In an interesting article in Time last week, Nathan Thornburgh discussed the irrational fear of the "a" word - amnesty for undocumented immigrants.
The word amnesty seems to invoke an unreasonably negative reaction from Americans. On the right, conservatives seem to believe that immigration from Latin America is changing the racial makeup of the country and threatening our way of life. The first is true; current trends indicate that by 2020 Latinos will make up nearly a quarter of the United States youth population. But, as Thornburgh points out, fear of a change in lifestyle due to immigration is irrational.
Assimilation is slow, but it is inevitable. Beardstown was settled in the 19th century by unapologetically German immigrants, but you won't hear so much as a gesundheit uttered there today. What is lacking, in Beardstown as in Washington, is faith in America's undimmed ability to metabolize immigrants from around the world, to change them more than they change the U.S.
Continued after the fold.
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