immigration jews
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7/30/2019 Immigration Jews
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The United States is a nation built by immigrants, beginning with
the frst European settlers. Each successive wave o immigration has
challenged Americans to reconsider and expand their defnition o who
is American, rom the German immigrants o the early 19th century, the
Jewish and Mediterranean immigrants o the early 20th century, to the
Arican, Indian, and Mexican immigrants o the late 20th century.
Many laws -- including the Chinese Exclusion Act o 1882 and the
Immigration Act o 1924 -- restricted the number o immigrants who were
not rom Northern or Western Europe. These quotas were designed to keep
out racial and cultural “undesirables,” such as Asians, Jews, and Italians.
Current law provides or three primary categories o people eligible to
immigrate to the U.S.:
Individuals seeking to rejoin amily membersPeople who possess certain work skills
Those who seek entry or humanitarian reasons (i.e. reugees)
Roughly one million legal immigrants are admitted to the U.S. each year.
The Institute or Jewish Leadership and Values o
Immigration“When strangers sojourn with
you in your land, you shall not
do them wrong. The strangers who
sojourn with you shall be to you as
the natives among you, and you shal
love them as yourself; for you wer
strangers in the land of Egypt”
- Leviticus 19:3
Immigration History
From the beginning o America’s history, American attitudes towards immigration have dieredbetween hospitality and hostility – between the impulse to welcome new immigrants andthe desire to limit immigration to protect the interests o those already here.
16%
14%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
1850 1890 1910 1950 1970 2010
U.S. Foreign-born Population
12%
Is immigration beneficial or detrimental to the United States?Some argue that because it is perceived that immigrants are willing to work
or less money than American citizens, their presence artifcially orces wages
down and that immigrants take jobs that citizens would otherwise fll.
Proponents o immigration assert
that most immigrants take jobs that
are so menial and low paying that
most Americans would not accept them
anyway, and that the low-cost labor
that immigrants provide helps to keep
many small U.S. companies in business.
Some advocates or limiting immigration claim that those immigrants n
arriving rom places like Asia and Latin America are not assimilating.
Social and economic conditions in the U.S. play an important role in
determining the openness o America’s borders. Immigrants are oten
used as scapegoats during times o economic hardship.
7/30/2019 Immigration Jews
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Refugees
Under U.S. law a reugee is defned as a person who has a
“well-ounded ear” o being persecuted or reasons o race, religion,
nationality, or membership (or perceived membership) in a particular
social or political group, AND who is unable (or too araid) to seek the
protection o his or her country o nationality.
There are somewhere between 12-15 million people worldwide who
can be classifed as reugees, most o whom come rom countries withrepressive political regimes where internal conict has put them in
danger. The President, in consultation with Congress, determines how
many reugees will be admitted each year. In the years ollowing the
September 11th attacks, the U.S. admitted between 25,000-75,000
reugees each year, down rom over 120,000 per year in the 1990s.
Immigration Reform
Enorcement advocates argue that the illegal immigrant issue
could be resolved through stronger border security, enorcement
o existing laws, and measures that discourage people without
documentation to enter or stay in the U.S.
Comprehensive reorm advocates argue that stronger
enorcement must be accompanied by providing more paths
to legal immigration. They argue that it is unrealistic and
economically unwise to detain and deport millions o individuals
who are here without documentation and that the government
should provide a way or those already here to earn citizenship.
Advocates on both sides o the immigration debate agree that
the current system is “broken.” Approaches to reorm generally
all into the categories o “comprehensive” or “border security
and enorcement-only.”
Illegal Immigration
Much o the recent ocus on immigration has been on people who
enter the United States without proper documentation, alternately
reerred to as “undocumented migrants” or “illegal al iens.” In the
1980s, the rising numbers o illegal immigrants, especially rom
Central America, caused widespread concern. In response, Congress
passed the Immigration Control and Reorm Act o 1986, which
granted legal status to aliens who entered the U.S. prior to 1982,
while at the same time stiening penalties or employers hiring
illegal aliens.
There are approximately twelve million individuals currently living in
the U.S. without legal status.
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Having moved from country to country for
thousands of years, Jews are acutely sensitive
to the moral and historical underpinnings of
immigration. Abraham became the first Jew
when he traveled from the land of his birth to
a new land to begin a new life and a new faith.
Even then, when there was famine in the land
of Canaan both he and his grandson Jacob went
to the more fertile and prosperous Egypt to find
food. Although Jewish life is strongly rooted to
the Land of Israel, Jewish
communities have been planted all over the globe
there are modern day Jewish communities across
the world on nearly every continent. When
previously welcoming nations turned hostile to
their Jewish inhabitants, Jews had to rely on the
generosity of other countries for refuge and a
place to build a new life. Because so many Jews
escaped persecution and found a better life in the
U.S., most American Jews have been strong advocat
for generous immigration policies.
Jewish Perspectives
Hachnasat Orchim, Hospitality
The sages o the Talmud praised Abraham not only or his
monotheism but or his exceptional hospitality. In Genesis 18,
Abraham rushes to welcome and eed three strangers who appear
in the heat o the day. Following Abraham’s example, they taught
“Let your house be opened wide...on the north, south, east and
west”(Avot d’Rabbi Natan 1:7).
This value could be applied to the opening o our country,
prosperous and spacious, to immigrants rom all corners o the
globe. This value could also be interpreted as requiring us to
ensure that we are able to provide or any guests who are
welcomed to our “home.”
“Rescue the poor and needy”
The ethics o Judaism demand a compassionate approach to the poor,
“Rescue the poor and needy,” pleads the Psalmist. (Psalm 82:4).
According to the Talmud, poverty is the worst disease in the world,
and one o the greatest acts o humanity, equivalent to the ulfllment
o all other commandments, is the giving o charity (Bava Batra 9a).
Like the Jewish immigrants o 1880-1925, most modern immigrants
to the United States seek a better lie and to escape rom poverty.
Some argue that allowing people easy entry into the United States
is a orm o tzedakah, helping them to help themselves.
“You shall not stand idly by”
– Refugees
Reugees, eeing oppression or threat o danger, appeal to our
ethical sensibilities, our sense o justice, and Judaism commands
us to help them: “You shall not stand idly by while your neighbor
bleeds”(Leviticus 19:16).
The prophet Isaiah urged Jews to actively ree the enslaved and
rescue the oppressed:“ Loosen the bonds o wickedness; untie the
bands o the yoke; set the oppressed ree, and break every yoke”
(Isaiah 58:6).
“You shall not return to his master a slave who has escaped. He
shall live with you...in the place that he chooses...you may not
wrong him” (Deuteronomy 23:16). Some argue that just as we may
not return an escaped slave to his master, we also must not return a
person eeing oppression to their country or origin.
Since the time o the Exodus rom Egypt, Jewish values have
dictated concern or reugees:
The limits of responsibility
According to Maimonides, our obligation is frst towards those
immediately around us, then to those in other cities and lands.
(Mishnah Torah, Laws of Charity, 7:13).
Some argue that until poverty is eliminated in America, we are
under no obligation to aid the poor o oreign countries by bringing
them here.
“Let a man be generous in his charities,” warns the Talmud, “but let
him beware o giving away all that he has” (Arakhin 28a).
Judaism commands us to protect the vulnerable and sustain the
needy, to do justice and to strive or righteousness. However, we
are not necessarily obligated to do so at the expense o our own
protection and sustenance, nor are we obligated to import poverty.
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T a k i n ga c t i o n
There are diferent ways that you can helpaddress the challenges we ace with theimmigration–through service (avodah dcear ),philanthropy (tzedakah dwcv ) and advocacy(tzedek wcv ). Below is a small menu o ideas.
Service/Avodah
Philanthropy/Tzedakah
Advocacy/Tzedek
Think and Discuss:1) Immigration-related issues divide policy makers and political activists on many ronts. There are tens o thousands o undocumented immigrant teenagers who graduate rom
American high schools each year. Many o these students dream o attending college, yet their immigration status bars them rom many resources (including in-state tuition to local
universities and ederal fnancial aid). Do you think that these high school graduates should have access to fnancial aid? Should it matter which country they are rom or why they arein the U.S.?
2) As American Jews, our understanding o the history o America’s immigration policy includes events such as the turning away o the Jewish passengers aboard the ship the St. Louis,
which was sent back to Europe causing most o its passengers to perish in the Holocaust, and then the signifcant number o Soviet Jews who arrived on American shores in the late
1980s and early 1990s. Nevertheless, some Jews do ear that the rate o both legal and illegal immigration has exploded and must be curbed. How do those two events in the history
o Jewish Immigration in America rame your thinking around immigration today? Why should an immigrant ever be turned away?
3) Recent attempts to limit the benefts received by illegal immigrants also raise important ethical questions: Do those who are violating civil law qualiy as “strangers or special
protection and sensitivity”? Is it in the best interest o American citizens to protect their own jobs, quality o lie and incomes by denying services to illegal immigrants? I Americans
deny health services to the children o illegal immigrants, do we violate the all-important commandment o pikuach nefesh– to save lives at practically any cost?
4) In the age o terrorism, how do we ocus on and enhance America’s sense o security while staying committed to immigrants and reugees? Does our understandable ear o terrorist
attacks and the act that we have tens o thousands o troops stationed in Aghanistan and Iraq justiy a closed door policy towards immigrants in general? What about a closed door
policy or people rom specifc countries?
dcear
dwcv
wcv
Tutor new immigrants in English.
Form a buddy program at your school or students who have recently
arrived in the U.S.
Volunteer or a local organization that works with reugees.
Contact local immigrant service and reugee organizations to
learn about their needs. Your local Federation’s Jewish Family and
Children’s Services works with reugees o all backgrounds.
Immigrants live in nearly every community in the United States.
When immigrants with reugee status frst arrive, they have only a
ew months to get settled into a home and fnd work beore ederal
fnancial support runs out. Reugee centers seek the generosity
o the community to help care or and settle these amilies. Some
direct service you could provide includes:
Raise money or local organizations that serve immigrantsand reugees.
Donate to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), the Jewish
community’s primary organization working on immigration issues.
Their Young Leaders program has opportunities to get involved.
The ollowing are some advocacy organizations on both sides o the
Immigration debate:
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (www.hias.org) advocates on behal o
immigrants and reugees at the international, national and community levels.
HIAS provides advice and counseling, political advocacy, legal representation
and has resettled millions o Jews rom around the world.
National Immigration Forum (www.immigrationforum.org)
advocates or the value o immigrants and immigration to the nation.
NIF works to aect public policy, uniy amilies, and encourage naturalization.
The Center or Immigration Studies (www.cis.org) studies the
consequences o legal and illegal immigration into the United States.
CIS advocates or a “low-immigration, pro-immigrant” vision o an America
that admits ewer immigrants but aords a warmer welcome or those who
are admitted.
National Council o La Raza (www.nclr.org) is the premier Latino rights
organization. NCLR calls or nondiscriminatory immigration policies at theborders and within the United States. They monitor access and eciency
o naturalization process, and oppose guest worker programs and supports
migrant and seasonal arm workers.
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