The Great American Immigration Debate

The words sound strangely old-fashioned. And yet, the lines immortalized on a bronze plaque at the foot of the Statue of Liberty are part of the founding myth of the United States. “Give me your tired, your poor,” Miss Liberty calls. “Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The Green Lady, erected in 1886 and still today the most powerful symbol of the American nation, promises refuge to the homeless, and for all the “tempest-tossed,” her torch lights the way to the New World: “I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Every night, the Statue of Liberty shines in New York Harbor. In the heart of America, however, that spirit, symbolized by the blazing torch, has long since been extinguished. America, the country of immigrants, is tempted to shut its golden doors for good. The descendants of economic migrants, adventurers and the persecuted are locking the doors to their country. They are doing this quite tangibly by sealing the southern border with walls and fences, with electronic detectors and aerial surveillance.

At the same time, they are closing their minds. The debate over how many new arrivals America will allow in the future has degenerated into an all-out defensive battle. For many Americans, the 12 million illegal immigrants — during a time of crisis and high unemployment — have become the enemy within. “Batten down the hatches!” the people demand.

A lone American judge in Arizona has now called the nation to order. With a court injunction, Judge Susan Bolton has demanded that America come to its senses. To be sure, she recognizes that the U.S.-Mexican border is in a state of emergency because neither the border patrol, nor the National Guard troops, nor the many drug dealers, nor the human smugglers are in control. But at the same time, she reminds her fellow Americans (and above all, the politicians seeking to exploit the public outrage) that, under the Constitution, America offers all of its fellow citizens freedom and equality before the law.

Thus, the brave judge struck down an Arizona law that, at its core, would have discriminated against all Latinos. The (mostly white) authors of this legal construct swore up and down that racial resentment played no role in their initiative. But in reality, it was only the brown third of Arizona’s population that would have been subjected to increased police patrols, arrests and been forced under penalty to carry identity papers on their persons at all times. Because of this, even U.S. citizens and legal immigrants of Hispanic descent in the end began to ponder whether they should leave Arizona to seek their fortune elsewhere in the U.S. But fleeing the state may not have been of much use, as 17 other states are considering laws based on Arizona’s ugly model.

This makes the judge’s intercession from Phoenix all the more important. Judge Bolton has given time for the policy to be decided — a lot of time, for it is already clear that this legal battle for security (external) and freedom (internal) will move through the higher courts. Most likely, the “Arizona Case” will at some point land in the Supreme Court in Washington. That’s where it belongs, so that the nine Constitutional justices can advise finally — with the “Great American Case” — on the future identity of the nation.

America’s immigration debate is different from Europe’s; it is necessarily more passionate and fundamental than the haggling in Europe over Schengen visa standards and police seizure rules. The Old World, traditionally a region of emigration, has been transforming itself since the 1990s into “Fortress Europe.” America cannot do so, at least not without betraying itself and its history. That’s also why the political parties in Washington have been grappling with comprehensive immigration reform for the past ten years. They have failed miserably — but up to now, they still have comported themselves with more honor than the oblivious “seclusion politicians” of the European Union.

Compromise is difficult for America. And each year, it becomes more difficult, because lurking behind the dispute over immigration reform is the basic question concerning the face of the nation: How colorful and how brown-colored will America be in the future? Already there are more Latinos than African Americans living in the U.S. In many big cities, especially in Texas and California, the descendants of Mexican farm workers are competing successfully against the great-grandchildren of slaves. And the next, more fundamental transformation of America has already become clear: By mid-century, whites, America’s founding race after all, will be a minority in the country. All minorities taken together will then constitute the majority. “Miss Liberty” never saw this coming. She always directed her call to freedom toward the east — toward Europe. Her Americans will now have to decide how much this should also apply to the south.