In a recent speech, Attorney
General Jeff Sessions criticized “chain” migration saying, “It doesn’t
favor education or skills. It just favors anybody who has a relative in
America.” My Grandma was an illiterate “chain” immigrant, so I see things a bit
differently.
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| My Grandma |
We were never really sure how old Grandma Sarah was when she
immigrated. Sometimes when she told the story she was nine years-old, sometimes
she was twelve. It didn’t really matter. Her father took her by train to the Lithuanian
city where she would board a boat for America by herself.
I’ve often wondered what that scene was like and how they felt. He
must have been terribly conflicted. The pogroms were beginning, and he probably
sensed the coming holocaust that would consume most of our European relatives.
She must have been terrified at the prospect of leaving behind her family and
the only life she had known to go to a strange land across the sea.
Sarah arrived in the US and went to live with relatives who were
already working hard to make ends meet, making her a “chain” immigrant. She
worked in a sweatshop. She learned to read and write English, but she was
happiest when she could speak Yiddish. She loved to tell Yiddish jokes and
stories. I vividly recall Grandma and my Dad laughing uproariously over some
Yiddish joke which they would then try to translate into English for us.
Usually, the joke ended with, “It’s a lot funnier in Yiddish.”
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| Buddy, Sarah & Bobby |
Eventually Sarah met a nice young man, got married and further
settled into life in her new country. My grandfather did not complete
high-school, but he was bright, resourceful and worked hard to provide for his
family. They had two boys. Buddy, my dad, did well in school, was popular and a
star athlete in High School. Uncle Bobby was popular and smart enough to
graduate from high school at the age of fifteen. Buddy and Bobby loved their
country and valued freedom, so when the US entered World War Two, both young
men served their country admirably.
Buddy returned from the war and, with help from the “GI Bill,” graduated
from Duke University with a degree in engineering – the first college graduate in
his family. Of course, this experience also turned him into a life-long
basketball fanatic! Bobby didn’t finish college, but he went to work, learned
the restaurant business and became the prosperous owner of several of his own.
Buddy eventually started his own business and over time became a successful
entrepreneur. They both believed strongly in Tzedakah, the Jewish concept that charitable giving and service
to the community are acts of justice and righteousness and a moral obligation. They put that belief into practice by giving
not just their money, but their time and leadership.
Bobby and Buddy were good family men. They each married the love
of their life and sustained those marriages over many decades, eventually
reaching the “until death” part. Between them they had seven children. Sarah’s
grandchildren grew up in happy homes and graduated from college. Between them
there are two doctors, one dentist, two businesswomen and a special education
teacher. They all practice some form of Tzedakah.
Sarah lived long enough to know some of the fourteen great-grandchildren that
followed.
I don’t mean to give the impression that our family is perfect.
Like all families, we have had ups and downs. There have been a few divorces.
We’ve been touched by misfortune, disease, addiction and mental illness. We
stick together and help each other as best we can and forgive each other when
necessary. That’s how life is.
My wife and I were talking about this the other day. She is of
Irish-Catholic descent. Her grandmother, another illiterate “chain” immigrant,
left Ireland fleeing the potato famine. My wife’s mom and dad worked hard most
of their lives and practiced the Catholic equivalent of Tzedakah. He served in World War Two. They had three kids: a doctor,
an engineer and a businessman. Seven grandchildren.
Immigration is hard and can create a selection bias. You have to
be pretty tough and determined to leave your native country and come to a
strange land. Would you get on the boat like Sarah did? Or send your
12-year-old daughter half-way around the world by herself? Immigrants are more
likely to succeed and value the freedom and opportunity that America provides.
This is the story of America across the generations. There are
always immigrants seeking a better life and believe they can find it in
America. There are always ignorant fools who see them not as individuals but as
vermin, scum and undesirable. Jewish, Catholic, Muslim. Lithuanian, Irish, Polish,
Italian, Mexican, African. It makes no difference. The same ignorance, bigotry
and nativism appears in each generation and with each new wave of immigrants.
There’s a valid debate to be had about immigration. A country that
doesn’t control its borders is not a country. The needs of current citizens
should take priority and have to be balanced with the long-term value immigrants
bring. We should do what we reasonably can to help when there is a true
humanitarian crisis, but we can’t solve all of the world’s problems. Culture
does matter. Assimilation is important: a common creed and shared language help
bind us together. But assuming all people who share a skin color, country of
origin or religion are all the same is racism and bigoted. It also points to a
lack of knowledge (or honesty) about one’s own history: We are all immigrants.
So, the next time you hear someone say something like, “Why do we want
all these people from s*hole countries?” or “We only want literate immigrants”,
I hope you will remember my grandma Sarah. She made America a better place and
stands as proof that “E Pluribus Unum” is not a slogan but part of the American
creed.
