The Agurban from Boomtown Institute – Immigration History Repeats Itself

On February 6, 2007, we wrote about Immigrant Entrepreneurs. Here is more on the subject of immigrants.

Eric Bergeson writes a wonderful weekly newspaper column and daily blog from Fertile, MN, a small town in the northwest part of the state. He also is a third generation nurseryman. One of his recent columns talked about our history of hatred toward recent immigrants. Here is what Eric had to say:

"One ugly trend which runs through American history is the hatred many native-born United States citizens show towards recent immigrants who come to this country to better their lives and chase the American Dream.

In the 1850s, it was the Irish. They were going to ruin our country. Signs showed up outside businesses in Boston: “No Irish need apply.” Let too many Irish in, went the argument, and we’ll be answering to the Pope. The Chinese on the West Coast who performed so much of the manual labor in early California were next. They were treated horribly. When they started succeeding, and multiplying, novelist Jack London was amongst those who thought they should be exterminated.

Recent German immigrants suffered during World War I. Many were locked up on false charges. A farmer in Montana, neighbors figured, was plotting to blow up the dam in town. The man was put away for the duration of the war.

After World War I, Eastern European immigrants were portrayed as anarchists looking to blow up anything they could get their hands on. Many were imprisoned on false charges and unsubstantiated suspicions.

Japanese immigrants were rounded up by the hundreds of thousands during World War II, no matter if they were citizens or not. They were stripped of their homes, businesses and belongings and put in stark internment camps in remote locations.

It doesn’t get much publicity, but many thousand German immigrants were rounded up and put in camps as well during World War II. One farmer in Jamestown, North Dakota was put away in a camp for two years because he spoke mostly German and “showed inordinate interest in troop movements in the Jamestown area.”

Today, of course, the main target of the suspicious and the paranoid are those evil illegal immigrants coming in from Mexico.

Lou Dobbs of CNN blasts away every night, alleging that there is a conspiracy afloat uniting “the well- funded illegal alien lobby” with large corporations who want to hire cheap Mexican labor. The aliens are “infesting” border towns and stealing social services. The indignance at the illegals spreads over the internet. Hardly a day goes by that an email doesn’t arrive in my inbox charging that the illegal aliens get free college, free food, free job training, free everything. Most of the allegations are false, and all of them are mean-spirited.

It is one thing to insist that the law be enforced, that people who get jobs here have the proper documentation and fall under employment law. It is another to fill one’s mind with paranoid theories that illegal aliens are plotting to freeload off our tax dollars and ruin our country.

Illegal immigrants are the poorest of the poor. They are just plain desperate. Their families are hungry. They live in squalor. They have nothing to lose gambling on a dangerous dash across the Rio Grande. Yes, some illegal immigrants are criminals. But most who come here work hard so they can send some money home.

There is no easy answer to the matter of immigration. Do we open the doors and flood the country with cheap labor, thus lowering our own standard of living? Do we shut our doors and become insular, selfish and stagnant?

Either way, there is never any reason to show anger or hatred towards impoverished immigrants. And it is simply ignorant to think that our country doesn’t benefit from the energy most recent immigrants bring.

Nativism is nothing new. We’ve been acting this way for two hundred years. But we got used to the Irish, we came to accept Germans, and we even learned to endure Norwegians. We don’t have to throw open the doors, but we can easily afford to show understanding towards the desperate poor who simply want a better life."

In my opinion, we have a wonderful opportunity to tap into this new immigrant energy in our small towns. Many of these new immigrants are very family orientated and VERY entrepreneurial. Embracing and accepting will go a much longer way than fear and shunning.

The Blog Log
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On the road again…
In addition to my travel blog I’ll list my upcoming engagements in each issue of The Agurban. Come see me when I’m in your neighborhood!

Jack’s Schedule

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
Tuesday, March 27 – Redwood Falls, MN
Thursday, March 29 – Antioch, IL
Wednesday, April 4 – Canton, MO
Thursday, April 5 – Huntingdon, PA

Jack Schultz is the CEO of Boomtown Institute and Agracel Inc., an industrial development firm majoring in rural America, author of Boomtown USA, and speaker. Boomtown Institute serves as an economic development mentor to communities across the United States, leading communities to realize their full potential.

Visit the Boomtown Institute website at http://www.boomtowninstitute.com
Keep up with Jack as he tours the country on his blog!
To learn more about Agracel visit http://www.agracel.com.

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