I am writing this blog in Myrtle Beach, in a country now three weeks into a shutdown of a good portion of the federal government because of Donald Trump’s determination to get Congressional approval of $5.7 billion to build a wall along the border with Mexico. In support of his project – that even many Republicans acknowledge is one of the least effective ways to address immigration concerns – Trump has resorted to his usual combination of hyperbole and mendacity. He claims that Americans are being raped and murdered by dangerous criminals streaming across the southern border of the country, with thousands of lives at risk unless the wall is built immediately. Meanwhile, in the real world, illegal border crossings from Mexico to the U.S. are at their lowest level in almost half of century and the evidence is overwhelming that Americans are far more likely to die at the hand of fellow Americans, not immigrants.
The real immigration crisis facing America is the need to have a continued influx of immigrants to ensure economic growth. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the annual rate of population growth is at its lowest since 1937. Changing demographics will mean a continuing decline in the number of births and increased supports for a larger and more dependent aging population, while dealing with the challenge of a slower-growth labour force. Increasing that labour force and sustaining economic growth in the U.S. will require policies to attract immigrants, not empty-headed rhetoric designed to denigrate and deny them.
Immigration Controversies in Canada
Canada has long had a similar labour force challenge because the low birth rate in this country means that the population does not reproduce itself and only grows as a result of immigration. We too absolutely require extensive immigration to maintain our labour force and future economic growth. Far from becoming dependents, as anti-immigrant critics like to claim, those arriving in Canada are becoming more successful in finding employment than long-time residents. Statistics Canada figures show that in 2018 63.9% of people aged 15 and older who arrived in Canada within the preceding five years were employed, as compared with 62.3% of the Canadian-born population.
Yet Canada is now exhibiting some of the anti-immigrant hysteria promulgated south of the border. There is no better (worse) example than Conservative leader Andrew Scheer’s denunciation of a United Nations document known as the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. This symbolic statement of principles is designed to reduce overall immigration numbers and, in particular, to discourage illegal immigration. Yet according to Scheer, who perhaps seeks to emulate Trump in the use of language unhinged from reality, this Compact would give foreign entities influence over Canada’s immigration and would result in cross-border chaos, danger, and criminality. What is particularly disturbing is the discovery that these negative views are the result of a social media campaign by “a coalition of anti-Islam, far-right and neo-Nazi sympathizers” based in Europe. These views have been adopted by extreme right political parties in Europe, by members of Trump’s circle, and now by the Canadian Conservative leader.
Not that immigration into Canada is free of problems, including the well-publicized issue of immigrants avoiding checkpoints and simply walking across the border. Even these individuals, however, still go into the queue for review, processing, and possible approval. Another concern is whether the diversity that we embrace as one of our defining features is altering, even undermining, traditional Canadian values. While religion is less and less prominent among Canadian-born residents, immigrants often identify more with their religion than with their country. That means that many oppose what have been mainstream views within Canada and have joined with extreme social conservatives who wish to block or reverse many features of a modern, inclusive society. A recent high profile example was the selection of Doug Ford as leader of the Ontario Conservatives (and now Premier) with support from social conservatives, including immigrants, when he promised to revoke the updated sex education curriculum being used in Ontario schools. [It should be noted, however, that it is not just immigrants who hold strongly religious views out of step with today’s world. The religious right in the U.S. has been in the forefront of efforts to roll back progressive changes that support such matters as gay rights, the right to an abortion, and immigration.]
Another, particularly egregious, example of inappropriate values is immigrants who bring with them a perverted notion of family honour, as exemplified by the deliberate drowning of three daughters (and another family member) in the Rideau Canal near Kingston, Ontario almost a decade ago because they dishonoured the family by having boyfriends.
While such sensational, and despicable, incidents garner maximum attention, there are many other examples of immigrants integrating into Canadian society and contributing to its success. In a heartwarming Christmas story, a United Church in Hensall (near London, Ontario) which had been closed in November 2018 was purchased by a Catholic immigrant from Egypt who had been welcomed into that town some years earlier and believed that the church should be kept open and operating.
Less Raw Emotion and More Thoughtful Consideration Is Needed
The issue of immigration is complex and many-faceted and we need to respond with restraint, reflection, and rational discussion – a return to what we like to think have been defining characteristics of the Canadian way – rather than embracing the madness that has passed for public discussion of this subject by our southern neighbours.