We all need other people — our families, colleagues and various social and support communities. More than likely, the people who comprise our “inner circles” generally resemble us, act in ways that are somewhat predictable and exhibit lifestyles and habits that are comfortably familiar.
We also need people who look, talk and think differently than we do — people from other cultures, people who may never attend our places of worship, live in our neighborhoods or belong to our social groups. People who may never be or become comfortably “familiar.”
Today, immigrants from other countries account for one in eight U.S. residents, the highest level in 80 years (in 1970, the ratio was one in 21). Between 2000 and 2007, more than 10 million immigrants arrived in our country, the highest seven-year period of immigration in U.S. history. Five states are home to 61% of our nation’s foreign-born population: California, New York, Florida, Texas and New Jersey. Today, approximately one-third of U.S. residents identify themselves as being other than “white.”
Since 2000, 240,000 immigrants have arrived in Washington. In addition, between 1997 and 2006, our state received almost 38,000 refugees. Today, approximately 11.4% of our state’s population is comprised of foreign-born individuals. Approximately 23% of our state’s residents (similar to Arkansas, Tennessee and Connecticut) describe themselves as “people of color.”
In response to our increasingly diverse population, Governor Christine Gregoire was the first governor in the nation to simulcast her State of the State address in Spanish. In 2006, on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Senator Patty Murray addressed some of our state’s complicated issues surrounding immigration reform as our state has one of the highest per capita concentrations of undocumented workers.
Historically in our country, Asians were the first population of foreigners to be restricted from free immigration. In 1882, Congress outlawed most Chinese immigration. The 1907 “Gentlemen’s Agreement” severely curtailed Japanese immigration. In 1921, Washington passed legislation that prevented aliens who were ineligible to become citizens from owning farmland (targeting successful Japanese growers). By 1924, virtually all immigration from Asia was prohibited.
In 1970, the “top immigrant sending country” was Italy. Today, it is Mexico, followed by China. Immigrants now represent 15.8% of our country’s total workforce, comprising about 22% of our computer/mathematical profession, 22% of the food service and preparation industry, 30% of our construction workers, 14% of our healthcare practitioners, 16% of the architecture and engineering fields, 36% of building cleaning and maintenance workers, 6% of legal occupations and 10% of office and administrative support.
In recent years, my law firm, Riddell Williams P.S., has been greatly enriched by several highly skilled and motivated individuals who joined our staff after arriving from former Soviet/Eastern Bloc countries. Like so many who choose or are forced to flee their homelands, our RW colleagues are educated and experienced well beyond the jobs they gratefully perform.
As lawyers, we are all familiar with the “but for” proposition. For me personally, it is an important one in terms of this country’s policies toward immigration. But for my mother being issued an immigration card, I would not be here. Margaret Mary Mannion, the oldest of 12 hungry kids living in Loughrea, County Galway, Ireland, secured passage to the United States on an English ship shortly after England and Germany went to war (the second time). The fear of German mines kept her from sleeping throughout the tumultuous trip.
After arriving at Ellis Island, she lived with an Irish-born aunt and uncle, “who had made it in the Bronx,” became a waitress and waited for the war to end. In 1945, she was introduced to my father, an Irishman who was drafted into the U.S. Army shortly after his arrival at Ellis, and “the rest is history.” Like so many immigrants of that era, my parents’ No. 1 priority was education for their children. Unlike most “natives,” they owned their own land and were not beholden to anyone.
Those of us who have served the King County Bar Association are proud of the fact that our Association was founded in 1886 in order to address issues associated with local anti-Chinese riots. Many of our Association’s current outstanding programs, including the Newcomers Resource Project and the Housing Justice Project, address some of the ongoing critical needs of immigrants in our county. Our Association continues to recognize and address the dramatic demographical changes occurring in our region and the richness of differences and diversity. We recognize that we are people who need people. Perhaps, we are the luckiest people in the world.
Eileen M. Concannon is a principal at Riddell Williams P.S., specializing in commercial litigation, mediation and arbitration. For references or comments, please contact her at econcannon@riddellwilliams.com.
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