Out of Many, One: A Defining Moment for American Immigration

In the spring of 2018, the National Immigration Forum set out to engage in a series of “living room conversations” in 21 cities across the country. The purpose was to gain a greater understanding of the attitudes shaping perceptions of immigrants and immigration in the context of the nation’s deeply polarized politics. The Forum partnered with More in Common, which designed a discussion guide to use in these conversations. This report presents the insights gained from those conversations, and concludes that American identity is being reshaped as perceptions related to culture, security, and economy are shifting. These changes are not solely related to demographic change. Our changing demographics are taking place in the context of transitions in the economy, new technologies, and changing social norms. Many Americans focus their anxiety on demographic change, and question whether immigrants want to become part of the larger culture or whether they pose security or economic threats. On the other hand, those who develop personal relationships with immigrants are more understanding and appreciative. The challenge is to make the connection from the personal relationship with the immigrant next door to the perception of immigrants more broadly. Only when we assuage people’s fears on the issues of culture, security, and economy will we be able to accomplish long overdue policy reforms. To get there, we will need to engage specific audiences through a “diverse menu of constituency, communications, and advocacy strategies” that are touched on in the report. In the end, the report concludes, it will be the Americans in the “geographic and political middle of the electorate” who will decide whether “out of many, we can remain one.” (Maurice Belanger, Maurice Belanger Consulting)

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