What could one of the most patriotic nations on this Earth, the United States of America, and one of the largest empires in history, Rome, have in common? Both nations have experienced similar problems when it comes to immigration. Unfortunately, Rome’s response to immigration resulted in the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and serves as a stark reminder of the importance of developed immigration policy.
Within the next few weeks, President Obama is expected to release an executive order that would drastically change the current immigration enforcement system in the United States. This order could provide nearly five million illegal immigrants with legal documentation. Such an order would not provide these immigrants with citizenship by any means, but would simply present a temporary pardon from deportation. For instance, the order would provide many illegal immigrants (who are already in the United States) with work visas, social security numbers, and in some cases even driver’s licenses. By providing many immigrants with such resources, this move alleviates many of the fears of immigrant families, who suspect that relatives could be deported at a moment’s notice, leaving children alone to fend for themselves or entire families without providers.
While Obama’s order would alleviate the daily stress that many immigrants experience, the move is merely a temporary fix for a long-term problem. Congress could change laws in order to prevent the president from taking such an action; and even if Obama were able to invoke an executive order, the next elected president could simply revoke the order and leave Mexican-American immigrants exposed and even more prone to deportation. As his attempts to rework American immigration policy in the House of Representatives failed this year, Obama is running out of options in terms of how he might reform immigration policy.
Obama and the White House, however, might also expand DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which grants reprieves for illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children. If the program were to be expanded, an estimated 700,000 people would be granted amnesty from deportation. Both of these supposed plans have been met with a great deal of criticism from Republicans, stating that Obama’s plans will be too lenient towards illegal immigrants. Journalist Julia Preston, however, offers a different viewpoint in the New York Times: “Mr. Obama’s actions will not make it easier for migrants to cross the southwestern border . . . Foreigners caught at the border would still be on the priority list for deportation . . . and a primary goal of Mr. Obama’s actions will be to shift resources and agents to border security that had been focused on removing immigrants from the interior.” Immigrant advocacy groups are in support of Obama’s plans, as it will make life much easier for immigrants throughout the nation.
While there are many perspectives on how the issue of illegal immigration should be addressed, it must be acknowledged the issue is persistent and needs careful consideration. The issue of immigration was just as—if not more—significant for the Roman Empire. As BIC freshman have been reading The Aeneid and hearing all about the manifest destiny of Rome, I thought I would do well to offer a contrasting perspective: the actual fall of Rome.
In the third century CE, the Roman Empire was a shadow of its former glory. Its troops were spread thin, its leaders were corrupt, and enemies gathered on every border. One such enemy was Attila the Hun, whose forces were determined to pillage and plunder every civilized society they could find. As the Huns pushed through Europe, a collection of Western Gothic tribes (attributed with the name “Visigoths” by the Roman writer Cassiodorus) appealed to the Roman emperor, Valens, for sanctuary within Roman territory. Valens admitted the various tribes access into Rome but, as they were abused and neglected by certain provincial Roman rulers, the Visigoths rebelled against Rome in 376 CE, resulting in what would be known as the Gothic Wars. In 378 CE, Emperor Valens himself was killed and his force decimated at the battle of Adrianople (which modern historians mark as the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire). The Visigoths pillaged and conquered throughout Italy and Greece before turning back to Rome, sacking the once-great city in 410 CE.
Why does this matter? The happiness of a large portion of a nation’s population is important in order for a nation to succeed. The Roman Emperor Valens did what he thought was best, offering the Visigoths safety, but subsequently neglected them, which encouraged rebellion. However our nation responds to issues like immigration, I think that we can all agree that such responses should help as many people as possible without stepping on too many toes. No matter flag or creed, human beings are human beings. We are all united by the banner of humanity.
What do you think of President Obama’s executive plan? How should the U.S. address the issue of immigration? Leave a comment below.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? All are welcome! Email me at Lee_Shaw@baylor.edu
Further reading on the Gothic Wars:
http://www.ancient.eu/visigoth/ http://history-world.org/germanic_tribes.htm
Further reading on U.S. Immigration:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/14/politics/charles-krauthammer-obama-immigration-action-impeachable/