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The Somin Family's D-Day
June 6 is not only the anniversary of D-Day, but also of the Somin family's arrival in America, back in 1979. This post reprints my reflections on that milestone, which I hope remain relevant today.
Today is the anniversary of D-Day, and also of the Somin family's arrival in the United States, way back in 1979. I posted some reflections on that event on the occasion of its fortieth anniversary in 2019. I repost that short piece below, as I think the points made remain relevant, especially in an age of ill-advised pandemic-era migration restrictions, some of which have yet to be lifted:
In addition to being the 75th anniversary of D-Day, today is the 40th anniversary of the Somin family's arrival in America! I wrote about our experience of immigration from the Soviet Union to the United States in this 2010 memoir, written for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), which helped us gain admission to the US, and continues to assist refugees from many parts of the world, to this day.
Reflecting on this experience, I am profoundly grateful to my parents for making the decision to come to the US, and also to those who fought at D-Day, Gettysburg, and elsewhere to establish, expand, and protect the freedoms that make America a haven for immigrants seeking liberty and opportunity from around the world.
Reflection also inspires humility. I am vastly better off than my peers who remained in Russia. But virtually all of that difference is the result of the difference between American institutions and Russian ones, not any merit of mine. We should strive to ensure that more people are able to enjoy liberty and opportunity unconstrained by arbitrary circumstances of ancestry and place of birth.
At its worst, America is susceptible to the same types of ethnic, religious, racial, and nationalistic prejudices as all too many other nations. But at its best, it is the nation where freedom and opportunity can be yours regardless of who your parents were, or where you were born; the nation where immigrants are accepted more fully than in almost any other.
In our time, it is fashionable to assume that only people who are themselves members of a particular identity group can truly understand its experience. If so, perhaps only immigrants can fully grasp the value of immigration. Thus, some readers may assume that my work on the importance of "voting with your feet" and migration rights is an outgrowth of my personal experience.
But, in truth, it began with my engagement with the political economy literature on federalism (which helped me grasp the importance of domestic foot voting). Later, the writings of scholars such as Bryan Caplan, Michael Clemens, and Joseph Carens, helped me see that international migration is an even more significant pathway to expanding human freedom and opportunity; not just one liberty among many, but one of the great issues of our time. To my knowledge, all of them are themselves native-born citizens of western liberal democracies. Yet it was they who enlightened me about the broader significance of migration rights, rather than vice versa.
It is a small, but perhaps telling example of how understanding often comes through logic and evidence, not just personal experience accessible only to members of a particular group. It also offers a measure of hope that we can expand liberty for both immigrants and natives with the help of many who never personally experienced the injustices they seek to end.
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at its best, it is the nation where freedom and opportunity can be yours regardless of who your parents were, or where you were born; the nation where immigrants are accepted more fully than in almost any other.
This is the American exceptionalism that continues to make me proud of my country.
America and Somin have been good to each other. I suggest Ilya stop trying to change it for the worse.
See, DB does make good points.
You should stick to these comments. Concise and relevant.
The utopian leftist malcontent deserves censure for failing to come to terms with this world as it is.
(I’m paraphrasing Joseph Sobran.)
We should have a day to celebrate keeping people out of the USA, not letting them in.
Your day is coming. Inauguration Day, 2025.
I’m not sure if you understand this country you are in.
Do you want to, like, melt down the Statue of Liberty for scrap?
No, just remove that stupid poem about “wretched refuse” that hangs in the gift shop.
Yeah, fuck those early 1900s low-skilled immigrants!
I would never say that. I will say, however, that our needs have changed since then.
I’d suggest an Australia-like system that assigns points based upon needed job skills, level of educational attainment, intent to deposit funds in a US bank, funds to invest in a domestic corporation, intent to start a business that employs citizens and legal permanent residents, or have an entrepreneurial idea that has a reasonable chance of success. The more points, the more likely you are chosen to immigrate. Eliminate all quotas and preferences for country of origin.
There is no shortage or need of more unskilled or low skill workers.
I think this is too short a time horizon to use. Talent can take time (or even a generation) to out. Insisting on full value now is leaving a lot of potential on the table.
Not that this must be the only approach – we already have visas and paths to citizenship based on talent aligned with US job needs. But if we only look at now now now we lose people.
There is no shortage or need of more unskilled or low skill workers.
At the moment, this is not true. We do have a shortage.
Immigration will, I hope, continue to fuel American progress.
Our nation has experienced successive waves of bigotry, authoritarianism, and insularity with respect to immigration — generally motivated by skin color, religion, perceived economic pressure, or nationality — throughout its history.
Those targeted by our lesser voices have included Italians, Jews, Blacks, Asians, Catholics, gays, eastern Europeans, Muslims, women, Hispanics, agnostics, other Asians, atheists, the Irish, other Hispanics — most of America, at one time or another.
The beauty of America is that the bigots don’t win here, at least not over time. And our latest batch of bigots seems nothing special, its reliance on the insights, charms, and integrity of Donald Trump and the Republican Party notwithstanding.
Our nation not only has withstood the onslaught of ravioli, bagels, tacos, egg rolls, Jameson, collard greens, pierogis, lutefisk, sushi, hummus, burritos, and Friday fish frys — but three or four of those would constitute a relatively normal menu at an American middle school these days.
Immigration — like our public school system — is an important element of what has made modern America great. I expect this will continue, as better ideas prevail and the intolerant, the xenophobic, and the authoritarian continue to lose the American culture war.
Let’s hope for more stories that resemble that of the Somins, and for more progress, diversity, inclusiveness, and expansion in America.
Well you can take your lutefisk and… well polite company prevents me from saying what you should do with it.
Setting that aside I really don’t care where people come from, so long as they meet the needs of our country today, hence the list of criteria I suggested.
Where are you that schools would serve sushi? Not that I’m complaining, I’d eat the hell out of that. Come to think of it, I’d kill for some sesame seared Toro Fatty Tuna right now. I do have some A5 Wagyu burning a hole in my freezer. Might just have to have that tomorrow.
The way I see it the whole world has amazing food worth pilfering. I’ll add one more category to my list. If you’re a good chef, from anywhere in any cuisine, come on in. Except for lutefisk, you can keep that nastiness.
You can argue for a ‘buy your way in’ standard. I doubt you will persuade modern America to reject its traditions and become such an elitist country, but you are welcome to try. Just get in line behind the people who earlier argued against admitting the filthy Italians, the lowly Irish, the dirty Blacks, the icky Asians . . . etc.
Not when you look at how many have completely dropped out of the workforce. Many, if not most of them are all working in the cash underground economy. If I had a dollar for every pickup I see go by towing mowers I’d be a rich man. Vast swaths of the country operate that way now. Also far, far more needs to be done to come down hard on businesses that hire illegal labor. Call me crazy but I reserve my care and concern for those both legally here and most importantly those born here. I’d say we have out work cut out for us elevating their standard before we should even think about admitting new numbers to deal with.
Presumably those who meet the elevated criteria I suggest will have kids that also become part of the next generation of business, science, education, etc leaders. That would be the next generation you speak of.
Immigration has nothing to do with the labor participation rate.
I reserve my care and concern for those both legally here and most importantly those born here.
You shouldn’t. Humans are humans. Doesn’t mean you don’t have some nationalist bias, but going pure nativist is a bigotry like any other. One Europe has in spades, and I’d hope America continues to largely avoid. As I said up top, this is what makes America exceptional and I really don’t understand how many people want to discard that.
Presumably those who meet the elevated criteria I suggest will have kids that also become part of the next generation of business, science, education, etc leaders.
Self-made people are a thing; not everything is inherited.
“Immigration has nothing to do with the labor participation rate.”
Umm. No.
If you’re talking about wages, one proven way to increase the labor participation rate is to increase the hourly wages earned. It isn’t surprising that it people are offered more to work, more people choose to work, especially at the lower skilled job levels.
On the other hand, immigration acts to suppress wages. By introducing a larger number of people who are willing to work (especially when these people are used to much lower wages), it means that employers don’t have to raise wages. Those people who may have been prompted to come back to the workforce by higher wages…aren’t.
Essentially immigration redistributes income. Higher wages that would’ve gone to lower and middle class Americans are essentially redistributed between the company owners and managers (more profits!) and the new immigrants.
immigration acts to suppress wages By introducing a larger number of people who are willing to work (especially when these people are used to much lower wages), it means that employers don’t have to raise wages.
This is the Lump of Labor fallacy. Immigrants also demand goods and services.
Higher wages that would’ve gone to lower and middle class Americans are essentially redistributed between the company owners and managers (more profits!) and the new immigrants.
And *this* is conflating middle class and lower class. All those middle class immigrants!
This is the Lump of Labor fallacy.
Uh, no…it isn’t. That fallacy is based on a faulty premise of a fixed amount of available work within a given economy. That wasn’t the premise of his argument. Try again.
“this country you are in”
Roger, you just live here, you are not allowed to have an opinion like that.
Which is why I called for his arrest. Criticism is not oppression, you drama queen.
Who said anything about arrest, you drama queen.
So not allowed means…subject to criticism?
It might sometimes mean illegal but it also means taboo or out of bounds.
You don’t have the power to arrest him so why would I think your dumb criticism meant arrest? No reason, you just wanted to be melodramatic.
Not allowed, but not really with any enforcement? Nice backpedaling.
Your comment above was the same as any snowflake saying speech can be violence, and deserves to be mocked as such. Especially given the crap you were defending.
Go sit down on your fainting couch.
” Roger, you just live here, you are not allowed to have an opinion like that. ”
He is entitled to that opinion, but should expect better Americans — the modern national mainstream — to continue to reject that ugly, stale thinking, just as the bigots and xenophobes have been losers (over time) at the American marketplace of ideas for many decades.
You’re welcome to leave.
How ’bout Columbus day? A day to celebrate a European “discovering” a populated continent and then going on to spread disease among them and enslave them?
You’re free to go back where you came from
So is Roger. They’re the one complaining about immigrants.
He’s
A day that would live in infamy … if anyone gave a damn
You think the country would be better off if Ilya weren’t here?
That’s not just insulting but stupid.
I do think that the USA would be better off without Ilya. He posts anti-American opinions. His idea of Libertarianism is freedom for non-Americans.
The guy who thinks the poem on the Statue of Liberty is not American accuses others of being anti-American.
“You think the country would be better off if Ilya weren’t here?”
The country would neither be better or worse off. He’s a speck of sand like most people.
Are we suffering a shortage of lawyers here? Fewer pixels would have died in vain though.
OK then, Bob.
Why the anger that he’s here? “A day that would live in infamy,” because someone you consider “a speck of sand” lives here?
Loathesome.
Discard all relationships and attachments. All is specks of sand, after all!
Always loved that part of Godfather II when young Vito Andolini arrives in Amurica….
D-Day isn’t about immigration into America.
“We should strive to ensure that more people are able to enjoy liberty and opportunity unconstrained by arbitrary circumstances of ancestry and place of birth.”
I hope you remember this next time you champion “foot voting” over federal action that forces liberty on a state that doesn’t want it.
One size fits all. I know what’s best for three hundred million people. So I get to cram “liberty” down your throat. Great.
So you gonna spill the beans on what “liberty” has you so upset? ’cause if you don’t fess up, I’m just gonna assume you’re horribly offended that Prohibition ended.
I remember D-Day every year as the date my parents married. My Dad was a USAAF Sargent getting ready to go to England as a B-17 crew member.
Conservatives tend to take liberal positions if they “know someone”. Here Ilya is that someone.
> If so, perhaps only immigrants can fully grasp the value of immigration.
Not only the immigrants but those who is struggling in the unfree countries also. You’re looking at the US with both the hope and the envy when last remains of your freedoms and liberties are gone.