(First article in a series)

by Dick Hall-Sizemore

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

                                    Emma Lazarus

How quaint!

Today’s sentiments toward immigrants range from Donald Trump labeling them as “animals” who have been released from prisons and insane asylums to subsequently “plunder, rape, slaughter, and [destroy] our American suburbs, cities, and towns” and “poison the blood of our country” to Joe Biden instituting restrictions on asylum when the 7-day average of crossings exceeds 2,500.

In 2022, the size of the foreign-born population in the United States was estimated to be 47.9 million people, about 14.3 percent of the total population, which was below the high of 14.8 percent in 1890. Of those 47.9 million, 23.4 million, 49 percent, were naturalized citizens. There were 11.5 million (23 percent) lawful permanent residents and two million (four percent) temporary lawful residents. The remaining 11 million (23 percent) were undocumented. The undocumented constituted about 3.3 percent of the total U.S. population in 2022.

In its American Community Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates there were 1,163,486 foreign-born residents in Virginia in 2023. Of that group, 662,372, or 57 percent, were naturalized U.S. citizens. The data does not break down the 501,114 foreign-born who were not U.S. citizens into how many were legal residents or undocumented immigrants.

This four-part series presents a case for easing restrictions on immigration. This first article in the series is a short history of the open-border policy that the United States followed in the past. Subsequent articles will lay out the humanitarian and economic arguments for open borders and address the objections to doing so.

I want to be clear up front. I support open borders. The only immigrants prevented from entering this country should be those with highly communicable diseases, those with a violent criminal record, and those who pose a national-security risk.

Open borders does not mean that anyone can just waltz into the country. Anyone intending to migrate to the United States would still need to enter at an approved port of entry. There they would be processed—fingerprinted, given a medical exam, undergo a background check (criminal and national security), and, if cleared, issued a green card entitling them to permanent residency in the United States. They would also be eligible for citizenship in accordance with the current procedures for becoming a citizen.

Under an open borders policy, there would still be the need for border security. Border Patrol officers would screen those seeking admittance for criminal records and national security risks and would intercept the smuggling of illegal items such as drugs and weapons into the United States.

This series of four articles does not purport to compare the immigration records and proposals of Trump with those of Obama, Biden, and Harris. I dislike the policies of all four. I do provide evidence refuting Trump’s characterizations of immigrants as a group.

Finally, under federal law, there are various classifications of people coming into the United States from foreign countries to stay long-term (“immigrants”). Depending on the context, in these articles, the term “immigrant” can refer to (a) all immigrants, regardless of legal status or (b) people in this country without legal authorization, those waiting for a determination on their requests for asylum, and those who are trying to get to the border or who have gotten there and are waiting to be processed. When the context is not clear, I have tried to specify which category of immigrants is being referred to.

Open borders is not a novel or radical position. In fact, it was the approach taken by the United States for the first 140 years of its history as an independent nation. 

After the United States gained its independence, it was a destination for millions of immigrants. The Pew Research Center has identified three major “waves” of immigration to the United States. The first wave was 1840-1889, the North Europe wave. It began with about half a million Irish, fleeing the Potato Famine. (Eventually, by 1930, 4.5 million Irish had come to the United States.) Also included in the first wave were 4.3 million Germans, most of them making their way to the Midwest.

The Southern/Eastern Europe wave was next, (1890-1919). It consisted mostly of Italians (3.8 million), Austrian-Hungarians (3.7 million), and Russians and Poles (3.2 million). Pew labeled the third wave, Modern Era. It began in 1965 and continues until today. The countries of origin of the third wave are decidedly different from those of the prior waves. Immigrants from Latin America, primarily Mexico, constitute the largest segment of the third wave, but there are also sizable numbers of immigrants from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, along with Europe.

Up until 1875, states were responsible for regulating immigration. A Supreme Court decision that year declared it was a federal responsibility. From 1855 to 1890, the state of New York alone admitted about eight million immigrants. 

After the federal government assumed control of immigration, the major point of entry was Ellis Island in New York City. From 1892 to 1954, when it was finally closed, more than 12 million immigrants were processed at Ellis Island.

It was not open borders in the sense that anyone could come in undeterred. Immigrants could be detained and deported if they exhibited one of any number of health problems or were criminals, Bolsheviks, or judged to be “immoral.” It is estimated that 20 percent of the immigrants inspected at Ellis Island were temporarily detained, half for health reasons and half for legal reasons. About two percent were ultimately prohibited entry.

Not all the immigrants that came to America during this period were processed at Ellis Island. Other ports of entry were Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Furthermore, not all those coming into New York had to be processed at Ellis Island. If one had a first- or second-class steamship ticket, it was assumed that he or she was a worthy immigrant and were given only a cursory inspection on the ship before being allowed to enter the country without having to go to Ellis Island.

The only group of immigrants to whom the border was not open were the Chinese. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 barring Chinese immigrants. Of course, this was after Chinese immigrants had proven to be essential in building the Transcontinental Railroad.

In 1921, Congress passed the first “Quota Act,” setting up a quota system to limit the number and country of origin of immigrants admitted each year. The second wave, along with the open-door policy, was over. While it was in effect, about 32.5 million immigrants arrived in this country.

Trump and his followers frequently complain of an “invasion” of immigrants. If one ignores the rhetoric and examines the data, he would discover that the recent increase in immigration to the United States is relatively smaller than it was at the beginning of the 20^th century. In 2023, immigrants (all categories, including undocumented) are estimated to constitute 14.3 percent of the total U.S. population. In contrast, in 1870, immigrants made up 14.4 percent of the U.S. population; in 1890, 14.8 percent; and, in 1910, 14.7 percent.

In 1907, a little more than one million immigrants were processed at Ellis Island. On April 17, 1907, immigration authorities processed 11,747 newcomers. On an average day, they processed 5,000. That is in sharp contrast to Biden’s plan to shut down the border for those seeking asylum when illegal daily crossings exceed a seven-day average of 2,500.

Gov. Greg Abbot of Texas delights in sending immigrants to New York City in buses, saying that towns in Texas are overrun with immigrants. Although it has not resorted to this argument, New York City could credibly respond by saying that it had already done more than its fair share in sheltering immigrants in the past. In 1910, “an estimated three-quarters of New York City’s population consisted of new immigrants and first-generation Americans.”

In summary, for much of its history, the United States has had an open-door, or open-borders, policy and has not only survived, but done quite well.

(Next article in series: Undocumented immigrants: How many? Who are they?  Why do they come?  How do they get here?)