The Assimilation Crisis Gets Lost in Post-Debate Pet Furor

D onald Trump’s unverified claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, have been eating local pets became instantly notorious, and rightly so. But it’s important to consider the reasons he’s drawn to tell the story — and a much more serious point about immigration that he and Kamala Harris ought to be making. Control of the southern border may be the most important current issue. But immigration at the scale the U.S. is currently experiencing requires something more than border control — specifically, what the country did in the middle of the last great wave of immigration in the early 20th century: assimilate the newcomers. This should mean at least two things: pushing and enabling them to learn English, and to pass the citizenship test.

The large numbers of foreign-born residents and the change they are bringing to the nation’s culture are not a figment of Trump partisan fever swamps. The Pew Research Center reports a record 46 million non-native residents — a number that almost certainly vastly undercounts those who have slipped in illegally. Whatever one’s view about the virtues of such an influx, they bring a sense of cultural dislocation for many of the natives. Consider that in Springfield, 15,000 Haitian immigrants arrived in a city of some 58,000. Or consider working-class Hazelton, Pa., where, in 2000, Hispanics made up less than 5 percent of the population and now account for more than 50 percent (mainly from the Dominican Republic).

This is change at a level reminiscent of the late 19th and early 20th century; between 1880 and 1920, some 20 million Eastern and Southern European immigrants passed through Ellis Island and other ports of immigrant entry. It was a time when American elites were not shy about introducing — indeed, inculcating — American values. In 1892, the Pledge of Allegiance was first published and spread rapidly in public schools. (Ironically, it was written by the socialist Francis Bellamy.) Crucially, there quickly developed a nationwide, civil-society movement of local institutions known as settlement houses, led by Jane Addams in Chicago (Hull House) and Lillian Wald in New York City (Henry Street Settlement). They brought to immigrants lessons in English, for adults and children, advice on nutrition, recreation clubs for kids to keep them out of trouble, and even music lessons.

Notably, the movement did not insist that the newcomers abandon their own cultures — whether cuisine or music — but, rather, adopt overarching American values, as well. As Jane Addams wrote unabashedly in her 1910 memoir, Twenty Years at Hull House: “One thing seemed clear in regard to entertaining immigrants. To preserve and keep whatever of value their past life contained and to bring them in contact with a better type of Americans.” The small things that led to cultural friction mattered to Addams, too. She pointedly told immigrant women, for instance, that, in a big city, it was not acceptable to throw garbage on the street. “Immigrant must not only keep their own houses clean but must also help the authorities to keep the city clean.” The scale of this nongovernmental, volunteer-led national movement was staggering. By 1913, the Handbook of Settlements listed some 413 across the country.

Whether through a loss of confidence in American values or acquiescence in accepting the current flood of newcomers on their own terms, we are simply not undertaking assimilation — the politically correct term today is “integration” — on anywhere near that scale today. It is, for instance, simply not easy for immigrants today to enroll in English-language classes. Local community colleges and public libraries ostensibly offer free instruction — but registering can be difficult, as a practical matter. Classes in major cities — those offered at New York’s City College, the Santa Monica (CA) school district, and the public library systems in Houston and Chicago, for instance — all have waiting lists.

It’s important to note that citizenship tests are offered in English only — and cost $760.

Whether or not one favors more or less immigration — or deportation of the “undocumented” — there is no getting around the fact that millions of the foreign-born are here to stay. Toward the goal of Americanizing them, it’s well worth revisiting — as stand-alone legislation — an overlooked section of the immigration-policy bill passed by the Senate in 2013, sponsored by Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.). It included a proposed United States Citizenship Foundation “to expand citizenship preparation programs,” as well as support for “eligible nonprofit organizations for immigration integration projects.” How the programs are implemented would matter greatly, of course; training based on the 1619 Project would not inspire newcomers to feel patriotic, for instance.

But we should not look only to government for a new assimilation movement. There are already impressive civil-society organizations at work. Consider ESL Northern Nevada, which brings volunteer English tutors to the homes of immigrants — many of whom work nights in casino kitchens. The volunteers teach them English and “civics education” aimed at preparing them to pass the citizenship test.

For all his bluster, Donald Trump understands that Americans are having a difficult time with the cultural adjustment of living with so many newcomers, and vice versa. Kamala Harris, as the daughter of immigrants who themselves had to assimilate, should also want to help today’s newcomers feel truly at home.

(Howard Husock was a contributor to “Breaking the Immigration Stalemate: From Deep Disagreements to Constructive Proposals,” a 2009 Brookings Institution report.)