AMERICAN SECURITY COUNCIL FOUNDATION

National Security Report

Promoting ‘‘Peace through Strength’’®

In This Issue:

A 21st-Century Ellis Island

By Alan W. Dowd ASCF Senior Fellow

Volume 1III, Issue IV— April 2012 Page 2

Like the ebb and flow of the tide, the illegal-immigration issue comes and goes as a hot

-button topic. Just compare, for example, how prevalent immigration was in policy

debates in 2004 and 2008—and how heated those debates became—with how low it

rates in the 2012 presidential campaign. This is largely a function of America’s weak

economy, which has made the United States less attractive to immigrants looking for

short-term work or a long-term address. In fact, immigration levels have actually fallen

in recent years. There are 11.5 million illegal immigrants in the country today, down

from 12 million in 2007. But just like the tide, the challenges and tensions created by

illegal immigration will return as soon as the economy heats up. In other words, the

time for building a 21st-century immigration system is now—and it’s long-overdue.

First things first: Immigration is not the problem. Ours is a nation of immigrants—each

new wave of immigrants serving as a wellspring for our country, a reminder of our

roots and history, a surge of growth and dynamism. All told, America’s foreign-born

population stands at 36.7 million—or about 11.5 percent of the overall population—

but just 16 million of those immigrants are naturalized (more on that below).

To put those numbers in perspective, Census Bureau statistics tell us that in 1890, America’s foreign-born population was 15 per-

cent of the population; in 1900, it was 13.5 percent of the overall population; in 1930, it was 11.5 percent of the population. In other

words, today’s immigration numbers may be high, but the percentage is well under the highs the last 125 years.

Even so, high immigration levels are worrisome to some Americans. But consider the alternatives: living in a country to which no

one wants to migrate, or living in a country that is aging and dying due to low immigration levels.

Immigration into Russia, for instance, has fallen from 1.2 million to just 185,000. As a result, Russia is withering away. Researchers with RAND conclude that by the middle of this century, the transcontinental, multi-ethnic empire built by the czars will be popu lated by fewer than 100 million people—down from 145 million today. By 2050, China will be losing some 20 million people every five years. Similarly, Japan and Europe are rapidly aging, lacking the immigration levels and birth rates to reverse the trend. But America’s population growth rate outpaces Europe’s, Japan’s and China’s—and this is largely related to immigration.

Although immigration is a good thing, illegal immigration is not. It undermines respect for the

law, eats away at America’s unity, strains public agencies, distorts the labor market and even

exposes American citizens to security threats, as evidenced by Iran’s plot to subcontract the

assassination of a Saudi diplomat to a Mexican cartel—and by Mexico’s bloody drug war. As

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano recently conceded, “We have, for some time,

been thinking about what would happen if, say, al Qaeda were to unite with the Zetas” drug

cartel.

That explains why securing the border and deterring illegal immigration must be the primary

focus of any reform effort.

Regrettably, the “secure border initiative,” which envisioned the use of cameras, radar and high-tech sensors to staunch the flow of illegal immigration from Mexico, was re- cently cancelled. And the surge of National Guard troops to border areas, which began in

2006, is being phased out this year.

The importance of securing the border cannot be overstated. After all, it only stands to reason that the easier it is to come across

the border illegally, the less likely it is that immigrants will choose legal avenues of immigration.

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If/when Washington decides it’s ready to secure the border, the American people then will be able to focus on mainstreaming

the illegal immigrants who are here by offering a path to citizenship or offering them a trip back home.

For those who enter the country illegally, any path to citizenship must include proof that the immigrant has foresworn alle

giance to another country as well as some sort of penalty. Even if America’s immigration system is imperfect and slow, it

doesn’t give immigrants license to enter the country illegally. No matter how hard-working he is, no matter how sincere

her desire to live the American dream, the very first act of an illegal immigrant entering this country is—by definition—to vio

late U.S. law. If the law means anything, if there is to be justice for those who enter the country legally, there must be a penalty

for entering illegally.

To bring illegal immigrants out of the shadows and mainstream them into America’s civic life, we could benefit from relearning

what worked in the past.

From 1892-1954, some 12 million people entered America through the gateway of Ellis Island. In his history of Ellis Island,

Keepers of the Gate, Thomas Pitkin writes that when Frederic Howe became commissioner of Ellis Island, his goal was “to have

immigrants well started on their way to becoming good American citizens before they left the island.” Toward that end, Howe

set up partnerships with local school boards to teach English to arriving immigrants, provided what one magazine called “a

beginner’s class in American citizenship” and endeavored to “Americanize the immigrant.”

Ellis Island’s lifecycle was a function of demand. It came into existence because of the demand created by European migration

into the U.S., which almost always culminated at the ports of New York. Today, with the bulk of immigrants emanating from

Mexico and entering along the U.S. southern border, perhaps it makes sense to create a constellation of 21st-century Ellis Is

lands at high-volume entry points and in areas where immigrant populations are concentrated. Abandoned military bases

could serve as immigration centers, where immigrants could be evaluated, provided short-term accommodations, instructed in

English and U.S. civics, set on a path toward full citizenship and “well started on their way to becoming good American

citizens.”

That brings us back to naturalization. Regrettably, our naturalization system is not living up to the tried-and-true methods that once transformed the “huddled masses” into American citizens. According to the Census Bureau, only 44 percent of the foreign-born population is naturalized today—down from 50 percent in 1980, which was down from 63 percent in 1970, which was down from 78 percent in 1950. This is leading to what Theodore Roo-sevelt once described as “hyphenated Americanism”—and ultimately to balkanization.

TR worried about America becoming “a tangle of squabbling nationalities” and viewed naturalization—embracing America,

learning English, gaining an appreciation for American history and civics—as vital to America’s health. “When I refer to hyphen

ated Americans,” he explained, “I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known

were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all. Americanism is a

matter of the spirit and of the soul.”

The words are just as true—and just as applicable—a century later.

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Alan W. Dowd is a Senior Fellow with the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes on the full range of topics relating to national defense and national security. Dowd’s commentaries and essays have appeared in Policy Review, Parameters, Military Officer, The American Legion Magazine, The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, World Politics Review, The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Jerusalem Post, The Financial Times Deutschland, The Washington Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Examiner, The Detroit News, The Sacramento Bee, The Vancouver Sun, The National Post, The Landing Zone, Current, The World & I, The American Enterprise, Fraser Forum, American Outlook, FrontPage and the online editions of The Weekly Standard, National Review and The American. Beyond his work in opinion journalism, Dowd has served as an adjunct professor and university lecturer; congressio- nal aide; and administrator, researcher and writer at leading think tanks, including the Hudson Institute, Sagamore Institute and Fraser Institute.

He has been interviewed by Fox News Channel, Cox News Service, The Washington Times, The National Post and numerous radio programs across North America. In addition, his work has been quoted by and/or reprinted in The Guardian, CBS News, BBC News and the Council on Foreign Relations. Dowd holds degrees from Butler University and Indiana University.