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Bi-Weekly Discussion - Understanding the U.S. Immigration Debate

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Brian B.
Bi-Weekly Discussion - Understanding the U.S. Immigration Debate

Details

We're currently hosting our discussions at Café Walnut, near the corner of 7th & Walnut in Olde City. The cafe's entrance is below street level down some stairs, which can be confusing if it's your first time. Our group meets in the large room upstairs.

Since we're using the cafe's space, they ask that each person attending the meetup at least purchase a drink or snack. Please don't bring any food or drinks from outside. If you're hungry enough to eat a meal, they have more substantial fare such as salads, soups & sandwiches which are pretty good and their prices are reasonable.

The cafe is fairly easy to get to if you're using public transit. With SEPTA, take the Market-Frankford Line & get off at the 5th Street Station (corner of 5th & Market), and walk 2 blocks south on 5th and then turn right on Walnut Street and walk 2 blocks west. With PATCO, just get off at the 9th-10th & Locust stop and walk 3 blocks east & 1 block north. For those who are driving, parking in the neighborhood can be tough to find. If you can't find a spot on the street, I'd suggest parking in the Washington Square parking deck at 249 S 6th Street which is just a half block away.

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UNDERSTANDING THE U.S. IMMIGRATION DEBATE

INTRODUCTION:

This meetup will attempt to provide a framework for analyzing the ongoing debate over US immigration policy, particularly as it relates to Trump's proposed border wall and handling of the Central American refugee crisis. We'll begin by covering some of the psychological research that can help us understand why people adopt different attitudes towards immigration. Next, we'll look at different conceptions of citizenship & nationalism in political philosophy and how this relates to ethical dilemmas posed by refugees, economic migrants & resident aliens. Third, we'll look at polls of economists to address the economic effects of high levels of predominately low-skill immigration from Mexico & Central America. Lastly, address some common concerns about the impact that mass immigration from Latin America has on the "deep culture" and "social capital" of the U.S., including the possibility of political violence and secession of states in the American Southwest.

NOTE: Immediately prior to this discussion, there's another discussion hosted by Skeptics in the Pub which runs from 1-3pm and which will cover some of the misconceptions & "moral panics" that surround the issue of illegal immigration in America. That discussion is more narrowly focused than this one, and will address the differences between Trump & Obama's border policies, as well as public concerns about the illegal immigrants committing crimes, overtaxing our social programs, and illegally voting in our elections. To check out the discussion outline and RSVP, go here: https://www.meetup.com/Philly-Skeptics/events/250590230/

While the Skeptics discussion will focus on the specifics of the current immigration policies under Trump, this discussion will focus on some broader issues and the scholarly debates about the way immigration issues tie in with social psychology, moral & political philosophy, economics, and political science.

UNDERSTANDING HOW MODELS OF CITIZENSHIP TIE INTO IMMIGRATION:

One thing that can help us make sense of the immigration debate is understanding the range of models of citizenship & national identity that exist in political philosophy. These models include both "normative" beliefs (i.e. ethical value judgements) and "positive" beliefs (i.e. views on what is factually true or probable), although quite often these are conflated. Here's a brief list, ranked in order from the most inclusive & laissez faire approaches towards immigration to the most exclusive & regulated approaches:

  1. Cosmopolitanism, Anti-nationalism & Multiculturalism:
    Under this hyper-egalitarian model, every human would be considered a "citizen of the world", and patriotism, nationalism & ethnocentrism would be considered immoral. Ideally, there would be "open borders" and everyone would enjoy complete freedom of movement. There is no expectation under this model that immigrants should assimilate to a host country's culture; in fact, that would be considered "cultural genocide". Similarly, there's no expectation that an immigrant should adopt the political ideals of the host country, aside from the principle of tolerance.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmopolitanism
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-nationalism
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiculturalism

  2. Plurinationalism, Pillarisation, Consociationalism:
    Under this model, various national identities coexist within one country & share power while remaining somewhat segregated & retaining their own separate institutions on a local level - similar to a confederacy. While plurinationalism may appear akin to multiculturalism and thus more inclusive than civic nationalism, in practice there's often aspects of cultural or ethnic nationalism on the local level. Immigrants may be allowed to form their own separate communities & enjoy local autonomy, or they may be required to assimilate to one of the existing national identities.
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plurinationalism
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillarisation
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consociationalism

  3. Civic Nationalism/Constitutional Patriotism & Interculturalism:
    Under this model, everyone is considered equally eligible for citizenship in a country provided they pledge to obey the law & uphold the host country's constitution and founding principles (usually assumed to be liberal democratic). Only criminals, terrorists, and adherents of authoritarian political ideologies (e.g. fascists, communists, Islamists) are automatically prohibited from immigrating. Immigrants need not assimilate into the host country's culture, but there are some modest attempts to ameliorate the downsides of multiculturalism (e.g. self-segregation) and promote "cultural fusion".
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_nationalism
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_patriotism
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interculturalism

  4. Cultural Nationalism & Cultural Assimilation:
    Under this model, only immigrants who have the potential to participate in the host country's culture are allowed to become citizens. This requires not only on pledging to support a country's political ideals (as in civic nationalism), but also on showing an ability to assimilate into the dominant culture by learning the county's official language and displaying knowledge of the country's history & culture. In some cases, immigration might even require belonging to or converting to the state religion of the host country. While in theory cultural nationalism doesn't have to involve any considerations about the economic productivity of immigrants, in practice it often does.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_nationalism
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_assimilation

  5. Citizenism, Producerism & Economic Nationalism:
    Under this model, only immigrants who can contribute economically to the host nation are considered eligible for immigration -- typically this involves vetting immigrants for high levels of education, unique job skills and/or high net wealth. Poor, low-skill immigrants are often excluded out of concerns that they will either end up on welfare or "steal jobs" from the country's native working class. Trade protectionism in the form of tariffs & prohibition on outsourcing are typically used along with immigration restrictions to protect native workers. While citizenism & economic nationalism could theoretically be used without any requirements for immigrants to culturally assimilate, in practice the economic concerns are usually combined with the tenets of cultural nationalism.
    https://openborders.info/citizenism/
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Producerism
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_nationalism

  6. Ethnic Nationalism & Ethnocracy:
    Under this model, only immigrants that belong to the host country's dominant ethnic group are considered eligible for citizenship. Members of other ethnic groups are typically restricted but still allowed in cases of tourists & guest workers due to the economic benefits; however, they will never be eligible for citizenship, voting rights or public office.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_nationalism
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnocracy

  7. Ethnic Separatism & Ethnic Cleansing:
    This model is essentially an even more restrictive version of ethnic nationalism, often part of the goal of revolutionary or secession movements. Not only are ethnic minorities not eligible for citizenship, they are typically not even allowed to visit the country except in exceptional circumstances, and minorities that currently live within the state's borders may be expelled by force or killed.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separatism#Ethnic_separatism
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_cleansing

As you can probably see, whichever model of national identity someone adopts (explicitly or implicitly) will have a big influence on the way they view the immigration debate.

DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR OUR DISCUSSION:

The videos & articles you see linked below are intended to give you a basic overview of some of the scholarly frameworks we can use for assessing the debates over immigration policy, American citizenship, and the U.S.-Mexico border. As usual, I certainly don't expect you to read all the articles & watch all the videos prior to attending our discussion. The easiest way to prepare for our discussion is to just watch the numbered videos linked under each section - the videos come to about 50 minutes total. The articles marked with asterisks are just there to supply additional details. You can browse and look at whichever ones you want, but don't worry - we'll cover the stuff you missed in our discussion.

In terms of the discussion format, my general idea is that we'll address the topics in the order presented here. I figure we'll spend about each section.

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I. THE MORAL PSYCHOLOGY OF THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE:

  1. Jonathan Haidt, “The globalist blind spot“ (Video - 11:06 min.)
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o-FSppkdYHo

II. THE ETHICS OF ASYLUM FOR REFUGEES, SANCTUARY CITIES FOR MIGRANTS & AMNESTY FOR "DREAMERS":

2a) Hank Green, “Poverty & Our Response To It: Crash Course Philosophy #44” (Video - 8:53 min.)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D5sknLy7Smo

2b) Joseph Carens, "Immigrants and the Right to Stay" (video - 9:56 min, start at 0:33)
https://youtu.be/5wny__CDEHM?t=33

III. THE ECONOMIC CONSENSUS ON IMMIGRATION:

  1. Adrienne Hill, “The Economics of Immigration: Crash Course Econ #33” (Video - 11:20 min, start at 3:08 & listen to 10:50)
    https://youtu.be/4XQXiCLzyAw?t=188

IV. DEEP CULTURE, SOCIAL CAPITAL, ASSIMILATION RATES & "RECONQUISTA" FEARS:

4a) Black Pigeon Speaks, "Why Mexican Immigration WILL END the United States" (video - 11:06 min, listen to 10:50)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEkDJ_JL1kk

4b) Sam Seder, "Latino Immigrants Assimilate No Slower Than Other Immigrants" (video - 2:45 min.)
https://youtu.be/vWGE5Zg5j_Y

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Cafe Walnut
703 Walnut Street · Philadelphia, PA
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