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Integration Nation: Immigrants, Refugees and America at Its Best

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Susan Eaton’s Integration Nation movingly reminds us that we each have choices to make about how to think and act in the face of the rapid cultural transformation that has reshaped the United States.

Image courtesy of interviewee. March 20, 2024

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This video video discusses the author's observations and research related to immigration in the United States, particularly in the context of rising tensions and anti-immigration sentiments, especially during Donald Trump's campaign. The author notes a contrasting reality on the ground, where many communities are welcoming immigrants and creating inclusive programs that foster integration rather than assimilation. Highlighting successful examples from various states, the author emphasizes the importance of community-driven initiatives that support both immigrants and existing residents.

The author stresses that divisive rhetoric from leaders exacerbates polarization and fear, leading to negative consequences such as increased hate crimes. They argue for the significance of constructive public leadership that encourages understanding and cooperation, rather than division. The discussion advocates for the benefits of integration, which involves mutual adaptation between immigrants and native communities, improving social relations and community strength.

Ultimately, the author aims to convey a hopeful narrative that counters dominant negative perspectives on immigration, showcasing ordinary people and local initiatives that foster positive outcomes. The message is that when communities embrace diversity and provide opportunities for all, everyone benefits, leading to stronger and healthier societies.

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X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

00:00.000 --> 00:00.610
Motivated.

00:00.610 --> 00:02.365
This book was actually the campaign

00:02.425 --> 00:06.285
of Donald Trump in some ways in which we were hearing

00:06.865 --> 00:09.805
the type of rhetoric, coming out of that campaign

00:09.805 --> 00:11.765
that was really disturbing.

00:12.545 --> 00:13.925
Um, so it was that,

00:14.025 --> 00:17.645
and also the spate of anti-immigration laws

00:17.645 --> 00:20.085
that really swept through certain parts

00:20.085 --> 00:21.765
of the United States, such as Arizona

00:21.825 --> 00:24.885
and some of the southern states that was making it easier

00:25.345 --> 00:28.405
for authorities to deport immigrants

00:28.545 --> 00:33.085
or just make it distasteful that make their lives harder.

00:33.145 --> 00:35.245
So that the idea being that they would want to leave.

00:35.785 --> 00:36.805
And what I felt

00:36.945 --> 00:38.485
and knew from my travels

00:38.485 --> 00:42.045
around the country doing research on school integration

00:42.465 --> 00:45.525
and language issues around, migrant children,

00:46.085 --> 00:48.125
I saw something different happening on the ground.

00:48.345 --> 00:51.005
And that was people welcoming immigrants, happy

00:51.005 --> 00:52.765
to have immigrants in their communities,

00:53.305 --> 00:56.605
and working alongside immigrants and immigrants

00:56.825 --> 01:01.045
and immigrant supporters to create programs and policies

01:01.065 --> 01:02.845
and practices that would

01:03.375 --> 01:05.765
bring immigrants into the existing community

01:05.785 --> 01:07.645
and also adapt to immigrants.

01:07.645 --> 01:10.205
And so I saw these things happening all across the country

01:10.265 --> 01:11.325
in a variety of ways,

01:11.745 --> 01:14.125
and I felt like that story wasn't being told.

01:14.385 --> 01:16.205
So at the time, I,

01:16.305 --> 01:18.725
had received a grant actually from the Kellogg Foundation

01:18.725 --> 01:20.525
and also one from the Ford Foundation,

01:20.945 --> 01:23.845
and I was working at an institute at Harvard Law School.

01:24.145 --> 01:27.685
And the point of the point of our research project was

01:27.705 --> 01:31.085
to document different practices around the country

01:31.555 --> 01:34.605
that were leading to both racial integration of students,

01:34.705 --> 01:36.925
mostly within K through 12 public schools.

01:37.505 --> 01:41.605
And alongside that integration strategies, in places

01:41.835 --> 01:45.325
that were, experiencing demographic change.

01:45.505 --> 01:48.845
And that demographic change was quite often the result of,

01:48.945 --> 01:51.045
increased immigration to the area

01:51.265 --> 01:53.925
or mi in migration within the United States

01:53.985 --> 01:55.525
to different areas of the country.

01:55.915 --> 01:58.525
Some of it, I mean, certainly, in different places

01:58.595 --> 02:00.605
that I went to, such as Lewiston, Maine,

02:00.665 --> 02:03.285
was a really good example of where I spent days

02:03.285 --> 02:05.285
and days at the, at the local library,

02:05.305 --> 02:06.765
really reading local histories

02:06.765 --> 02:10.245
and trying to understand oftentimes the migration

02:10.245 --> 02:11.685
that everybody is talking about,

02:11.825 --> 02:14.205
and it's all worked up over either in positive

02:14.225 --> 02:17.365
or negative ways, is not the first example of,

02:17.465 --> 02:19.045
of migration and immigrants.

02:19.045 --> 02:22.205
And so wanting to understand in every place that I went to,

02:22.235 --> 02:24.525
what was the history of migration in this place,

02:24.865 --> 02:26.005
who built these industries,

02:26.025 --> 02:27.725
who was working in these factories

02:27.725 --> 02:30.445
that I see along the shore that are now shut down?

02:31.025 --> 02:34.045
The owners today of many of the businesses, you know,

02:34.045 --> 02:37.005
that were employing immigrants often came from

02:37.005 --> 02:38.365
immigrant families themselves.

02:38.465 --> 02:41.365
And so trying to understand that context,

02:41.505 --> 02:43.765
was really important in trying to explain it to people

02:43.765 --> 02:47.245
that this is, that the context is obviously changed,

02:47.625 --> 02:50.245
but the idea of, of migration

02:50.305 --> 02:53.405
or the reality of migration is, is not new

02:53.555 --> 02:57.765
because leaders choose to activate,

02:58.305 --> 03:01.445
you know, this kind of impulse that a lot of people have,

03:01.785 --> 03:05.405
of fear, fear of something that's different, fear

03:05.405 --> 03:07.685
that something that's going to get taken away from 'em.

03:08.185 --> 03:10.925
Um, exaggerating crime, for example,

03:11.035 --> 03:14.565
when actually migrants on average, you know,

03:15.425 --> 03:18.885
commit far fewer share of crimes, you know,

03:18.885 --> 03:20.925
based on their population,

03:21.305 --> 03:23.445
and that they're more likely to start businesses

03:23.625 --> 03:25.845
and the presence of immigrants are more likely

03:25.905 --> 03:27.365
to make a community safe.

03:27.985 --> 03:30.205
So I, so I think, so I think that

03:30.205 --> 03:33.845
that is a big reason why there's that level of polarization

03:33.845 --> 03:36.245
that it gets activated by our leaders.

03:36.825 --> 03:38.045
And I think that leadership

03:38.045 --> 03:41.805
and public leadership can play a huge role in either,

03:42.545 --> 03:46.045
you know, tempering the debate being more constructive

03:46.145 --> 03:49.245
or being divisive, which unfortunately is happening now.

03:49.665 --> 03:53.285
And I think that it's important to separate out sort

03:53.285 --> 03:57.525
of what's happening at the border versus, you know,

03:57.975 --> 03:59.845
there are community, you know,

04:00.685 --> 04:02.565
ordinary communities all across the country

04:03.115 --> 04:07.445
that have large shares of immigrants, and refugees

04:08.185 --> 04:11.445
and making sure that their lives are stable,

04:11.515 --> 04:13.885
that they're safe, that they're healthy, that they're able

04:13.885 --> 04:16.525
to thrive, that they're attached, you know,

04:16.525 --> 04:19.165
that they're given the resources that they need or

04:19.525 --> 04:21.645
provided the conditions that they need to thrive

04:22.305 --> 04:24.645
is a separate issue from, you know,

04:24.645 --> 04:26.445
what is happening at the border right now.

04:26.985 --> 04:28.405
And so sometimes those things,

04:28.455 --> 04:32.325
especially when you've got irresponsible leadership,

04:32.905 --> 04:34.005
that's xenophobic

04:34.185 --> 04:38.445
and racist, those two things get muddled together.

04:39.105 --> 04:41.245
Um, and so that's why you're seeing, you know,

04:41.245 --> 04:44.245
things like reports of increases in hate crimes in

04:44.245 --> 04:46.445
communities where you haven't seen as much of that.

04:46.905 --> 04:50.525
And so that's why I think it's become a divisive issue.

04:50.595 --> 04:54.925
It's easy, it's e it's an easy thing for a weak leader

04:55.065 --> 04:58.405
to do, is to divide people by pointing to another

04:58.545 --> 05:00.965
and blaming that other for

05:02.045 --> 05:03.445
whatever might have be happening in their

05:03.445 --> 05:04.645
lives that they're not happy with.

05:05.065 --> 05:07.845
One it means is something different from assimilation.

05:07.965 --> 05:12.605
I mean, the idea of assimilation is that a person who is new

05:12.605 --> 05:13.805
to a community comes in

05:13.985 --> 05:17.445
and has to kind of absorb the culture and the habits

05:17.625 --> 05:19.365
and the traditions,

05:19.385 --> 05:22.405
and the ways of life of that place, right?

05:22.705 --> 05:27.325
As opposed to integration, which is I think a more positive,

05:27.545 --> 05:31.765
concept in which everybody has to adapt to some degree.

05:32.185 --> 05:35.765
For example, I wrote a, I wrote in my book,

05:35.775 --> 05:40.525
about a community in North Carolina where they realized

05:40.635 --> 05:44.325
that their way of doing healthcare expecting immigrants

05:44.325 --> 05:46.845
and migrants, some of whom may have been undocumented,

05:46.875 --> 05:48.565
just come to them when they had a health

05:48.565 --> 05:50.005
problem, was not working.

05:50.225 --> 05:53.445
And so they looked at models in Latin America that worked,

05:53.655 --> 05:55.405
where people who were trusted members

05:55.425 --> 05:56.965
of the community went out and,

05:56.970 --> 05:59.205
and built relationships with folks.

05:59.545 --> 06:02.445
And that greatly increased the health,

06:02.665 --> 06:05.365
of the immigrant community and also the community at large.

06:05.465 --> 06:07.485
And so that's another example.

06:07.865 --> 06:11.285
Um, two-Way immersion programs, for example, when,

06:11.815 --> 06:15.805
which I studied in Utah for my book, where, instead

06:15.925 --> 06:17.005
of bringing kids in

06:17.005 --> 06:19.645
and saying, all right, you don't speak English,

06:19.645 --> 06:22.005
you're just gonna spend all your time learning English,

06:22.265 --> 06:26.485
that's it developed program, the better way is

06:26.485 --> 06:31.015
to develop programs in which you've got, native speakers

06:31.015 --> 06:33.295
of English and native speakers of Spanish to together

06:34.215 --> 06:37.575
learning both content and then learning those two languages

06:37.605 --> 06:40.735
from each other have been wildly successful.

06:40.835 --> 06:42.175
Not just in teaching English,

06:42.595 --> 06:46.175
but in ensuring that kids do well in math and science

06:46.275 --> 06:49.415
and social studies, and also developing those social

06:49.415 --> 06:51.215
relationships, which are really important

06:51.245 --> 06:55.815
because we all live in, we all need to live together in,

06:56.115 --> 06:57.815
in one society, right?

06:58.315 --> 07:01.375
Um, in a pluralistic society.

07:02.035 --> 07:05.495
And I think that, if we live in a place

07:05.495 --> 07:06.975
where everyone has the opportunity

07:06.975 --> 07:08.335
to thrive, we all benefit.

07:08.635 --> 07:11.495
Living in a divided society is bad for everybody.

07:11.605 --> 07:15.535
It's bad for democracy in the in conditions

07:15.535 --> 07:18.935
where there really is true integration can actually occur,

07:19.555 --> 07:22.495
is more likely to build friendships among young people,

07:23.075 --> 07:24.615
positive relationships

07:24.875 --> 07:26.815
and reduce stereotypes and reduce racism.

07:27.235 --> 07:28.735
And that is good for everyone.

07:28.935 --> 07:32.775
I hope that readers find hope in this book.

07:32.995 --> 07:35.575
Um, and an alternative story to

07:35.685 --> 07:37.615
what is going on can be very overwhelming

07:37.915 --> 07:39.375
to open up the newspaper

07:39.515 --> 07:43.455
and see, you know, an increase in hate crimes.

07:43.915 --> 07:45.775
The rhetoric about immigration

07:45.915 --> 07:48.695
and immigration is a problem, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

07:49.395 --> 07:54.055
Um, and, and yet be in a local community, right,

07:54.145 --> 07:57.015
where there may be increasing shares of immigrants

07:57.675 --> 08:00.495
and feel like they wanna be a welcoming

08:00.635 --> 08:02.615
person, a decent person.

08:03.275 --> 08:06.775
So I think that the book is for the ordinary person,

08:06.895 --> 08:08.015
because a lot of the people

08:08.015 --> 08:10.255
that I write about in this book are not

08:10.395 --> 08:11.615
big political figures.

08:11.645 --> 08:14.695
They are ordinary people, many of whom were nonpartisan,

08:14.945 --> 08:18.935
folks, not very political, who started up programs

08:19.035 --> 08:23.015
and began practices and advocated for, for more sensible

08:23.155 --> 08:25.855
and humanistic policies in their communities.

08:25.915 --> 08:29.255
So that, and to give kind of existence proofs

08:29.475 --> 08:32.535
to other places and people in other communities to see,

08:32.535 --> 08:35.535
well, look, look, Fort Wayne, Indiana was able to do this

08:35.605 --> 08:37.615
with their Burmese community.

08:37.875 --> 08:38.935
Um, okay.

08:38.995 --> 08:41.095
In Lewiston, Maine, we had,

08:41.795 --> 08:44.135
growth in the Somali population.

08:44.875 --> 08:45.975
Now you would think that

08:45.975 --> 08:48.455
that would be incredibly challenging, and it was.

08:48.835 --> 08:52.415
And yet there are some examples of really positive,

08:52.415 --> 08:54.615
things that have happened, constructive things that have

08:54.775 --> 08:56.685
Happened in that community, for example.

08:57.505 --> 09:02.125
So that's what I'm hoping to bring is examples, real life

09:02.725 --> 09:07.085
concrete examples of a way that is better than dividing

09:07.085 --> 09:07.885
and living in fear.

00:00 - Motivated. This book was actually the campaign of Donald Trump in some ways in which we were hearing the type of rhetoric, coming out of that campaign that was really disturbing. so it was that,

00:14 - and also the spate of anti-immigration laws that really swept through certain parts of the United States, such as Arizona and some of the southern states that was making it easier for authorities to deport immigrants or just make it distasteful that make their lives harder. So that the idea being that they would want to leave. And what I felt and knew from my travels around the country doing research on school integration

00:42 - and language issues around, migrant children, I saw something different happening on the ground. And that was people welcoming immigrants, happy to have immigrants in their communities, and working alongside immigrants and immigrants and immigrant supporters to create programs and policies and practices that would bring immigrants into the existing community and also adapt to immigrants. And so I saw these things happening all across the country

01:10 - in a variety of ways, and I felt like that story wasn't being told. So at the time, I, had received a grant actually from the Kellogg Foundation and also one from the Ford Foundation, and I was working at an institute at Harvard Law School. And the point of the point of our research project was to document different practices around the country that were leading to both racial integration of students, mostly within K through 12 public schools.

01:37 - And alongside that integration strategies, in places that were, experiencing demographic change. And that demographic change was quite often the result of, increased immigration to the area or mi in migration within the United States to different areas of the country. Some of it, I mean, certainly, in different places that I went to, such as Lewiston, Maine, was a really good example of where I spent days and days at the, at the local library,

02:05 - really reading local histories and trying to understand oftentimes the migration that everybody is talking about, and it's all worked up over either in positive or negative ways, is not the first example of, of migration and immigrants. And so wanting to understand in every place that I went to, what was the history of migration in this place, who built these industries, who was working in these factories

02:27 - that I see along the shore that are now shut down? The owners today of many of the businesses, you know, that were employing immigrants often came from immigrant families themselves. And so trying to understand that context, was really important in trying to explain it to people that this is, that the context is obviously changed, but the idea of, of migration or the reality of migration is, is not new because leaders choose to activate,

02:58 - you know, this kind of impulse that a lot of people have, of fear, fear of something that's different, fear that something that's going to get taken away from 'em. exaggerating crime, for example, when actually migrants on average, you know, commit far fewer share of crimes, you know, based on their population, and that they're more likely to start businesses and the presence of immigrants are more likely to make a community safe.

03:27 - So I, so I think, so I think that that is a big reason why there's that level of polarization that it gets activated by our leaders. And I think that leadership and public leadership can play a huge role in either, you know, tempering the debate being more constructive or being divisive, which unfortunately is happening now. And I think that it's important to separate out sort of what's happening at the border versus, you know, there are community, you know,

04:00 - ordinary communities all across the country that have large shares of immigrants, and refugees and making sure that their lives are stable, that they're safe, that they're healthy, that they're able to thrive, that they're attached, you know, that they're given the resources that they need or provided the conditions that they need to thrive is a separate issue from, you know, what is happening at the border right now. And so sometimes those things,

04:28 - especially when you've got irresponsible leadership, that's xenophobic and racist, those two things get muddled together. and so that's why you're seeing, you know, things like reports of increases in hate crimes in communities where you haven't seen as much of that. And so that's why I think it's become a divisive issue. It's easy, it's e it's an easy thing for a weak leader to do, is to divide people by pointing to another and blaming that other for

05:02 - whatever might have be happening in their lives that they're not happy with. One it means is something different from assimilation. I mean, the idea of assimilation is that a person who is new to a community comes in and has to kind of absorb the culture and the habits and the traditions, and the ways of life of that place, right? As opposed to integration, which is I think a more positive, concept in which everybody has to adapt to some degree.

05:32 - For example, I wrote a, I wrote in my book, about a community in North Carolina where they realized that their way of doing healthcare expecting immigrants and migrants, some of whom may have been undocumented, just come to them when they had a health problem, was not working. And so they looked at models in Latin America that worked, where people who were trusted members of the community went out and, and built relationships with folks.

05:59 - And that greatly increased the health, of the immigrant community and also the community at large. And so that's another example. two-Way immersion programs, for example, when, which I studied in Utah for my book, where, instead of bringing kids in and saying, all right, you don't speak English, you're just gonna spend all your time learning English, that's it developed program, the better way is to develop programs in which you've got, native speakers

06:31 - of English and native speakers of Spanish to together learning both content and then learning those two languages from each other have been wildly successful. Not just in teaching English, but in ensuring that kids do well in math and science and social studies, and also developing those social relationships, which are really important because we all live in, we all need to live together in, in one society, right? in a pluralistic society.

07:02 - And I think that, if we live in a place where everyone has the opportunity to thrive, we all benefit. Living in a divided society is bad for everybody. It's bad for democracy in the in conditions where there really is true integration can actually occur, is more likely to build friendships among young people, positive relationships and reduce stereotypes and reduce racism. And that is good for everyone.

07:28 - I hope that readers find hope in this book. and an alternative story to what is going on can be very overwhelming to open up the newspaper and see, you know, an increase in hate crimes. The rhetoric about immigration and immigration is a problem, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. and, and yet be in a local community, right, where there may be increasing shares of immigrants and feel like they wanna be a welcoming

08:00 - person, a decent person. So I think that the book is for the ordinary person, because a lot of the people that I write about in this book are not big political figures. They are ordinary people, many of whom were nonpartisan, folks, not very political, who started up programs and began practices and advocated for, for more sensible and humanistic policies in their communities. So that, and to give kind of existence proofs

08:29 - to other places and people in other communities to see, well, look, look, Fort Wayne, Indiana was able to do this with their Burmese community. okay. In Lewiston, Maine, we had, growth in the Somali population. Now you would think that that would be incredibly challenging, and it was. And yet there are some examples of really positive, things that have happened, constructive things that have

08:54 - Happened in that community, for example. So that's what I'm hoping to bring is examples, real life concrete examples of a way that is better than dividing and living in fear.

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