Thread: Immigration reform must include assimilation

Immigration Reform Must Include Assimilation


April 24, 2006
by John Fonte



I start with a series of core premises. First, the United States of America is not simply a market consisting of employers and workers. It is first and foremost, a nation composed of citizens. Second, there can be no serious immigration policy with a meaningful assimilation policy. Third, the appropriate levels of legal immigration should depend on how well we are assimilating newcomers into the American way of life.

Fourth, by assimilation I do not mean simply economic or linguistic assimilation, buying a home or speaking English. I mean patriotic assimilation, political loyalty to the United States, what Theodore Roosevelt called unapologetically called “Americanization.”

I am going to amend the promotional flyer for this panel that you received. The flyer says we are a nation of immigrants. More accurately we are nation of assimilated immigrants – or even more accurately, as Samuel Huntington points out, Americans are mostly the descendants of assimilated immigrants and the early settlers. We are about half and half at this point.

Also the promotional flyer states: “How should concerns with the rule of law, economics, fairness to legal immigrants, and national security be balanced? Well, there is another issue to be balanced. How do we strengthen the Unum in E Pluribus Unum? Call it the National Cohesion issue.

After all the immigration debate is not taking place in a vacuum. It is occurring after almost four decades of government and (often) business support for multiculturalism, bi-lingualism, group rights, ethnic preferences, ethnic-racial consciousness, “La Raza,” and the like.

This issue of American unity on the one hand vs. Multiculturalism and bilingualism, on the other hand, is part of this debate at its deepest the most “comprehensive” level. Elites don’t want to have this argument, but I think the vast majority of Americans do. The issue is: Do we enact the traditional American policy of patriotic assimilation or do slowly and imperceptibly create a Quebec and become like Canada two peoples in one nation.

In practical terms six legislative measures could be enacted by this Congress to foster patriotic assimilation. First, Senator Alexander has a bill specifically designed to “promote the patriotic integration of new citizens into the American way of life providing citizenship test courses with emphasis on heroes of American history (including military history), the principles of the Constitution. Moreover, an understanding of the meaning of the Oath would be incorporated into the citizenship test.

Second, Congressman Jim Ryun R-Kans. has incorporated into the House bill legislation codifying the Oath of Allegiance into law. Let’s look at the Oath of Renunciation of Allegiance.

For more than 200 years, immigrants upon becoming American citizens have taken an oath declaring: “I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty.”

However, during the last few years there has been a large increase in dual allegiance citizenship with naturalized citizens voting and even running for office in their birth countries. Justice Felix Frankfurter was right when he stated that voting in a foreign election and serving in a foreign government revealed not only something less than complete and unswerving allegiance to the United States, but also elements of an allegiance to another country, in some measure, at least inconsistent with American citizenship.”

If enacted into law the McCain-Kennedy bill, the Specter bill, or Martinez-Hagel-Lindsay Graham compromise would result in a massive increase in the number of naturalized American citizens who have dual allegiances. This harms patriotic assimilation. It is the opposite of our great historical tradition from George Washington to Theodore Roosevelt.

Thus, the third legislative measure would make voting in a foreign election, running for office in a foreign country against the law because it is inconsistent with American constitutional morality. Legislation has been drafted by Graves (R-Mo) and Hayworth (R-Ariz). This action has been strongly endorsed by the American Legion.

We have seen a lot of American flags lately at the pro-amnesty demonstrations. I suggest we call their Senate supporters on this and say: “Okay, if you are serious, then let’s take the Oath of Allegiance seriously and pass legislation prohibiting the exercise of dual allegiance.”

This legislation should be consistent with the Supreme Court Afroyim v Rusk decision of 1967 because the author of the decision Chief Justice Earl Warren stated that while Congress did not have the power to take citizenship away from anyone for voting in a foreign election, it did have the power to proscribe such activity.

If we are going to have a comprehensive bill, then let’s have a comprehensive assimilation bill. The fourth Legislative measure would be outlawing bi-lingual ballots. There is absolutely no reason that American citizens should vote in a foreign language, particularly since one is supposed to pass an English test to become a citizen. The fifth Legislative measure would be cutting off all federal funds for bi-lingual education, which has harmed immigrants trying to learn English.

Sixth, it would be helpful if President Bush finally withdrew Executive Order 11366 that he inherited from President Clinton. It not, Congress should act. The Executive Order, which is unfortunately being vigorously enforced by this administration, requires that all federal documents be translated into Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese for American citizens living in the US. In other words, State Department documents are translated into Spanish not for people in Latin America, but for American citizens. The Bush Administration has pushed even beyond Clinton requiring state DMVs to have foreign language speakers available for voter registration in languages other than English.

Let us say to our friends in the business community:

“We have just proposed six measures that will strengthen patriotic assimilation. You always tell us you are for assimilation. Will you support these reasonable measures to strengthen the Unum in E pluribus unum? Until you do so, we cannot engage our special interests concerns. You would like millions of low-cost workers in particular industries, such as agriculture, construction, restaurants, hospitality, and so on. But, the rest of us are supposed to subsidize the health and education costs for your employees.”
Economists from the right and left including Thomas Sowell, Robert Samuelson and others, don’t think that skewing the market by importing millions of people with less than an high school education is good for our high-tech economy or for the nation as a whole. “Importing poverty” is what Samuelson called it in the Washington Post last week, “corporate welfare,” is what Tom Sowell has been calling it.

Let’s do what the American people want. First secure our border with serious interior enforcement, second implement an assimilation policy, and only then, discuss the special interest needs of particular businesses.


John Fonte is a senior fellow and director of Hudson's Center for American Common Culture.
http://acc.hudson.org/index.cfm?fuseact ... C_Speeches

Loyalty to the US? Ha, thanks for the laugh.

What's sad is many of these people were BORN here and still
pledge their allegiance to Mexico.Talk about brainwashed
ungrateful ....(fill in the blank).

These people will never assimilate, they do not want to. Therefore America and Americans can do without them. Like the owner of Geno's said "send em all back!!!".

I can just hear the "racism" screams now!!!! Save our Mexican culture!!!!

Gee then.....for equality then and to save our various cultures.....there has to be some American Indians in full headress with bows and arrows, Some Scottish men in kilts and whatever else is culturally necessary, I'm a mut so I guess I'll opt for the wild west and some six shooters and moonshine and might as well throw a horse and covered wagon in for cultural transportation. There's got to be some Noregians and I always liked the mighty vikings..the beautiful ships and the head gear with horns...etc.....can you imagine what mass chaos it would be if there were no assimilation? Some fine people carrying on the tradition of head hunters, virgin sacrifices, fertility dances, and whatever else moves you. Topless women and men in lion cloths amidst foot bound oriental women and sumo wrestlers at the grocery store. Everybody fighting everybody for some unjust thing that happened to "their" people or "their" land hundreds of years ago. Insanity.....

Have a pinata(sp?) at your kids b-day party, hide a pickle in your christmas tree or put your goodies in a wooden shoe instead of a sock, eat your brats and drink your beer, etc. etc. But speak friggin English and get off the "cultural Rights" kick. Your in America now.

Could not agree with you more. I do genealogy for my family, found out many interesting things, and some sad things, some injustices. That does not mean I would want my ancestors stolen lands back, or expect money for long ago injustices.

It is just ridiculous to try to take more than what any man or woman in this country is alloted to, we all have the same basic rights and freedoms. Why should any racial, ethnic, religious or otherwise oriented group get any special rights? Why so much focus on preserving their culture, what about my ancestors culture (now that would be confusing to sort out which one to preserve!!LOL)?

Once a person becomes a citizen, we all have the same rights, to worship freely, to speak freely, to think freely, to love freely, to prosper freely, but many think that means WE ALL have to celebrate their culture in our public institutions. If that be the case, then I want the hidden history of my ancestors (Acadians of Nova Scotia) to be taught also, which it really never has been.

Now, we all know that will not happen for any of our cultures, so lets say it like it is. GET OVER IT, YOU ARE IN AMERICA NOW, THIS IS OUR CULTURE, LIKE IT OR LEAVE!!

Originally Posted by sunsetincali

Loyalty to the US? Ha, thanks for the laugh.

What's sad is many of these people were BORN here and still
pledge their allegiance to Mexico.Talk about brainwashed
ungrateful ....(fill in the blank).

You are absolutely right! They don't want to assimilate and so many that have been born here have had the love for Mexico, the language and culture engrained into them by their parents. Now I don't care what one chooses to do at home to preserve some old culture but when out it mainstream America, be and act like an American, not a Mexican.