My Point of View, By Jennifer Vogt-Erickson

Isn’t it audacious when an immigrant group moves to our country, accepts federal handouts, has a much higher fertility rate than native women and then refuses to fully assimilate for generations, even speaking a foreign language despite the U.S. fighting wars against their country of origin?

This is precisely what my paternal grandparents’ families did. They moved to the U.S. from what was then Prussia, got free quarters of land from the Homestead Act, which they “proved up,” were devout Catholics and raised families twice as large as the national average and continued speaking German through the first and second World Wars. My Baby Boomer dad grew up speaking German at home with six siblings even though they were third and fourth generation Americans.

Could they become patriotic, self-sufficient Americans despite that? I recently attended an anti-immigrant talk sponsored by the Albert Lea chapter of the Minnesota Coalition for Immigration Reduction with these thoughts in mind.

In case you are wondering, my generation all speaks English as our first language, and we have slipped below the national average for fertility. We don’t really stand out one way or another. In short, we’re regular working people, raising our families and going about our lives. My family is only exceptional in how long it took us to assimilate after immigration.

This history has played out over and over again but seems to be forgotten with every new immigrant group.

Ron Branstner was the featured speaker at the anti-immigration meeting on the frigid evening of Jan. 4, and the thread throughout his presentation was a sense of lost control and a fear of “the other.” It was a strongly nationalist talk, with criticism of both big business and big government. He tried to reframe refugee resettlement as human trafficking instead of a humanitarian effort. He repeatedly made comments like, “we can’t stop it” and “we have no say” and implied without evidence that the United Nations is superseding our laws on one hand and Sharia Law is subverting them on the other.

The way he interpreted facts provokes fears but ignores basic values in our system of government. As Americans, we uphold individual rights, and we must not let our personal stereotypes run roughshod over that. That means that through our laws, we see people as individuals and don’t treat them differently according to what they choose to wear on their heads or what color their skin is.

Lady Liberty shines a lamp and Lady Justice wears a blindfold. This is what we stand for. Fears are very human but ultimately corrosive of our freedom, and our system is designed to hold them in check while we strive for higher ideals. The U.S. Constitution that we live under is one of the best documents ever created, and it also prohibits a Muslim ban. This is not a shortcoming, it’s a founding principle.

Rep. Peggy Bennett attended the anti-immigration talk and declined to speak when Branstner gave her the opportunity. I was hoping to hear her position on the issue.

I was impressed with U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer’s remarks when this issue came up at a gathering in St. Cloud in July 2015. A recording of it aired on a “This American Life” podcast (www.thisamericanlife.org/600/will-i-know-anyone-at-this-party). He was both diplomatic and understanding, and he made a connection between German and Somali immigration which many in his audience did not appreciate.

Emmer sees the similarities, and I hope more people will do the same. We are all just people. We want a safe place to raise our families, give our kids a good start in life, enjoy the fruits of our labors, and maybe own our home. In the U.S. we also want individual liberties, like religious freedom and the right to be secure in our person, house, papers and effects.

As I was writing this column, President Trump’s unprintable remarks in regard to immigration from Haiti, Africa and Norway hit the news. If it wasn’t obvious before, his words leave no doubt that his position is based on racist views. We are better than that.

Look around at our local schools and medical staff. We’d lose numerous teaching positions without the children of immigrants, and we wouldn’t have enough doctors to treat our patients. My prenatal care and delivery for my daughter were both done by immigrants. Immigrants need the U.S., and we need immigrants. We have always been stronger because of immigration, and in a town like Albert Lea, our well-being depends on it.

Jennifer Vogt-Erickson is a member of the Freeborn County DFL Party.