immigrants and English

why do they come?

We take speaking English for granted because virtually everyone reading this column has likely been doing so for decades. It’s just what most often do if we were born in the United States although millions of Americans have always also spoken the language of ancestors from birth as well. The phenomenon of de facto multilingualism is not new because immigration is not new to this country, either. But, we still see English as the primary language of this country.

We were in Freehold, New Jersey this past weekend. During the War for Independence, it was the town closest to the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse where George Washington encountered Sir Henry Clinton and part of the British forces in late June 1778. Freehold is probably far better known as the town where Bruce Springsteen grew up along with his bandmate, the late Danny Federici whose family owns THE BEST pizza parlour on the planet (get yourself there at some point). It’s also the seat of Monmouth County which lost more people in the 9/11 attacks than any other county. I suppose this would not be surprising in El Paso or even Tucson but Freehold is far from the border. We go often for family events, and Freehold always strikes me as comparable to apple pie, Rolling Rock beer, and New York Giants football as does any other place in the country. In other words, Freehold has been modern America before we had modern America.

Our visit this weekend surprised us as to how visibly a town in north central New Jersey (exit 8 on the New Jersey Turnpike which means something to natives of the state) has a Spanish-speaking aura. Driving through town made clear that Latin Americans are a significant and increasingly prosperous addition to the town’s ethnic mix.

The stores on Main Street or South Street show the more recent immigrants originated in Mexico and Central America. Yes, the central business district includes a South Asian restaurant and family-owned establishments of decades’ duration but the rise of Spanish-speaking Freehold is an unavoidable fact.

Specifically, the Guatemalan, Mexican, Peruvian, and overall Hispanic influence indicates multiple Latin American groups migrate here. The variety of establishments includes restaurants, food stores, bars, art, and jewelers. Our most interesting evidence was in a florist shop across from the Hall of Records. The woman running the shop admitted up front that she did not speak English. She simply didn’t. That was not a problem for our particular interaction as I could explain in Spanish why we needed a floral arrangement. We came back in an hour and voila. A second woman had joined the florist but spoke barely more English at all. But, these two ladies struggled in the lingua franca yet they are making a go of this business.

The idea that the only person in a shop, clearly someone who works there regularly, did not speak English got my attention. She was pleasant about it but still notable. Her Spanish sounded Central American, though I did not ask her as I have gradually learned this panics people who assume I will call the police about her immigration status (it took me several years to realise this was the effect I was having). I assume that she was legal and left it at that. She did her job well, effectively, and expeditiously.

Serendipitously, at dinner that evening in Greenville, Delaware, I met a younger man who also did not speak English. Born in Guatemala, he described a harrowing and fearful journey through Mexico, where immigrants are no more welcome than here and often harassed by gangs demanding cash. His family did not want to come but I suspect they were happy he left the probable gang pressures so prevalent for young Central American youth. Those gangs perpetrate violence, making the Central American states some of the most violent places on the planet—and that says a lot. This fellow is in English classes, attempting to better his life before his options run out.

I fully understand this will ignite a firestorm for many who claim our borders are too porous for our own good. I do not support lawbreaking in any form but this column is not about that argument today. I am not afraid for us to engage but I am not sure any of us will change the views of others as Americans seem pretty polarised on so many issues today.

Why do these tales matter on 4 July 2023? These two examples offer a rather different reality our partisan bickering rarely considers: the United States, for all its deep divisions and increasing distrust and loathing of those on the other side of debates, remains a beacon of hope to billions of people around the world. Billions of people would give so much to live in the place we so decry today.

Let me say that again in a way that paraphrases the British journalist Katty Kay from the 2020 presidential campaign: as nonfunctioning as our country seems to many of us, others around the world see it a land of temporary, soluable problems, obstacles that are not as horrible as in their home countries, and a land of bountiful promise almost unparalleled into the future. People genuinely come because it is a place, much like the old descriptions of Hollywood, where people can remake themselves.

Of course there are people who abuse the system but tell me that isn’t true for those whose families came centuries ago? This assertion on my part is not describing merely sample of 2 but from looking at the landscapers who worked tirelessly through this horrible smoke over the past month, or the roofers who work in the hottest conditions all summer in all parts of the country, or the women who clean other people’s homes, including the most personal of personal cleaning (bathrooms). These are people who come here, often because whatever they are asked to do is a better life than sending their kids out into an environment where gangs likely will press them into a life of extreme violence and crime. Many countries selectively enforce laws while making little recourse available to their citizens.

Immigrants, whether English dissenters in Connecticut in the 17th century or Jews carrying wares on their backs on the Lower East Side, or Chinese building the Union Pacific railroad to join the Central Pacific at Promontory, Utah in 1869 abandoned their birthrights because of the hope this country offered. Those already here, whether the Native Americans before 1607 or the existing populations as immigrants took up their new lives in 1952, worried about being supplanted but most beyond those Native Americans actually found it a place of some prosperity. Sadly, the Native population lost virtually everything over this four hundred years and African-Americans brought here under slavery had little say over their lives, still struggling in a society divided on addressing race.

We celebrate our independence on 4 July. We sought that status to pursue the opportunities that the Founders fervently believed could make this a land of prosperity for the future. The Spanish-speakers who have arrived in Freehold or Wilmington are actually acting on the same philosophy undergirds laissez-faire economics. Adam Smith talked about expanding the economic pie under the hidden hand of the marketplace where these immigrants seek to participate. We are far from a completely successful economy for all but we do still prove a land of opportunity for many who appear fighting against all odds.

Today, let’s celebrate opportunity, hope, and building a nation most effectively using its resources for the future. We haven’t tried that lately so why not? I am not being unrealistically naive but I am noting that we are currently definitely our worst critics. I agree with some of that criticism but I see no other regimes around the world that is a markedly better one.

To my friends in the United Kingdom, thanks for our parting almost 250 years back. To my friends in places around the world where frustration still reigns, I hope we can somehow still inspire you. To my fellow citizens, standing together seems much more effective than repeatedly standing apart.

To all of you who subscribe to ActionsCreateConsequences, thank you again. To those who grace this work with a financial subscription, I do this every day as thanks for your support. I welcome any of your thoughts on this or other columns.

Happy 4th of July to all!FIN

#thezenoflight Lenox, Massachusetts 2017