The Immigration Mystique: America's False Conscience

Immigration is essentially a moral rather than an economic issue, concerning questions far more fundamental than whether or not immigration is a fiscal burden or boon. Noting that there have been virtually no new arguments in the immigration debate, which is as old as American history, Chilton Williamson, Jr., observes that arguments for and against immigration, unfortunately, have been stated mostly in economic terms.A morally responsible approach to immigration must include considerations other than the satisfaction of the individual rights and opportunities of immigrants and aliens. What adverse effect does immigration have on our national identity, social and political order, and cultural cohesion? And what impact does it have on population growth and the environment? How does mass immigration affect the immigrants themselves and their countries of origin?Williamson challenges the contemporary religious defense of a generous immigration policy and explains why the ”fairness” demanded by human rights advocates is quixotic and unattainable. While the immigration crisis needs to be resolved by insights drawn from moral and religious grounds, as well as from political and philosophical ones, the standard he recommends is, above all else, communitarian. The Immigration Mystique traces the growth of the immigration myth—or mystique—from colonial times to the present, a construct developed mainly between the Civil War and 1965. This myth is self-congratulatory and propagandistic, intended to justify and promote the growth of American power and influence in the world. Among its many unanticipated consequences is the transformation of the United States into the ”First Universal Nation.”