I am among those many Americans who believe that this
country needs more immigrants, not less. (See this
column and this
column and this
column.) I recommend to you therefore a stimulating
essay on immigration policies being discussed in Washington as they pertain
to Illinois, written by Sara McElmurry, assistant director of immigration at
the Chicago Council of Global Affairs, and Rob Paral, author of Looking
Back to Look Forward: Lessons From the Immigration Histories of Midwestern
Cities and published in Crain’s Chicago Business.
As always, if you want to understand today’s issues, you have to know a little about yesterday.
Our modern
immigration system—built in 1965— reversed the 1920s-era restrictions, offering
a lifeline for the stagnating Midwest. The 1965 law created new avenues for
family-based migration that ushered newcomers back to Midwestern cities,
resulting in a collective 45 percent growth of foreign-born residents since
1990.
These new
Midwesterners hail mostly from Asia and Latin America, with skill sets as
diverse as their backgrounds. Immigrants are revitalizing shrinking cities like
Chicago, which has lost nearly 30 percent of its native-born population since
1970 and currently leads the nation in population decline. The city’s
foreign-born population is up 53 percent over its 1970 numbers, buffering the
city from all-out decline.
This article appears in Sep 28 – Oct 4, 2017.
