We Have Work to Do

We Have Work to Do
Nicholas Johnson
The Gazette, February 7, 2026, p. A6
Unless you are listed on one of the tribal rolls of our 574 Indian Tribes, you are either an immigrant or the beneficiary of an immigrating ancestor. In short, when we talk about “immigrants” we are talking about ourselves.

One list of “Famous U.S. Immigrants” lists about 100 (including the president’s wife) whose names and “American accomplishments” you’ll recognize.

The less famous are equally essential to our economy. Last year the total number called “immigrants” was 53.3 million foreignborn residents. Jobs with the highest percentage of “immigrants” include agriculture, construction, cleaning and maintenance, food preparation and personal care (80 percent of all manicurists and pedicurists).

For me, diversity makes a more interesting city: 60 languages in Iowa City schools, the variety of birthplaces of Uber drivers, those I encounter during neighborhood walks, and the range of our restaurants’ cuisine. All for much less than the $5,000 or more it would cost for a round trip to even one of their countries.

Of course, speaking of painted fingernails, some Americans have preferences of skin color and foreign accents that suppresses their interest in “immigrants.”

Given that we are all immigrants, and given their essential role in our economy, it is odd that some individuals still emphasize, without evidence, immigrants’ criminal records. More than one study has found that “undocumented immigrants are arrested at less than … a quarter the rate of native-born citizens for property crimes.”

Crime rates have been declining. But even if some states and federal agencies select fighting crime as their top priority, what’s the rationale for putting more emphasis on immigrants than on those responsible for most crime?

Moreover, the U.S. power to welcome, or exclude, potential immigrants has limits. The Constitution’s 14th Amendment requirements of “due process” and “equal protection of the laws” apply to “any person,” not just citizens.

For those fleeing persecution, and can prove it, international and U.S. law provide they are entitled to seek “asylum” — requiring the U.S. accept them.

Maybe the issue should be, not who is coming but how many. How many immigrants per year is the right number? As America’s most popular comedian, Nate Bargatze, might say, “Nobody knows.”

Or should our question be, not how many knock on our door, but how many leave home and why. For example, it may cost more to abandon the USAID program than to increase it.

I don’t often dig around in the Hoover Institution’s files, but while John Cochrane’s analysis may not be surprising it is intriguing. With only a half-tongue in cheek he explains why we can handle up to at least one billion more immigrants, and that “quotas” are a “calamitous waste.” “For every objection to open immigration, it’s easy enough to find terms of the deal to resolve the matter. The right terms will allow the optimal amount of immigration to settle itself.”

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” We have work to do.

Nicholas Johnson can be reached at mailbox@nicholasjohnson.org


Sources
The 574 Federally Recognized Indian Tribes in the United States CRS PRODUCT (LIBRARY OF CONGRESS) Hide Overview https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47414

“Famous U.S. Immigrants,” Hudson County Community College, https://library.hccc.edu/c.php?g=366161

“Immigration to the United States,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_States

“Immigrants in the Low-Wage Workforce,” Work Rise Network, August 25, 2025, https://workrisenetwork.org/feature/immigrants-low-wage-workforce

“Undocumented Immigrant Offending Rate Lower Than U.S.-Born Citizen Rate; Analysis of Texas arrest records indicates a consistent trend across violent, drug, property, and traffic offenses between 2012 and 2018,” September, 12, 2024, chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU01/20250122/117827/HHRG-119-JU01-20250122-SD004.pdf

“From Henry Cabot Lodge in the late 19th century to Donald Trump, anti-immigration politicians have repeatedly tried to link immigrants to crime, but our research confirms that this is a myth and not based on fact,” says Abramitzky, whose 2022 book, Streets of Gold: America’s Untold Story of Immigrant Success, examines the many misconceptions around immigration.” Krysten Crawford, “The mythical tie between immigration and crime,” July 21, 2023, https://siepr.stanford.edu/news/mythical-tie-between-immigration-and-crime

“Crime Trends in U.S. Cities; Year-End 2025 Update,” Council on Criminal Justice,” January 2026, https://counciloncj.org/crime-trends-in-u-s-cities-year-end-2025-update/

‘’Asylum Seeker,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asylum_seeker; “Right of Asylum,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_of_asylum (“The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (asylum from Ancient Greek ἄσυλον (ásulon) 'sanctuary'),[1][2] is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, such as a second country or another entity which in medieval times could offer sanctuary. This right was recognized by the Ancient Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Hebrews, from whom it was adopted into Western tradition.”)

“Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.” “Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Article 14, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights

“Asylum in the United States; Fact Sheet,” American Immigration Council, May 9, 2025, https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/asylum-united-states/ “Asylum is a protection grantable to foreign nationals already in the United States or arriving at the border who meet the international law definition of a “refugee.” The United Nations’ 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees define a refugee as a person who is unable or unwilling to return to their home country, and cannot obtain protection in that country, due to past persecution or a well-founded fear of being persecuted in the future “on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” Congress incorporated this definition into U.S. immigration law in the Refugee Act of 1980.”

U.S. Constitution, Amendment XIV.

Nate Bargatze, “Washington’s Dream,” Saturday Night Live Opening, October 29, 2023, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYqfVE-fykk (“How many liters are there in a gallon, Sir?” “Nobody knows.”)

https://www.hoover.org/research/what-optimal-number-immigrants-us

John H. Cochrane, “Peregrine: What is the Optimal Number of Immigrants to the US? Two billion, two million, fifty-two thousand and thirty-five (2,002,052,035). Seriously. The United States is made up of three and a half million square miles, with 84 people per square mile...,” Hoover Institution, June 24, 2014, https://www.hoover.org/research/what-optimal-number-immigrants-us

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