Immigrants In Their Own Voice

Today, six out of ten Americans want no more immigrants - of any kind. This is not good for America. Optimism and hope drive immigrants. Pessimists don't emigrate. Immigrants come with energy, looking for opportunity, but not for entitlements or comfort. Coming from the outside, they see opportunities for innovation and they kindle renewal. They spur the economy by their hard work, ready assumption of risk and entrepreneurial instincts, but also by their very presence as consumers and tax payers. Because they relive the frontier experience which founded our society, they buttress and strengthen our culture. They believe in our institutions and thereby affirm their validity. Their offspring observe their parents' struggles and often see examples of the American Dream realized. Thus inspired, and frequently well educated, these children contribute a fresh, often cosmopolitan outlook. Immigrants play also a leading role in the succession and replacement of tiring elites. If we resist continued, well-considered legal immigration, we shall stagnate economically and culturally. "Immigrants in Their Own Voice" advocates a change in US immigration policies to encourage a steady flow of qualified legal immigrants. We want them of all kinds - the well educated, the highly skilled, and those merely willing to work hard and to improve themselves. The author has populated this book with the voices of several dozen actual immigrants and with those of their children and grandchildren. They comprise individuals of various social conditions and from thirty-seven countries. Their voices animate the narrative and testify to their experiences of America. An immigrant himself, the author's voice frames the others. This book hopes to contribute to a national debate about the crucial value of continuing immigration.