Article Review: "The Immigration Problem Then and Now"
Posted Jun 14, 2000

In prior issues of the MurthyBulletin, we have discussed the benefits brought by immigrants to the U.S. economy and education. We wish to share with you another interesting article on the history and nature of U.S. immigrants and their overall contributions to the U.S.

This fascinating article, “The Immigration Problem Then and Now” by Richard Vedder, Lowell Gallaway, and Steven Moore, published in the April 15, 2000 issue of Bender’s Immigration Bulletin, explores immigration from a historical perspective.

Vedder’s primary thesis is that U.S. citizens have the flawed assumption that today’s immigrants present more problems to society than past immigrants did. According to the article, the fear sometimes expressed - that modern immigration will “destroy” the U.S. - is not new. As far back as colonial times, English colonists were described as a “race of convicts." Later, in the mid-1800’s, Irish immigrants were blamed for high rates of crime and pauperism. Twenty years later, U.S. residents decried the great influx of Chinese on the West Coast, and as a result passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. After that, negative sentiments focused on the new influx of eastern, central, and southern European immigrants.

After the rise and fall of these various attitudes, mid-twentieth century changes in the immigration law spawned yet another round of anti-immigrant rhetoric. While in the past the majority of immigrants came from Europe, today three times as many immigrants come from Asia than from Europe, and the overall proportion of non-white immigrants has increased. This fact alone has created controversy across the U.S. political spectrum. Some point to the new influx of immigrants as the cause of environmental problems and over-congestion. Those at the other end of the political spectrum have become upset by the racially diverse society that is the hallmark of the modern United States.

One of the primary arguments of the anti-immigration movement is that immigrants pose a substantial burden on U.S. citizens because immigrants rely on welfare more than the general population. This article points out that an accurate analysis of the current data suggests that this is not the case at all. In fact, “the reverse seems to be closer to the truth…as has so often been the case in American history, the perceived immigrant problem du jour is largely an illusion.” The Law Office of Sheela Murthy notes that reports by the Cato Institute (a conservative think tank), as well as the National Research Council, indicate that the figures on welfare use among immigrants are slightly less than those for native-born citizens.

The Law Office of Sheela Murthy actively promotes immigrants’ rights through several pro-immigration organizations, including the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the American Immigration Law Foundation.