Dr. Caroline Brettell speaks at the Centennial Academic Symposium in the Collins Executive Center Nov. 11, 2011. (Hillsman S. Jackson/ SMU)
The United States has always been a nation of immigrants — from nonconformist Puritan settlers in the 15th century to Indian economic migrants in the 1990s.
SMU anthropology professor Caroline Brettell has been researching migration in different contexts for her entire academic career.
Brettell started her research with the study of migrants from Goa, a small state in India. Eventually, her interests evolved into issues affecting the United States.
Her new book “Civic Engagements: The Citizenship Practices of Indian and Vietnamese Immigrants,” which she co-authored with University of Buffalo professor Deborah Reed-Danahay, discusses how new immigrant communities fit into the national landscape.
Recent issues like the DREAM Act and fiscal insecurity have made immigration a hot topic once again in American politics. A 2010 Gallup poll revealed that a majority of Americans want comprehensive immigration reform.
Brettell encourages that people keep an open mind about migrants.
“We cannot deport 10 million people,” Brettell said. “But both sides have drawn their lines in the sand and have been unwilling to move since 1986, the last time we had true reform.”
The children of immigrants are often the ones most affected by inaction.
“Why shouldn’t smart immigrants, who might have come to the United States at six months, be able to go on to higher education? It would be economically productive and morally right,” Brettell said.
From her office desk, surrounded by bookshelves and newspaper clippings, Brettell delivered an impassioned argument for migrant rights.
“If we are a nation of immigrants, we should be more accepting of people,” Brettell said. “People should be talking a lot more about what immigrants do for the community.”
Brettell’s most recent research focused on the Dallas area.
“Texas is always a top six state for immigrants,” Brettell said. “Dallas deserves more attention.”
Dallas is an emerging case study for sociologists and anthropologists because of the rich immigrant base in the city. Indians, Mexicans, Nigerians and Hondurans make up a sizable portion of the city’s population.
Brettell believes that the study of key immigrant groups can help increase tolerance across the nation. However, she also believes that recent studies have not asked the right questions of immigrants.
“A National Science Foundation study I did work on wanted to assess the agency. They asked about the economic and social climate,” Brettell said. “But questions like how many immigrants send letters to their congressmen and put up campaign yard signs are too formal.”
Immigrants, Brettell says, give the United States a reasonable advantage in comparison to Europe and Japan, which both have aging populations and large entitlement programs that need to be supported by shrinking government revenues.
“We are lucky to have an immigrant community that wants to work and is young,” she said. “They contribute to social programs and our tax base.”
Brettell has a simple message for all that will listen.
“This country has always had to balance the economy, immigration and that indefinable word, assimilation,” Brettell said. “American culture is always changing. Citizenship, in the eyes of the Indian immigrants I interviewed, is simply giving back. That is something we can all agree with.”
