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American citizens are right to be concerned about immigration. I have met hundreds of immigrants over the past decades, in my work as an ER doctor and as a volunteer since I retired. Here is a typical story.
This was a man from a Central American country that suffers from a lot of of gang violence. He owned a small store in his village, selling groceries and convenience items, and made enough to support himself and his family. One day, three gang members came into his store. They demanded he make weekly payments that amounted to about half his income. To make their point, they beat him up, punching and kicking him, and left him lying on the floor of his store.
For a few months he made weekly payments to the gang courier who came to his store, scraping by on what was left. Then the original three came back. They demanded even higher payments, and they wanted him to sell their drugs at his store. They told him they would kill him if he didn't comply, and he knew the threat was serious. Several people in town had already been murdered by the gang. This time they pistol-whipped him and cut him with knives on his arms and chest--I saw the scars--and left him lying on the floor once again.
He knew he could not make the payments and survive on what would be left. He didn't want to sell drugs. He knew he could not find employment elsewhere, as his country was a small one and the gang had infiltrated every part of the economy. Desperate, he sent his wife and children to live with a relative and came to the U.S., hoping to find safety and gainful employment.
He found a job working as a dishwasher in a restaurant in New Jersey. He was saving money, hoping to bring his family here. After a couple of years, because he was living here without documents, he was arrested. When I met him he was in jail, applying for asylum. He told me he could not return to his home country because he was certain the gang would punish him for his disobedience by killing him. They would want to make an example of him. Fortunately, his asylum claim was approved. The last I heard, he was back at work, still trying to save money to bring his family here, something that is legal for a person who has been granted asylum.
Because immigration is a national issue, a lot of research has been done on how immigrants live when they come to the U.S. It turns out the overwhelming majority of them work hard, often in low prestige, low-paying jobs. They actually commit crimes at a lower rate than native-born Americans. They often bolster the economy of the communities they live in.
Most immigrants don't want to leave home. They leave because they can't make a living, can't support their families, because they fear harm in their home countries. Practically all Americans, unless they are African-American or Native American, have ancestors with similar stories. We should remember this, and our laws and national policies should reflect it.
Arno Vosk is a medical doctor living in Williamsport.