Worthy and Unworthy Immigrant Stories

From December 27 – January 2^nd the Grand Rapids Press ran a series of stories featuring recent immigrants who have started there own business in West Michigan. The articles tell compelling stories about people who have been able to achieve some success after coming to this country.

Yesterday, Press Business Editor Nancy Crawley’s column commented on these recent stories and added her own thoughts on what lessons we can learn from these recent immigrants.

The first “lesson” Crawley identifies is that the recent immigrants featured in the Press series “delivered a message loud and clear about the grit and courage needed to get where they are.” In other words, if anyone is to succeed they just need to have courage and work hard. If that is the case, what do you call migrant workers who spent 10-12 hours a day in the fields making below poverty wages?

Clearly, it takes grit to work in the hot sun, doing back-breaking work, with no benefits and often living in substandard housing. Many of these workers travel long distances and sometimes leave families behind to do this seasonal work. Could we call that courageous?

“Though this area is often criticized as not welcoming to newcomers, these business people were delighted and surprised at the well wishes and kindness they received after their stories were published.”  This was the second lesson that Crawley identifies in her column. It is true that not all immigrants are treated badly, but the fact that the people featured in the Press series are business owners and not workers might have something to do with the public response to their presence.

There is a tremendous amount of anti-immigrant sentiment that exists in this country and in this community. Recent immigrants are often blamed for taking away jobs for “real Americans,” even though quite often the work that recent immigrants do is work that most Americans who are born here would never do.

Crawley’s column, like much of the economic coverage in the Grand Rapids Press, focuses on what the business community does to benefit West Michigan. However, there are far more recent immigrants who are workers in this community than business owners. What would a series of stories in the Press about these people look like? Would it present them as people with grit and courage? Would they get the same kind of positive feedback from readers as the immigrant entrepreneurs?

These recent immigrant workers would be easy to find and would have compelling stories about what they have endured to come to this country. Many of these recent immigrant workers will be at a public meeting for immigrant rights this Tuesday (January 12, 7pm). This is an open meeting at Nuevo Esperanza Church located at 100 Burton SE in Grand Rapids. Maybe Nancy Crawley could send some of her reporters to talk with these immigrants and see what lessons could be learned.