John Rapley
NOT FOR the first time, the U.S. finds itself embroiled in an increasingly bitter debate over immigration. As I wrote last week, the U.S.'s conception of citizenship is based on civic, rather than ethnic belonging. But every generation or so, a wave of immigration comes along that upsets the country's sense of self. This time, the issue revolves around what to do with the large tide of illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican border.
President Bush, whose business-friendly administration recognises the importance illegal immigrants have come to play in the country's economy, would like to regularise their status. Wander into most any shopping mall in a major American city and observe the number of Spanish-speaking service workers and you will see how the economy has come to depend upon them.
Accordingly, Mr. Bush backs a bill recently approved by the Senate. While toughening border security, it will enable many illegal immigrants to become legal, while establishing a guest-worker programme.
TOUGHER VERSION
But a tougher version of the bill is likely to emerge from discussions with the House of Representatives. There, conservative critics of Mr. Bush have called for measures that will be far tougher on illegal immigrants. And Mr. Bush, struggling to please his supporters in the face of sagging poll numbers, is reluctant to confront his right flank too directly.
All the while, vigilante groups patrol the U.S.-Mexico border. Mr. Bush, in what is probably a symbolic gesture to reassure his base, has beefed up the military presence there. But despite all this, a veritable industry of human smuggling has grown up in Mexico to satisfy the yearning for greener pastures.
By and large, this issue has been depicted in ethnic terms: although the bills affect all illegal immigrants, it is really Mexicans who are their targets. And their growing presence in America, typified by the ubiquity of Spanish in the media and on the streets, gives many Americans a sense of vulnerability.
However, there is another issue in play. While it is true that illegal immigrants have become backbones of the U.S. economy, the benefits they bring have arguably not been widely dispersed. Poverty drives poor Mexicans to risk their lives entering the U.S. Their presence there then depresses the wages of American workers. Those who have benefited the most from this have been the owners of the firms in which they work. Wages in America have barely budged over the last decade or so. Profits have soared.
One could, therefore, argue that the issue is not really between Americans and foreigners. It is between workers and owners. But this aspect of the dispute has been largely neglected.
Throughout its history, America has imported workers to keep its wages from rising too fast. Upton Sinclair documented this vividly in his classic The Jungle a century ago. Then, it was immigrants from Eastern Europe brought to Chicago. Today, it is Mexicans brought to Miami or Los Angeles. In the future, it will be someone else.
KEY INGREDIENT
This labour market "flexibility" has been a key ingredient in the U.S. economy's ability to constantly reinvent and reinvigorate itself. But it comes at a price. In the short term, as the economy restructures, workers are displaced and their wages repressed. So it goes today. It can be a painful way to run a country. But for better or worse, it is the way Americans have repeatedly chosen.
Thus, if history is any guide, the anti-immigrant forces will probably win little more than a temporary victory. Sooner or later - and I'd guess sooner - Mexicans will be regularised, and a way will be found to formalise their entry to the U.S.
John Rapley is a senior lecturer in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
