Immigration’s link to liberty and the conflict between democratic self-government and individual freedom were the topics of discussion at Emporia State University’s latest Lecture on Liberty Wednesday night at the Granada Theatre.
Vincent Cannato, associate professor of history at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, gave an address, “Immigration, Democracy and Liberty,” detailing the politics and ideas surrounding the country’s early immigration laws and the conflicts that have arisen.
Focusing on the late 19th and early 20th century, Cannato pointed out that the concepts of liberty and democracy are directly related to how we think of immigration.
“Part of the problem we have when thinking about immigration, why immigration is such a contentious issue, is because it takes two very important themes in our country — our respect for the democratic process or self-government or citizen participation — and sometimes that’s often in juxtaposition with other ideas of individual freedom and individual liberty,” Cannato said, and explained that, while for many the Statue of Liberty represents the country’s acceptance of immigrants, it originally was a celebration of the Republican form of government.
Cannato discussed how immigration presents a conflict between self-government and the idea of personal freedom.
On one side of the debate, Cannato said, are democratic, self-governing people who have the idea of having the right to elect representatives to pass laws that decide who may or may not enter the country.
“What Americans at this time, and even down to our time, constantly debate is, ‘Is everyone entitled to enter the United States?’” Cannato said, quoting Henry Cabot Lodge: “‘The power of the American people to determine who shall come into the country and on what terms is absolute. No one has a right to come into the United States or become part of its citizenship except by permission of the people of the United States.’”
Cannato said the nation’s immigration laws were born of the idea that self-governing people could decide who and who not to let into the country, but the conflict arose with the idea of the the country’s tradition of welcoming newcomers, of the United States being a refuge for the oppressed.
He then showed a number of editorial cartoons, both for and against immigration, that echo arguments that still exist: Does the United States’ strength come from its diversity, or from its foundation of democratic ideals?
Cannato described how immigration laws came about and evolved, from the Immigration Act of 1882 that barred “convicts, lunatics, idiots and persons unable to take care of themselves,” to successive immigration acts that created more and more classes of people who would be denied entry into the country. Still, Cannato said, even at this time Ellis Island was at its height of activity, and despite the restrictions, only about 2 percent of immigrants coming through that entry point were barred.
Cannato pointed out how immigration policy of that time has relevance today, especially as it relates to terrorist suspects being held at Guantanamo Bay.
“What came out of this time was something called the Plenary Power Doctrine ... meaning that the executive branch of the government could do all of these things, could process immigrants, could refuse immigrants the right to entry, and immigrants had no recourse to the courts,” Cannato said. An immigrant who has not been allowed into the country had no constitutional rights.
“How far do our constitutional rights go?” Cannato asked. “They go to all U.S. citizens. They also go to all non-naturalized people living in the United States. But do they go to terror suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay? Does the constitutional right to due process go to immigrants requesting entry into the United States? Up until recently, the answer has been ‘No.’”
The issue, Cannato said, is the idea of trans-nationalism, holding that national sovereignty is an archaic idea and should be trumped by international law.
“The fear of many people who oppose trans-nationalism is the fear that international law, international treaties could trump democratically made laws in the United States,” Cannato said, “laws made by elected representatives of the United States.
“There really is no solution to the immigration issue,” Cannato said in conclusion, adding that whatever legislation is passed dealing with immigration, the issue will remain.
“It’s part of what it means to live in the modern world. ...”
Cannato is author of “American Passage: A History of Ellis Island,” to be published in June by Harper Collins. According to a press release, the book traces the politics, prejudices and ideologies that surrounded the immigration debate from the late 19th century to the present day, focusing on what it means to be American.