Jeff Mirus at Catholic Culture, whom I have the greatest respect, has recommended an article from First Things on immigration called Our Muddled Masses. Catholic Culture is an outstanding source for an authentically Catholic perspective on issues, but I think Jeff misses the mark on this article.
Jeff”s take is that the original article provides a different way of thinking about immigration that avoids many of the debates going on about immigration reform by focusing on getting the right kind of immigrants. The theory appears to be that if you get the right kind of immigrant, the rest of the problem will sort itself out.
I believe Jeff, and the original article miss the core of the real immigration issue and should not be recommended as a particularly Catholic perspective on the issue. I am not saying that encouraging people who can contribute to the economy is a bad idea, but to argue that it is immigration reform is to completely miss what is going on – further, by defining a person by their economic worth, advocates a position that stands counter to an authentically Christian (i.e., Catholic) perspective.
The article is really about competing in the global talent pool and is an important economic activity. We certainly need to create opportunities for the people who are here, immigrant or not, and the people who will come. Getting the best talent in the world to work here in the United States is a sound economic strategy, but it is not a solution to the immigration issue as most understand it. When we talk about the “vital few” we may be losing in the competition for the global talent pool, it is the Asian and Indian immigrants that are the main problem. The issues there are complex, but, I would argue, are strongly affected by our posture toward the world and fear of letting in terrorists after 9/11. Important topics but not what is usually meant by the immigration issue.
There is an immigration problem right now. Millions of people are in this country illegally. These immigrants have left something and are coming to something. There are reasons at both ends of the migration that need addressing. The situation in their home countries is inadequate at a human rights level. Sometimes, the problem in the home country is more than just economics. They come here because it fills an economic need on our end – cheap labor. These two things are root causes, just as it was for many of our forefathers. They are leaving a bad situation in the hope of something better. There are more than one in my immigrant background who fled trouble. While I, the progeny of poor, uneducated immigrants (not those “vital few”), have achieved the highest of academic degrees and a modicum of success and societal contribution, that was hardly the case for them.
To really address the problem we must tackle several questions that largely center on the illegal immigration community, which is primarily Hispanic, and largely Mexican. We need to understand and address why we “need” the illegal immigrants that already form a substantial portion of our economy. What are they fleeing, can that be changed and how? Why are they coming? Is the current situation just for all involved? How can it be made more just? As a rich neighbor to a poor one, what is our responsibility to them? What is the value of an immigrant? How does a just society deal with such issues? What should be the Catholic voice on these issues?
In a stretch of logic, the original article makes the argument that if we poach talent (the “vital few”) from a country (like Mexico) that it will benefit that country. To be clear, the benefit IS for US, and not Mexico. A policy of recruiting away the intellectual elite and officially rejecting the suffering so that the leaders in Mexico will do something to improve their own situation is wishful thinking at best. Beyond this weak attempt, the vital questions above are ignored.
What is worse, the authors define people in a way that is counter to a Catholic perspective. It assigns a utilitarian assessment of the worth of an immigrant and argues that we need to recruit more of these valuable people to offset the supposedly negative value of the masses that are currently here. To the extent it talks about illegal immigrants, it defines these human beings as a drain on state resources, treating them as mere economic entities (though they even do that inadequately by ignoring the real value they provide to the economy).
The following is the argument reduced to its central theme. We the rich nation, have millions who seek the scraps from our table, and the solution offered is that we should invite more of the right type of immigrant (the “vital few”) to the table. If we do that, those massive drains on the state might become valuable (or at least offset). This perspective is not a Catholic approach to immigration.
What would an authentically Catholic approach involve? It would need to start from Catholic first principles. It would certainly involve advocating for justice and the dignity of every human being. It would involve mercy, going beyond mere justice – particularly for the less fortunate. Ultimately, it would involve faith that if we do what is just and merciful our heavenly Father will provide.
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