Common language helps integrate newcomers

By John Florez
Published: Sunday, Dec. 11, 2005 9:35 p.m. MST
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Ten years from now, I wonder if we might think how silly it was to ever suppose we were going to send 11 million illegal immigrants back to their homeland.

America has been successful in integrating immigrants into American society and sharing in the celebration of their heritage. We have worked, played, learned and prayed together; immigrants became contributors, and some became leaders of our nation. The key to success was that the first generation taught their children, "To make it in America, you need to speak English." It was true then and it's true today.

Societies are held together by a shared set of ideas, symbols, artifacts, values and a common language. A common language is the vehicle whereby a society transmits its values vital for its survival. And, therein may be the underlying reason for the conflict Americans are feeling, which speaks well for the American ethos.

We seem to struggle internally with our values — freedom, justice, the dignity of every individual, our brother's keeper — while trying to reconcile them with people who break our immigration laws and come here illegally. Most are Mexicans who are poor, lack education, and risk their lives fleeing to find work to provide for their families because their country has neglected them.

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Americans are a caring people and welcome all with open arms, except when they don't play by the rules. Other nations don't seem to have such a moral dilemma. France is now experiencing urban riots because it isolated its poor immigrants and failed to assimilate them in its society. Our generation is being challenged as never before. We are living in a period of rapid change where our security is dependent on our ability to deal with change while clinging to our core values. To transmit those values, a society must have a common language.

Over the past two decades, there has been a huge increase of immigrants, mostly Mexicans, entering the country illegally. It has strained our nation's ability to assimilate them. The terrorist attacks of 9/11 became the tipping point that left Americans fearful, vulnerable and with an escalated cry to protect our borders. While there are those who support immigration, they are against amnesty for the immigrants here illegally. Many fear the quality of life Americans enjoy will be changed by the new immigrants.

Though we worry about protecting our borders and want to send the millions of illegal immigrants back in order to maintain our culture, the reality is that our nation has been able to integrate newcomers to our land. It is because the American way of life was created out of fundamental values grounded in our Constitution. It is not about color or race, rather about values, symbols and artifacts.

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