Compromise needed on immigration

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It’s hard to read anything so much as fear and anxiety in the results of the latest Rural Poll published by the Center for Applied Rural Innovation at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Some confusion, too.

Fifty-six percent of rural Nebraskans polled disagree with the statement that in general, immigration from Latin America has been good for rural Nebraska. Fourteen percent agree.

Given that a good portion of the economic growth in many rural counties has been associated with immigration and industries that employ immigrants, that’s surprising — even confounding.

The poll was conducted among people who live in 84 Nebraska counties outside those surrounding Lincoln, Omaha and South Sioux City. 

Coincidentally, or perhaps not, 56 percent of the people polled agree that an undocumented immigrant who has been working and paying taxes for five years or more should be allowed to apply for citizenship. A minority, 29 percent, disagree. Sixteen percent were neutral.

So 56 percent think Latino immigration isn’t helpful to the community, and an equal proportion think we ought to reward the industrious but undocumented immigrant with a shot at citizenship.

Miguel Carranza, professor of sociology and ethnic studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was part of the research team who worked on the survey. He interprets these apparently contradictory responses as evidence of uncertainty among people seeing their communities change.

“I think people haven’t thought about what impact immigrants have on their community, because they don’t see them as assets,” Carranza said in an interview. 

“They know nationally there’s this big concern about policing our borders. But in a lot of communities, there’s a lot of non-contact.  

“People suddenly see immigration as overwhelming their communities and aren’t quite sure what’s happening next. 

“There is no doubt some concern or fear, but I think there is a sizable number of rural Nebraskans who say what do we do? Given some direction and leadership from local governments, county governments and state governments, it’s clear to me immigrants can be an asset to economic growth. It’s not going to happen without planning, and it’s not going to happen passively.”

We agree. Times, numbers and nations of origin may change, but this cannot be much different from earlier cycles of immigration. Nebraskans in small communities feel as though they’re going to be overwhelmed. 

Now that all the tough-talking demagoguery of the midterm elections can be set aside, perhaps Congress might be bothered to address it in a realistic way.

“We had a lot of political posturing on the topic of immigration,” Carranza said. “Now it is imperative for Congress and other policymakers to face the issue of immigration —  not just security, but health care and education. 

“Politics played into it, and nobody was going to stick their neck out and look at immigration in an innovative way. 

“I’m optimistic, especially now, there will be much more negotiation, compromise and a good immigration policy will come out of it.”