By Erica Barnes
Contributing Writer
It’s news to no one that this year’s election was extremely contentious, especially regarding the issue of immigration. Less well known was that 2015 was the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Immigration Reform Bill. National Public Radio correspondent Tom Gjelten marked the anniversary by releasing his newest book, “A Nation of Nations, A Great American Immigration Story.” It’s timely reading, as we prepare to inaugurate a new administration with dramatic immigration policy plans. Gjelten documents how the makeup of our country was radically shifted by the reform bill and addresses the post 9/11 anti-immigration movements.
The book follows the paths of four families from Bolivia, Korea and Libya to their ultimate destinations in Fairfax County, Virginia. Fairfax County has one of the nation’s highest immigration populations, and in the book serves as a model for the country at large. Throughout the multi-generational narratives, Gjelten weaves pertinent statistics about crime, language adoption and employment, among other issues, all in a readable style. Each family stands in for their larger ethnic community and highlights the unique challenges faced by each group.
I was hooked from the first story about the Nak Man family from Korea. Their indomitable will in the face of economic and political forces reads like a novel. The Alarcon family from Bolivia immigrated with less formal education or language skills than any other in the book, and were forced to live in dangerous conditions due to their limited resources. Yet, their motivations and goals for their children were similar to the Libyan diplomat’s family who fled Muammar Gaddafi’s regime. The four families’ backgrounds and experiences could not have been more different, but each managed to succeed and flourish in the American system.
Midway through the book, Gjelten switches gears and delves into the political details surrounding the 1965 Immigration Reform Bill. The names and congressional maneuvering can be a little overwhelming, but the information is nothing if not thorough. He takes you from the state of immigration in the 1920s, with its restrictive quotas based on racial and ethnic preferences, through to the Kennedy-Johnson era. A new sense of egalitarianism had emerged from the turmoil of the Civil Rights movement and the legislation was a “great social adventure” for the future. The author notes that despite its high ideals it may not have worked out exactly as planned.
While the author praises the “employability” and family unification-based policy, he notes that one highly-qualified immigrant can legally sponsor more than 100 family members who may have no marketable skills or desire to adopt American values. He also criticizes the bill’s authors for their failure to anticipate changes in the world order, leading to floods of people from disparate parts of the world who may face challenges living and working with competing groups. He points out that Fairfax County has enjoyed considerable success integrating new populations chiefly because schools, police departments and housing officials worked with immigrant communities’ unique needs, something the 1965 bill did not provide for.
Gjelten spends the last third of the book addressing the modern anti-immigration movement. This is where the book becomes required reading in my opinion. He takes the charges levelled at immigrant groups, Muslims in particular, and dissects them in turn. From assimilation to English language adoption to employment, he uses statistics and analysis to examine and usually disprove commonly-held assumptions.
I say usually, because Gjelten takes an objective approach. He acknowledges reticence among some immigrant communities to adopt and abide by American values, but notes that these are exceptions to the rule. So too, he suggests that illegal immigration has become a problem in some areas, straining resources and challenging the system as it was designed. In the face of factual observations, most, if not all, of the accusations from anti-immigration proponents fall apart. In Gjelten’s words: “It is only in the half century after 1965, with a population connected to every corner of the globe, that the country has finally begun to demonstrate the exceptionalism it has long claimed for itself.”
That being said, while “A Nation of Nations” is pro-immigration in tone, it makes a strong case for immigration reform and a need to rethink what we see as America’s identity. Whichever side of the immigration argument you find yourself on, the book is a well-informed and enjoyable resource in the immigration debate.
