Students gathered in the Geddes Coffee House for the penultimate “Pizza, Pop & Politics” discussion of the year hosted by ND Votes ’16, a non-partisan “get out the vote” campaign of the Center for Social Concerns. Tuesday’s discussion was focused on immigration, and two of the university’s leading voices in social science and Latino studies, Luis Fraga and Jennifer Jones, delivered remarks on the history of immigration in America and immigration policy going forward, especially as it pertains to this year’s presidential election.  

Jones, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Latino Studies, began with a brief history of immigration in the United States. She opened by pointing out that 12.9 percent of the United States population, or approximately 40 million people, are foreign born. While this percentage is approximately 2-3 percent lower than in periods of heavy European immigration such as the 1920s, immigration remains as big of an issue now as it was during the mid-1800s or early 1900s. It is the face of immigration that has changed, not the significance. The two main immigrant groups today, according to Jones, are Latin Americans and Muslims.

In making recommendations for the coming election season, Jones pointed out the extreme polarization of immigration on both sides of the aisle. On the Democratic side, Jones said both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders propose open immigration policies more inclusive than those of President Obama, particularly by promoting citizenship and benefits for illegal aliens already in the country. On the Republican side, Jones indicated that all three remaining candidates, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and certainly Donald Trump, support tighter immigration policies than any generation of Republicans before, from building a wall to mass deportation. Finally, Jones articulated that, beyond the effect voting will have in the upcoming presidential election, as states increasingly draft and pass their own immigration legislation, it is becoming more important to get involved in local and state government.

Fraga, Arthur Foundation Endowed Professor in Transformative Latino Leadership and Professor of Political Science, contended that a doctrine of exclusion in immigration can have the effect of creating an inclusive society. He framed his argument by establishing two distinct views of the American creed.

The cultural view contends that the U.S. as a country is hegemonic, obdurate, and requires newcomers to assimilate. The civic understanding is that being an American only requires commitment to the democratic values that we hold dear, such as participation, tolerance, and conflict resolution. This view of America is inherently more pluralistic and evolutionary.

Fraga suggested, however, that it is possible for immigration to achieve a hybrid of the two. Immigration does not have to be at the expense of national identity. Immigrants to America should assimilate to the American values held dear such as democracy and freedom.

Fraga argued that it is possible for the United States to allow immigration, not at the expense of national identity, but as a way to enrich it. That being said, Fraga conceded that in order for a group to have their common good protected, and in order to allow that common good to grow, the group can not include everyone. The opportunity to buy into the common good requires that some people be excluded. Immigration policy in the United States is and has been about determining “who’s in and who’s out.” Fraga suggested that this is where the voters come in.

“[The upcoming election] is an opportunity to determine what vision of the country we have… who we want to be included and who we want to be excluded from that vision and identity,” Fraga said.

The leadership elected in 2016 will be sworn in to a contentious political environment. Immigration is just one of many issues that are considered the most important during this election season.

Professor Fraga pointed out that in all issues, “The choices you’re making today will have direct implications for what your country will be like. The choices you make today have tremendous consequences.”

Freshman Sarah Morris told the Rover, “I liked the stress placed upon voting in this election because it will have broad implications for the America of the future.”

ND Votes will hold the fifth and final “Pizza, Pop & Politics” discussion on Tuesday, April 19 to discuss foreign policy.

Keenan White is a freshman living in Ryan Hall. You can contact her at kwhite11@nd.edu.