No one wants to flee their country: poverty and war are the biggest drivers of refugee flows. But, most immigration research centers point to the positive influence of immigration on America, and to the empty, depopulated states in many parts of the country - everyone fled to the city in these states. They welcome New Americans. Immigrants pay taxes, generate new businesses, and succeed in every way.
Let's look instead at the arms market profiteers that profit off war, jumping for joy that they can sell more missiles. And at the military industrial complex around the world just itching to spread nuclear weapons through proliferation.
About refugees, with all due respect, this statement below in the comment section is not at all correct. Citation for this? "...And the Census Bureau projects that over the next four decades, the population will increase by nearly 80 million--equivalent to four New York States--90% of that from immigration. "
President Eisenhower : Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
As Barney Frank said, Unless you are speaking Navajo, you are from somewhere else.
A good friend of mine created the Columbus Crossing Borders art project/film several years ago (https://www.columbuscrossingbordersproject.com/about.html). It's one of the most profoundly moving experiences I've had to bring home the reality about what it's like to be a refugee.
Artists worked collaboratively with their neighboring partner to "cross over" some elements of each painting into their partner's. Some of the artists were refugees, themselves. This happened during the height of the Syrian refugee crisis, and during the Trump administration, when there was a lot of ugly rhetoric about, and policies toward, refugees. But the art created and the refugees featured in the film helped open up a conversation that would not have happened otherwise.
thanks for this great information about this project!
The Telling Room
The Telling Room was founded in 2004 by three writers—Sara Corbett, Mike Paterniti, and Susan Conley—who imagined that getting in touch with the youth of Portland and their stories could be like putting your ear to a seashell and hearing the whole ocean. They were right!
Enthusiasm and demand for our programs grew exponentially—The Telling Room now works with over 3,500 young writers each year, reaching students and teachers from nearly 100 schools spanning 75 towns across the state of Maine. [This started as a program to get young student refugees to tell their stories so they could heal. It still serves many New American communities in the Portland, Maine area]
From what I've read, I'm optimistic that the Ukrainians are going to keep their country. They have a language, a culture, and a beautiful country with distinctive architecture, and plenty of resources, and with about half the population density of Germany and UK, and ~two thirds that of France--plenty of room--and practically the whole world opposes Putin's invasion.
The Ukrainians are fighting for their country. The invading Russian soldiers are in the position of American soldiers in Vietnam who had no stake in that conflict and got driven out, despite all the money and men and bombs we unleashed on that country.
I suspect the ones who are leaving have done so to protect their children, and want to go home again, and not to the US.
Additionally, out of ~40 million Ukrainians--two New York state equivalents--only about 150,000 have fled the country. My guess is that most of them are protecting their children, and wanting to go home when this is over. Given the resources, and the spirit they are showing as they work to repel the invasion, they can certainly do a lot with their country, and it would please me no end to see them thrive when this is over.
Four days ago, it seemed impossible to imagine that Kyiv and other major cities might still be outside Russian control. I have no idea whether this is a temporary setback for the Russians, or on the other hand a sign of how much larger the obstacles will be than Putin had foreseen.
The best outcome, obviously, would be if the fighting stops soon, and the damage and dislocation is contained at its current level. My point is that the US should be preparing for outcomes other than that — if the extra capacity ends up not being needed for Ukrainians, there are many other people (most obviously those from Afghanistan) being driven from their own homes. The under-appreciated point, I think, is how during the Trump era *both* the official target levels for refugees, *and* the practical systems for considering their claims, were neglected or intentionally dismantled. No matter how many refugees it ultimately creates, the Ukraine crisis is a useful spur to repairing the larger system.
I see your point, and it makes sense. But there's more that needs to be repaired. As Back of the Hiring Line, which I hope you received, points out with a ton of supportive evidence from academic economic history (296 footnotes), ***too much*** immigration has kept Blacks from rising, and in the last 30 years it has kept our the working classes generally, including immigrant workers, from earning a decent living, by flooding the labor market.
Here's an op-ed that I'm hoping will tempt you to read the book
When she ran a commission on immigration reform under President Clinton, Barbara Jordan recommended cutting immigration by around half, and strict enforcement of immigration laws. Had her recommendations been followed, I doubt that trump would have become president (immigration was his signature issue). And now, immigration is the policy area where Biden gets the lowest marks--around 35%.
If we stopped flooding the country with economic migrants, I think people would be much more in favor of taking in refugees. But the numbers of immigrants have been crazy. And the Census Bureau projects that over the next four decades, the population will increase by nearly 80 million--equivalent to four New York States--90% of that from immigration. That is crazy, especially with the prospect that global warming is going to make a substantial amount of the US uninhabitable--we will have our own climate refugees in the next several decades, as the NYT mag and Propublica pointed out.
I'm getting the sense that the Ukrainians' fighting spirit to preserve their country and its democracy is spreading around the world like a social contagion.
Let’s hope the bravery of ordinary Ukrainians shames all those Americans who have taken our democracy for granted or have decided they prefer autocracy. If this isn’t a wake up call they are hopeless.
A close friend’s parents and siblings live in Zaphorizhzhia. Her brother is of fighting age and her parents are both doctors who refused to leave. There have been airstrikes on the city and Russian troops are moving in from the south. It’s a nightmare.
BREAKING: The EU is banning RT and Sputnik (state-owned Russian) media outlets, and for the first time is financing and sending arms to a country under attack.
Thank you for this deep and thoughtful article!
No one wants to flee their country: poverty and war are the biggest drivers of refugee flows. But, most immigration research centers point to the positive influence of immigration on America, and to the empty, depopulated states in many parts of the country - everyone fled to the city in these states. They welcome New Americans. Immigrants pay taxes, generate new businesses, and succeed in every way.
Let's look instead at the arms market profiteers that profit off war, jumping for joy that they can sell more missiles. And at the military industrial complex around the world just itching to spread nuclear weapons through proliferation.
About refugees, with all due respect, this statement below in the comment section is not at all correct. Citation for this? "...And the Census Bureau projects that over the next four decades, the population will increase by nearly 80 million--equivalent to four New York States--90% of that from immigration. "
President Eisenhower : Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
As Barney Frank said, Unless you are speaking Navajo, you are from somewhere else.
https://bangordailynews.com/2022/02/22/opinion/opinion-contributor/america-cannot-forget-those-left-behind-in-afghanistan/
A good friend of mine created the Columbus Crossing Borders art project/film several years ago (https://www.columbuscrossingbordersproject.com/about.html). It's one of the most profoundly moving experiences I've had to bring home the reality about what it's like to be a refugee.
Artists worked collaboratively with their neighboring partner to "cross over" some elements of each painting into their partner's. Some of the artists were refugees, themselves. This happened during the height of the Syrian refugee crisis, and during the Trump administration, when there was a lot of ugly rhetoric about, and policies toward, refugees. But the art created and the refugees featured in the film helped open up a conversation that would not have happened otherwise.
thanks for this great information about this project!
The Telling Room
The Telling Room was founded in 2004 by three writers—Sara Corbett, Mike Paterniti, and Susan Conley—who imagined that getting in touch with the youth of Portland and their stories could be like putting your ear to a seashell and hearing the whole ocean. They were right!
Enthusiasm and demand for our programs grew exponentially—The Telling Room now works with over 3,500 young writers each year, reaching students and teachers from nearly 100 schools spanning 75 towns across the state of Maine. [This started as a program to get young student refugees to tell their stories so they could heal. It still serves many New American communities in the Portland, Maine area]
https://www.tellingroom.org/the-telling-room-about-us
Thank you. I had not known of that, and will check it out.
From what I've read, I'm optimistic that the Ukrainians are going to keep their country. They have a language, a culture, and a beautiful country with distinctive architecture, and plenty of resources, and with about half the population density of Germany and UK, and ~two thirds that of France--plenty of room--and practically the whole world opposes Putin's invasion.
The Ukrainians are fighting for their country. The invading Russian soldiers are in the position of American soldiers in Vietnam who had no stake in that conflict and got driven out, despite all the money and men and bombs we unleashed on that country.
I suspect the ones who are leaving have done so to protect their children, and want to go home again, and not to the US.
Additionally, out of ~40 million Ukrainians--two New York state equivalents--only about 150,000 have fled the country. My guess is that most of them are protecting their children, and wanting to go home when this is over. Given the resources, and the spirit they are showing as they work to repel the invasion, they can certainly do a lot with their country, and it would please me no end to see them thrive when this is over.
Four days ago, it seemed impossible to imagine that Kyiv and other major cities might still be outside Russian control. I have no idea whether this is a temporary setback for the Russians, or on the other hand a sign of how much larger the obstacles will be than Putin had foreseen.
The best outcome, obviously, would be if the fighting stops soon, and the damage and dislocation is contained at its current level. My point is that the US should be preparing for outcomes other than that — if the extra capacity ends up not being needed for Ukrainians, there are many other people (most obviously those from Afghanistan) being driven from their own homes. The under-appreciated point, I think, is how during the Trump era *both* the official target levels for refugees, *and* the practical systems for considering their claims, were neglected or intentionally dismantled. No matter how many refugees it ultimately creates, the Ukraine crisis is a useful spur to repairing the larger system.
I see your point, and it makes sense. But there's more that needs to be repaired. As Back of the Hiring Line, which I hope you received, points out with a ton of supportive evidence from academic economic history (296 footnotes), ***too much*** immigration has kept Blacks from rising, and in the last 30 years it has kept our the working classes generally, including immigrant workers, from earning a decent living, by flooding the labor market.
Here's an op-ed that I'm hoping will tempt you to read the book
https://nypost.com/2022/02/03/open-borders-historically-dooms-jobs-for-black-americans/
When she ran a commission on immigration reform under President Clinton, Barbara Jordan recommended cutting immigration by around half, and strict enforcement of immigration laws. Had her recommendations been followed, I doubt that trump would have become president (immigration was his signature issue). And now, immigration is the policy area where Biden gets the lowest marks--around 35%.
If we stopped flooding the country with economic migrants, I think people would be much more in favor of taking in refugees. But the numbers of immigrants have been crazy. And the Census Bureau projects that over the next four decades, the population will increase by nearly 80 million--equivalent to four New York States--90% of that from immigration. That is crazy, especially with the prospect that global warming is going to make a substantial amount of the US uninhabitable--we will have our own climate refugees in the next several decades, as the NYT mag and Propublica pointed out.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/15/magazine/climate-crisis-migration-america.html
I'm getting the sense that the Ukrainians' fighting spirit to preserve their country and its democracy is spreading around the world like a social contagion.
Let’s hope the bravery of ordinary Ukrainians shames all those Americans who have taken our democracy for granted or have decided they prefer autocracy. If this isn’t a wake up call they are hopeless.
A close friend’s parents and siblings live in Zaphorizhzhia. Her brother is of fighting age and her parents are both doctors who refused to leave. There have been airstrikes on the city and Russian troops are moving in from the south. It’s a nightmare.
tweet from this morning (2/28)
Nick Knudsen 🇺🇸🇺🇦
@NickKnudsenUS
BREAKING: The EU is banning RT and Sputnik (state-owned Russian) media outlets, and for the first time is financing and sending arms to a country under attack.
“A watershed moment.”