http://www.metrowestdailynews.com

Wall Street Journal-ist speaks on immigration
By Danielle Ameden/ Daily News Correspondent
Monday, June 26, 2006 - Updated: 03:02 PM EST

FRAMINGHAM -- With reporting stints in El Salvador and Mexico, Joel Millman has never forgotten his heritage or his hometown, weaving the two into his passion for discussing and covering immigration.

The Wall Street Journal reporter, in a lecture yesterday, noted "Framingham has a proud and rich (immigration) history" of accepting newcomers from Irish immigrants during the potato famine in the 1840s to today’s large population of Brazilians.

"It’s great to be home again," said the 50-year-old reporter, who works out of the Journal’s Mexico City bureau.

Framingham has long been "welcoming and tolerant" he said, but added that increasing anti-immigrant sentiment and tougher immigration laws present a challenge to local residents and officials.

"Everybody loves immigrants when they’re few, but when the numbers tip and the schools are filled with these kids and they do better than your kids...there’s a lot of friction," Millman told a crowd of more than 100 who attended his talk at the Framingham Historical Society and Museum at the Village Hall.

He said business owners have embraced immigrants because they boost the economy, but officials at a local and national level should be focusing on illegal immigrant workers rather than legal migrants.

In his discussion, Millman anecdotally recalled how his experiences with people from different backgrounds -- from Framingham to New York City’s Chinatown, to El Salvador and the Mexican border -- have taught him about immigration.

"It’s essential to have a population that’s really in tune (with the issue), he said.

Millman included a chapter on Framingham in his 1997 book, "The Other Americans: How Immigrants Renew Our Country, Our Economy, and Our Values."

Millman has reported on the immigration dynamics of his hometown for the Wall Street Journal. In February, he explored the successful Brazilian maid services in the Framingham area.

Yesterday, he explained why he feels the area is a popular destination for immigrant workers.

He said the Brazilian immigrants find their niche working for "two-income couples" who live in the suburbs and "need domestic help."

Millman said the Brazilians have been able to tap into the local economy so well because of their "strong competitive advantage" over other immigrants. He said they are more educated and more adept to American ways.

"If a woman says, ’you can find my address on MapQuest; be here Tuesday morning,’ a Haitian (immigrant) can’t do that," Millman said."A Salvadoran can’t do that, a Mexican can’t do that, but a Brazilian probably can. You see that a lot."

After the discussion, Millman explained that his Eastern European Jewish heritage has always been important to him.

"We have a strong sense of immigration," said his mother, Joan, of Newton, who attended the discussion. Millman’s maternal grandparents came to the United States from Russia.

"My mother never stopped telling us how lucky we were," Joan said. "I think that passes on (down the generations)."