, p.23
***
Throughout the 18th Century, fewer Europeans
arrived in the American colonies by boat. Eventually, the majority of the
population had been born in the Americas. The colonists came to see the British
influence as an oppressive hand that was not welcome. In 1776, the colonists
declared independence, and the Revolutionary War began. Fighting ended by 1781
and Britain officially recognized the United States of America as an
independent nation in 1783.
Preceding independence and in the years after,
European-Americans began to expand westward. The westward movement was driven
by the desire for cheaper land and the concept of Manifest Destiny – the belief
that white settlers had the right to the North American continent, that it was
their God-given duty to settle and civilize the land. As this westward
migration began, indigenous peoples were killed and displaced. The actions
taken against the native population was nothing short of genocide.
“To say we were built on these beautiful concepts
[liberty, justice, equality] is wrong. We were built on genocide of indigenous
people and slavery.” –Isabel García, Derechos
Humanos
In 1836, Texas won independence from Mexico and was
officially incorporated into the United States of America in 1845. By 1848, the
U.S had won the Mexican-American War. In the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,
Mexico was forced to cede the northern half of its territory to the U.S. This
Mexican Cession included what is today California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona,
New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. Though sparsely populated, this land held
great natural resources - something that the United States recognized
immediately with the discovery of gold in California.
***
The Gold Rush in California began in the late 1840s. White citizens flocked to the
West. As this boom occurred on the West coast, a need was sparked for cheap
labor to work the mines, build railroads, and grow crops. Cheap labor was soon
found in the Chinese. Many Chinese were also happy to live China as a result of
political unrest and economic pressures. U.S.
and Chinese authorities negotiated the legalization and movement of Chinese
laborers to the west coast of the United States. Nearly 300,000 Chinese immigrants
entered the U.S. between 1850 and 1899 (though half would eventually return to
China), and another 100,000 were born in the U.S. during that time (Hooper &
Batalova, 2015).
As early as 1852, however, locals sought to block the
importation of “coolies.” Brutal racial discrimination persisted for decades.
“Suspicious” Chinese females were not permitted entry in order to avoid births
of those of Chinese origin on US soil (and so the right to citizenship,
according to the Fourteenth Amendment); there were all kinds of restrictions
placed on these immigrants at local levels, and violence exploded against them
and their property on a number of occasions. This antipathy culminated in the
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which barred introduction of any further Chinese
labor and denied the Chinese any claim to citizenship; this prohibition would
be renewed on several occasions. Chinese were not accorded the right to become
citizens until 1943 with the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act (the
Magnuson Act). (Carroll, 2008, 31)
Furthermore,
“little
Chinese immigration was permitted until the Immigration and Nationality Act of
1965 overhauled the U.S. immigration system and significantly expanded
migration opportunities for non-European immigrants” (Hooper &
Batalova, 2015).
***
At the end of the 19th Century and beginning of
the 20th, millions
of Irish and southern Europeans - especially Italians - arrived to the United
States. These immigrants fled economic stagnation and famine in their home
countries. Furthermore, they were drawn to the bounty of jobs in the U.S.
Nevertheless, opposition soon arose
on the claim that these new groups
were educationally and culturally inferior, a drain on the economy, and
politically problematic. Moreover, in contrast to the general Protestant flavor
of the majority culture of the day, these immigrants were overwhelmingly
Catholic. All of these negative features, it was felt, would damage the
American ethos. A quota system to limit the admission of immigrants from
certain countries was put into place with the immigration Acts of 1921 (the
Quota Act) and 1924 (the Johnson-Reed Act). (Carroll, 2008, 32)
***
While the Chinese were prohibited entry to the U.S. at the
end of the 19th Century, a great need for labor remained.
“Ironically, the exclusion of one immigrant people opened the door to another” (Carroll,
2008, 33). The
need for cheap labor was soon found in Mexico. Ever since that time, Mexican
labor has played an important role in the U.S. economy. Nevertheless, U.S.
attitude and policies toward Mexican immigrants has varied greatly over the
years.
The outbreak of World War I created a demand for more
laborers in industry to support the war effort. Meanwhile, U.S. men joined the
armed forces, and European Immigration halted due to the war. Mexican laborers
were called upon to fill the gap. Many Mexicans happily came to the U.S. at
this time as “The agricultural and industrial decisions of Porfirio Díaz
(1876-1910) created a large
landless population desperate for work… [and] The Mexican Revolution (1910-1917)
drove many more across the border in search of safety” (Carroll, 2008, 33).
The Stock Market Crash of 1929, the beginning of the Great
Depression and the soaring rate of unemployment, led to “a backlash on foreign
workers. Restrictions on immigration were added and deportations began. Because
of the difficult atmosphere, many Mexicans left of their own volition.
Coincidentally, the land reform of President Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-40) made returning to Mexico an
attractive option for those who desired to own property” (Carroll, 2008, 33-34).
World War
II created a need for additional manpower once again. Furthermore, the 1942 bracero agreement welcomed Mexican
immigrants. “The bracero program
granted visas for temporary contract work. The numbers stipulated in the treaty
never satisfied the need, however, and over time undocumented immigration began
to grow” (Carroll, 2008, 34).
***
While the U.S. remained neutral to World War II through
1941, the eyes of our nation – like those of the rest of the world – were
focused on the conflict in Europe, and on an aggressive Japan to the East. On
December 7, 1941, our nation was rocked by the attack on Pearl Harbor. The next
day, war was declared on Japan, and on December 11th war was
declared on Germany and Italy. While the military mobilized and fighting
escalated in these foreign theaters, a war was also waged within the United
States against citizens and residents.
Starting in 1942, over 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry were imprisoned in Internment
Camps. Of this population, 62% were U.S.
Citizens. We had become overwhelmed by fear, and understandably so, after the
attack on Pearl Harbor. We allowed this fear, though, to transform into
hysteria and race prejudice. We unjustly incarcerated and mistreated a massive
group of people on the basis of race. Were we really as different from the
enemy Nazis as we thought we were?
***
After World War II, the Soviet Union became our national enemy.
In the first years after World War II, confessions by several individuals that
Soviet spies had infiltrated the U.S. government before and during WWII led to
hysteria among the American public. Senator Joseph McCarthy seized the
opportunity to assume power as a result of this fear. McCarthy led a movement
that saw the erosion of civil rights for anyone who was a communist or
perceived to be a communist. Whether there was significant evidence or not,
many individuals were drug to trial to determine their role in espionage and
subversion for the Soviets. The Red Scare had taken hold of American citizens,
and allowed the denial of basic rights for many U.S. citizens and residents.
“…scare tactics, marginalization and irrational hyper
villainization is as American as apple pie. From the Know Nothing Party in the
1850s who opposed immigration, particularly of Irish Catholics, to the Red
Scare in the 1950s over Communism that led to the detainment of thousands of
Asian Americans and numerous congressional hearings, to even modern day
politicians fearing illegal immigration and the erasure of "white
culture," using fear to scare voters into voting for the pseudo-leaders
who hold these outrageous beliefs is a successful tactic. Scapegoating
marginalized members of society has often been a tactic to reassure the public
that the government is in control, often with the undertones of “the ends
justify the means.” However, this success comes with consequences…” -Ezez Sehar (2015)
***
During the McCarthy era, the pervasive fear of everything
foreign, lead to a crack-down on illegal immigrants from Latin American, too.
U.S. officials claim that over a million undocumented immigrants were deported.
In 1965, the bracero program
was shut down due to pressure from union and civil rights groups. (Carroll, 2008, 34)
This same year, the Hart-Cellar Immigration Bill was passed
to set the quota of immigrants from the Western Hemisphere to the U.S. at 120,000, while capping any single
country at 20,000. Though, “the number of legal visas for Mexicans was
eventually raised considerably,… it never reached levels to match labor needs.
The pressure for migration northward was exacerbated by worsening economic
conditions n Mexico and the rapid increases in its population. In other words,
while restrictions were growing, more and more people were trying to enter the
country to find work” (Carroll, 2008, 35).
The 1986
Immigration Reform and Control Act increased regulation on immigration. Border
Patrol grew, and sanctions were placed on employers who hired undocumented
workers. Additionally, amnesty was provided to those had been in the U.S. since
1982 and those who did certain types of agricultural work. This arrangement,
though, did little to slow immigration as the government had hoped.
Many employers balked at the amount of required paperwork, while
others simply did not want to lose their cheap source of labor. The demand for
documentation also spawned a black market in fraudulent papers and encouraged
many employers to pay salaries in cash to evade their legal responsibilities.
In addition, the preference system for reuniting families allowed those who had
received amnesty to bring over their kin; this led to the admission of many
more people than the government had anticipated. The resulting emerging Hispanic
networks and communities in turn fostered the conditions to receive and help
even more immigrants come to the country. (Carroll, 2008, 35-36)
Since the
mid-1980s, a number of other steps have been taken to “secure our southern
border” and stop immigration. [Feel free to read about these strategies on my
previous blogs “PREVENTION THROUGH DETERRENCE” and “CRIMINAL inJUSTICE.”] These
steps have come at a time when undocumented immigration and anti-immigrant
sentiments in the U.S. have spiked.
***
In 2001,
the U.S. was shocked by an attack on our soil. The extremist Muslim group
al-Qaeda launched a terrorist attack that killed thousands of individuals in
New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. Our nation – and much of the
world – was shaken by the event. Airlines saw a huge decline in traffic and
security increased at airports. The U.S. established the Department of Homeland
Security, and folded Border Patrol and Immigration and Naturalization Service
into the new Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency within Homeland
Security. The National Security Agency and various other intelligence and
surveillance agencies saw an increase in funding and power. The USA Patriot Act
granted the government increased surveillance of citizens and residents in
order to discover to discover, deter and punish terrorist acts; and it granted
the government exemption from upholding the basic human rights of those perceived
guilty of participation in planning or carrying our terroristic acts.
Guantanamo Bay was established to house suspects of terrorist activity. The War
on Afghanistan was declared to search out the al-Qaeda members behind 9/11.
Muslims and Arabs throughout the U.S. became the victims of hate crimes and
discrimination.
Over the
last fifteen years, Muslims have become a national target of discrimination and
hate. During the days after the 9/11 attacks, American Muslims were victims of
vandalism, arson, assault, shootings, and various other threats and abuses.
American Muslims have also been profiled in airports, and endured
discrimination against their practices in public schools and other spaces
throughout the U.S.
“Japanese-Americans
and Muslims in particular share another touchstone experience: a major attack
on U.S. soil to which their community was ascribed collective blame. Following
the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States into
World War II, Japanese-Americans were subjected to an unprecedented
degree of hostility and scrutiny, particularly by mainstream media figures. ‘After
Pearl Harbor, Japanese-Americans not only saw their travel restricted, but they
came to be viewed by many Americans as an advance guard for a hostile power,’
Lee said. ‘There were allegations throughout the media that they represented a
fifth column in American society, and that ultimately their allegiance would
lie with the Japanese Emperor instead of the United States.’” -Murtaza Hussain (2016)
***
Post-9/11
fear of immigrants and the desire to “secure our border” has allowed the
passage of legislation and the increased funding of Border Patrol to seal off
our southern border. Though there has been no recorded entrance, or attempted
entrance, of terrorists through our southern border, the price that we pay to
secure this border has skyrocketed; so have the effects that Latin American
migrants feel. [See my previous blogs “PREVENTION THROUGH DETERRENCE” and
“CRIMINAL inJUSTICE” for details on how Latin American immigrants have felt the
effects of border strategies since 9/11.]
“We at War. We at war with terrorism. We at war with
racism. Most of all, we at war with ourselves." –Kanye West, “Jesus Walks”
In the last handful of years, Mexican migration has
declined. In fact, a recent Pew Research Center report shared that for the
first time in more than four decades, there is net negative in migration of
Mexicans to the U.S. In other words, more Mexican nationals are returning to
Mexico than coming to the U.S. Many attribute this to the U.S. recession, an
improved Mexican economy and tighter border security (Gomez, 2015). Nevertheless,
even as the number of Mexican immigrants – legal and illegal – declines,
Central American migration has continued to grow as people seek economic
opportunities in the U.S. and flee the rampant gang violence that has made Honduras,
El Salvador and Guatemala among the most violent countries in the world. While
more and more Central Americans are trying to find refuge in the U.S.,
increased border vigilance and negative public attitudes toward migrants is
making it harder for these individuals to find safety in the United States. As our nation continues to receive more
Central American migrants and refugees – as well as immigrants and refugees
from other places around the world – how will we respond?
***
“As
Americans, we face some tough decisions moving forward. We, like many other
nations, face an identity crisis in this twenty-first century. But we must
remember the values we claim to hold. Two of the most important are the
equality of every [person] in this nation and the freedom to practice whatever
belief system you wish.” –Ezez Sehar (2015)
My hope is that we will recognize that the history of our
nation is quite complex. One moment we have invited immigrants into our nation,
and the next we have deported them. While we have made tremendous progress to
provide the “liberty and justice of all,” we have also permitted the
perpetuation of injustice, inequality, and denial of human rights. My hope is
that we will recommit ourselves to ending injustice, and uphold the beautiful
words of liberty and justice that abound in our Declaration of Independence,
our Constitution and throughout our nation’s history.
“The cause of freedom is not the
cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class – it is the cause of humankind, the
very birthright of humanity.” –Anna Julia Cooper
“We have a great dream. It started
way back in 1776, and God grant that America will be true to her dream.”
–Martin Luther King Jr.
“Every generation has the
obligation to free men’s minds for a look at new worlds… to look out form a
higher plateau than the last generation.” –Ellison S. Onizuka
Reference List
Alexander, M. (2011). The new Jim Crow:
mass incarceration in the age of
colorblindness. New York: The New Press.
Carroll
R., M.D. (2008).
Christians at the border: immigration,
the church, and the Bible.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
Ezez,
S. (2015, September 22). Islamophobia, the new red scare. The Crimson White.
Retrieved from http://www.cw.ua.edu/article/2015/09/islamophobia-the-new-red-scare
Gomez,
A. (2015,
November 19). More Mexicans leave than enter USA in historic shift.
USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/11/19/mexicans-returning-home-migration-shift-united-states/76013230/
Hooper, K. & Batalova, J. (2015, January 28). Chinese immigrants in the United
States.
Migration Policy
Institute. Retrieved
from http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/chinese-immigrants-united-states
Hussain, M. (2016, January 14). Fearmongering around Muslim immigrants echoes
anti-
Asian hysteria of past. The Intercept. Retrieved from
https://theintercept.com/2016/01/14/fearmongering-around-muslim-
immigrants-echoes-anti-asian-hysteria-of-past/
Other
links of interest:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/02/22/467113401/lo-mein-loophole-how-u-s-immigration-law-fueled-a-chinese-restaurant-boom
http://rabble.ca/books/reviews/2013/02/new-green-scare-islamophobia-and-politics-empire
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