Immigrants: A Test of National Character

I come to Germany for my Eisenhower Fellowship as the fate of immigrants is on the minds of Germans and the entire European Union following the sinking of a boat in the Med with hundreds of migrants on board. The EU is struggling with the incongruity of its rhetoric on immigration (as exemplified by the Strategic Guidelines for legislative and policy planning adopted by the European Council in June 2014 that demands “full respect for fundamental rights" of immigrants and refugees) and the increasing hostility of EU citizens towards immigrants.

Of course, this is not unique to Europe. One need only look at the U.S. and the furor over the "invasion" from Mexico even during this period of net negative migration, not to mention the spectacle last year of Americans shouting at children arriving from Central America trying to escape extreme violence in their home countries.

But in Europe, Germany is setting the tone. Due to geography and economic prosperity, Germany attracted a substantial share of the 627,000 people who applied for asylum in the EU in 2014. It is the case again this year, and as the New York Times just reported, towns and villages across Germany are pleading for money and assistance to take care of their new arrivals (an estimated 300,000 will apply for asylum this year).  There is resistance, including the burning of migrant housing.  But as one German mayor told the Times, "Wealthy Germany can afford to help."

This is true, in the same way that America can provide for the immigrants that come to its shores and borders. No doubt there are real costs to properly welcoming and integrating immigrants, but there is plenty of data showing that immigrants boost the economy over the long term.

So in many ways, dealing with immigrants is a test of national character. Do we approach challenges with a mentality of scarcity or opportunity?  Does our sense of security come from homogeneity or from shared purpose?  Do we believe in our founding values or do we pay them lip service?

How we treat immigrants answers these questions more vividly than any rhetoric.