Polarized stances on immigration threaten US political gridlock

In January, the US government shut down for three days, largely because Republicans and Democrats failed to compromise on issues of immigration. Another deadline for a potential shutdown looms on Thursday and disagreements over immigration remain a central point of conflict.

The United States is an immigrant country, in which the vast majority of Americans are immigrants themselves or are the descendants of immigrants. An idealized version of the immigrant’s story — the brave soul who leaves a homeland to journey to a new world, where he or she can work hard and achieve the “American Dream” — is an essential part of American identity. Yet, today, immigration has become a deeply divisive issue.

There are many pros and cons to immigration into the United States, which vary widely across the country. Some communities have faced the downsides of poorly managed immigration or have struggled to cope with an influx of immigrants that is too large and happens too quickly for both the host community and the newcomers to adapt. Statistically, immigrants on average are less likely than native-born Americans to commit crimes; nonetheless, some localities have seen increases in crime related to a specific immigrant community. In other cases, immigration has revitalized communities. Nationally, immigrants play critically important roles in filling low and high-skilled jobs — ensuring that the US population does not decline like many other developed countries — and contributing to innovation. In 2016, the Harvard Business Review noted that “immigrants are almost twice as likely to become entrepreneurs as native-born US citizens.”

Unfortunately, rhetoric around immigration from both the political right and left often leaves no room for considering the balance of pros and cons or the economic realities of supply and demand. People who raise genuine concerns about immigration often feel that they are unfairly accused of racism by people on the left. At the same time, immigrants and their children often face real racism, sometimes including violence. These experiences on both sides have created an environment that is not conducive to listening to each other, accepting the complexity of immigration and finding compromises that could lead to practical solutions.

Multiple opinion polls suggest that, overall, Americans today tend to view immigration positively. However, there is a strong partisan divide: A January poll by the Washington Post and ABC News found that 80 percent of Democrats said immigrants “mainly strengthen” American society, while only 43 percent of Republicans agreed. The Republican Party is somewhat divided between pro-business members with moderate views of immigration and those with more right-wing, anti-immigration opinions. 

Under the Trump administration, the anti-immigration right is driving policy. President Donald Trump adopted an unusually strong anti-immigrant tone during his campaign and has continued that as president, including visa bans focused on mostly Muslim countries and calling for massive funds to build a wall on the border with Mexico. He rescinded the Obama-era decision to suspend the deportation of “Dreamers” — people who were brought to the United States illegally as children and have grown up there, and who meet specific vetting requirements. His administration has not only called for stopping illegal immigration, but also wants to make deep reductions in legal immigration. He has called for ending family-based immigration in favor of stronger preferences for immigrants with specific skills, which would fundamentally depart from the system the country has primarily used since the mid-1960s.

Trump successfully tapped into feelings among the right that predated his campaign. A major factor driving the right’s antipathy to immigration is demographic change and the fear of losing the white majority in America. While some of this is blatantly racist, for many people there is a more generalized fear of losing a culture that they associate with European, Protestant Christian heritage. The right also tends to take a zero-sum game approach to economics, where they see immigrants as direct competitors to American citizens for jobs. 

While the right has shifted toward a harder stance on immigration, the left has increasingly embraced a more pro-immigration view. Polls show significant increases in Democratic support for immigration in recent years. This is partly a reaction against the right’s anti-immigration rhetoric, but it also reflects deeply held values. Democrats tend to value openness and tolerance, rejecting anything that seems like racism or xenophobia. The left also values diversity and sees immigration from a variety of places around the world as enriching the country’s culture and helping to drive economic progress and innovation. People on the left also value humanitarianism, and thus feel deep concern about the consequences, for example, for Dreamers who might be deported to countries they do not know or the effects of Trump’s visa bans on people. The left also tends to embrace a non-zero-sum approach to economics, believing that immigrants do not take jobs from Americans but rather contribute to economic growth and help to create jobs.

Politically, immigration has shifted from an issue with some bipartisan common ground to one that increasingly becomes linked to conflicting values on the right and left. Unfortunately, this will complicate efforts to compromise on solutions for the Dreamers and many other immigration issues. As activists at either end of the political spectrum demand uncompromising positions from their politicians, practical solutions to one of America’s essential components will be elusive — especially in an election year.

Kerry Boyd Anderson is a writer and political risk consultant with more than 14 years’ experience as a professional analyst of international security issues and Middle East political and business risks. Her previous positions include deputy director for advisory with Oxford Analytica and managing editor of Arms Control Today.

Twitter: @KBAresearch