Part III: Immigrant Strengths

I picture a world where
“…migrants will no longer be
disadvantaged minorities.
Cultural hybridity will
become an asset rather
than a burden.”
Baubock (2001)

Yet, immigrant citizens are so much more than the concerns I have mentioned. The immigrants in my class are in transition, between worlds and learning worldliness. Some of them are only recently joining this culture. They may have been in the U.S. for more than a year but don’t yet know what they want to do, don’t qualify for residency tuition, or aren’t satisfied with their language skills. Some are retired; yet want to stay current with business and political issues.

A great number of this immigrant population arrives in the U.S. as (1) adults in their life prime with graduate school and/or prestigious careers behind them. Maybe they need more English to be able to work in their chosen or new field. Or (2) they are high school graduates wanting to transition to the community colleges, universities and move into the skilled workforce. For many, their current English does not qualify them to get a GED, or to enter any college. But, it is this population, often bi- or trilingual, along with second generation immigrants, who are uniquely equipped to meet a profile of a global citizen.

This population with their many strengths are well-suited to global citizenry:

1.They are predisposed to action. They have already taken action to get to America and make improvements in their lives.

2.They know the future is uncertain. Many of them have ambiguous futures in their new homes. The future is dependent on their becoming proficient in the English language and cutting through a brand new bureaucracy. While it is often a difficult journey, it also prepares them for dealing more realistically with changing outside forces.

3.They have multinational identities and loyalties.

4.They are often educated, at least ¼ have at least one University degrees.

5.They are adaptable. “Migrants and their descendants are, however, far from being passive – they adapt to changing conditions, creating new opportunities and openings and using well-trodden paths for social mobility.” (Cross and Waldinger, 2002, p.21) Many are or become entrepreneurs maneuvering though a new bureaucracy that actually works without bribery.

6.They often have influence far beyond the borders of this country. They network collectively. There are migrant networks and communities worldwide. “Immigrant communities develop through the mobilization of informal recruiting chains and networks and these may assist immigrants in responding to the new circumstances.” (Cross and Waldinger, 2002, p. 22) They help their families and co-ethnics. They connect to their home countries (the Internet, phones), sometimes daily. They are mobile (jet setters, return migration, visits/visitors, ‘astronauts’). They send or invest money in home countries (worldwide 300 billion yearly in remittances).

7.They are in a position to be global change agents: they want to do more. They want to be productive. They come here with dreams of being able to contribute, to help themselves, their family, their people, their home country. They do not expect handouts. They are ready to give locally, nationally and to the world.
There are also other many other qualities of tenacity in this population, as well as the phenomenal drive that brought them to a new country in the first place.

Question:
What more do immigrants need to be Global Citizens?

Answer:
By teaching Education for Global Citizenship concepts, you encourage individual responsibility, teach tools for them to be positive change agents, and influence a fostering of their global connections. This is what they need to be more engaged in any community, but especially our global community.