Immigration is Potluck Not Pie

Some Ideas from Switzerland

A couple of weeks ago I argued that most situations aren’t zero-sum (like a pie with not enough pieces to go around). With a change in perspective and some tinkering, most situations are actually win-win (like a potluck where everyone brings something to the table). This week I’d like to focus on an issue that is vulnerable to zero-sum thinking and also dear to my heart: Immigration. When I hear complaints about immigrants “taking our jobs” or “destroying our culture,” I always want to say, “I can hear you, you know!”—because I am an immigrant. In fact a few weeks ago my husband and I were granted permanent residency in Switzerland. Hooray!

Collage by my friend Carina. Much as I would love to be queen, Switzerland has never had a monarchy. Ah well.

My experience as an immigrant to Switzerland has convinced me that the problems with immigration in the US could be mitigated if we adopted an immigration policy like Switzerland’s: More immigration than we currently allow, but all of it legal, and with an emphasis on integration.

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The Case for More Legal Immigration

The evidence shows that immigration, even in our current, flawed system, benefits nearly everyone. Immigrants fill gaps in the workforce, taking jobs that native-born Americans reject, including in agriculture, meat-processing plants and fisheries, construction, and elder care. Immigrants—including those who are in the country illegally—pay taxes and contribute to Social Security. Because illegal immigrants¹ can’t receive Social Security or Medicare, the net benefit to US citizens of these payments is $13 billion for Social Security and $3 billion for Medicare per year (figures are from 2016). Immigrants also contribute to the economy by spending their money, which helps to support businesses and create jobs in the depressed rural communities where many of them work.

In 2017, the radio show This American Life commissioned a study that compared counties in Alabama that had experienced “an unusually large inflow of less-educated, foreign-born individuals—mainly from Mexico” with a control group of counties in Alabama that had seen very little immigration. The study showed that immigration, even in such high numbers and even when the immigrants are uneducated, is a financial boon for US citizens, with the partial exception of high-school dropouts, whose “wages grew at a slightly slower pace.” Everyone else profited, because, in addition to the benefits discussed above, “[immigrants’] presence may attract investment and bring the creation of complementary jobs for native-born workers.”

A common objection to these arguments is that if there were no immigration, businesses would have to offer higher wages to attract US citizens. It is appealing to think so, but in fact when immigration is limited, farm owners will switch to crops that can be harvested by machine, or, according to a study commissioned by the dairy industry, they will reduce their herds or even close down rather than pay US citizens higher wages. The problem will be especially acute in elder care. As this article notes, “the U.S. will soon require more than 800,000 people to fill the jobs necessary to take care of retiring baby boomers.” For a glimpse into the dystopian future our seniors face if we don’t embrace immigrant labor, we need only look at Japan, a country with an aging population and almost no immigration. Japanese companies didn’t respond to worker shortages by offering high pay to attract Japanese citizens to do the important work of caring for seniors. Japan’s seniors are cared for by robots.

Of course there are also problems with immigration: Jobs performed by undocumented immigrants are plagued by depressed wages, unsafe conditions, and, most shamefully of all, child labor. However, these are problems not of immigration per se, but rather of illegal immigration. Because legal immigrants have no fear of being deported if they report exploitive conditions, they enjoy the full protection of US labor laws. Legal immigration makes it more difficult for business owners to cut corners and would improve the rights of all workers, immigrant and citizen alike.

How It Works in Switzerland

Switzerland admits a lot of immigrants and makes the process easy and fair: 26 percent of the people living in Switzerland are immigrants (as compared with 13.7 percent in the US). While it is difficult to become a Swiss citizen, it is very easy to come and work as an immigrant. Before we moved to Switzerland, my husband and I had to apply for B permits, which grant one year of residency. We submitted my husband’s work contract and underwent an FBI background check to prove we hadn’t committed any felonies, but the process was otherwise uncomplicated and quick. It’s important to note that B permits are not like our H-1B visas, which are reserved only for jobs requiring special skills. B permits are held by cleaners, waitstaff, cashiers, and many other regular workers. B permits are also easily renewable each year: We used to receive a one-page renewal form in the mail automatically, and it was a simple matter of filling it out, getting it stamped by my husband’s employer, and sending it in. Our new permits always arrived promptly, two weeks after we turned in our forms.

It was a bit more complicated to get permanent residency but was still fast compared with the green-card process in the US. We needed to prove we had lived in the country for five years,² that my husband had been continuously employed, that we had no outstanding debts or criminal record, and that we hadn’t relied on social support. In addition, we had to demonstrate that we spoke German at the B1 (intermediate) level. Obtaining the necessary documents was straightforward: The migration office gives applicants a checklist of websites with online forms to request each document. It took about ten days to assemble and submit the documents, and on the fifth anniversary of our arrival in Switzerland, we were notified that we had been approved for permanent residency. The entire process was transparent and inexpensive, and mostly worry-free too, because we were assured that if our documents were in order, we would be approved.

Crucially, all immigration in Switzerland is legal. In order to work, rent an apartment, open a bank account, and even set up cell phone and internet service in Switzerland, immigrants must prove that we are in the country legally. Everyone, from employers to landlords to store clerks, cooperates in enforcing the law.

Finally, from the moment immigrants arrive, the Swiss insist on integration. By “integration” I don’t mean obliterating immigrants’ culture or expecting everyone living here to act and think the same way. (For such a rule-following country, Switzerland is surprisingly libertarian.) Integration in Switzerland just means not causing problems for other people. The Swiss expect immigrants to follow social mores for showing courtesy and respect, to obey the law, and to learn to speak the local language on at least a basic level. And they help new immigrants achieve those goals: Low-cost language classes are readily available, and when we first arrived, a friendly Swiss retiree welcomed us with cultural-integration training, which taught us about Swiss etiquette, the public transportation system, trash and recycling rules, and other aspects of daily life.

A “Small, Homogenous Country” and Other Objections

Whenever I talk about something that functions well in Switzerland, someone will invariably argue that Switzerland is a small, homogenous country, and so what works there will be impossible in a huge, diverse country like ours. These naysayers are mistaken; Switzerland may be small, but it is not particularly homogenous. Switzerland has four official languages, it hosts forty NGOs with tens of thousands of workers from every country in the world, and even before the war in Ukraine, Switzerland admitted refugees from Syria, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and other non-European countries at a per-capita rate that is almost four hundred times that of the US.³ Granted, Switzerland is not as diverse as, say, Jackson Heights, Queens, but it is more diverse than most parts of the US.

However, there are a couple of differences between Switzerland and the US that would make implementing the Swiss approach more difficult for us. For one thing, Switzerland’s geography makes it easy to for them to control the borders. With the exception of the Von Trapp family, no one is climbing ev’ry mountain to come to Switzerland.⁴ (In fact, the real Von Trapp family didn’t climb a mountain either; they traveled by train.)

This collage was a collaborative effort: I posted this photo from a recent hike, and my friend Lynda added Julie Andrews. Cute! Thanks, Lynda!

Switzerland is also a high-trust, tight culture, and following rules is an essential part of the Swiss character. The US, by contrast, is a loose culture, characterized by a spirit of rebelliousness. Rebellion is how we got our start after all.⁵ Loose cultures tend to be more innovative and to offer more personal freedoms, but they often struggle to cooperate on solutions to problems.

A Moderate Approach

Our situation at the border is extremely challenging, and Swiss policies would by no means solve the whole problem. Nonetheless, I believe that legal and integrated immigration is a moderate solution most Americans could support. (A recent article by Dexter Filkins in the New Yorker documents the complexity of our border crisis; I encourage everyone to read it.) The Swiss experience demonstrates that we need not fear immigration. In spite—or because—of its high level of immigration, Switzerland is richer than the US and also more equal (Switzerland’s Gini coefficient is 33.1, compared with 41.5 in the US). There is virtually no crime here (Switzerland’s crime rate is .48, compared with 6.81 in the US), and Switzerland’s unemployment rate is half that of the US (1.9 percent vs. 3.5 percent).

The following ideas take a harm-reduction approach. These actions would help us replace our current immigration chaos with a legal, organized system to all our benefit. We should

• Hire many more immigration judges to deal with the backlog of asylum cases and many more immigration workers to process applications for legal immigration quickly and fairly;

• Offer a path to legal status for all illegal immigrants and to a green card and eventual citizenship for Dreamers;

• Issue more work permits, including temporary worker permits;

• Tax remittances and use the money to fund vocational education and GED programs to help American high-school dropouts; and

• Crack down on employers who hire undocumented workers.

At the same time, it is a privilege to live in prosperous, free countries like the US and Switzerland, and I think it’s legitimate to expect immigrants to be integrated.

I took this photo on a recent hike. Is it any wonder so many people want to live in Switzerland?

It is reasonable to ask that immigrants to the US

• Obey the law. In fact immigrants commit crimes at less than half the rate of US citizens, so Americans across the political spectrum ought to endorse this idea.

• Be able to speak at least some English. Speaking the local language not only makes things easier for monolingual US citizens but also helps immigrants in daily life. Switzerland’s language classes help immigrants to network, make friends, learn about Swiss culture, and also pick up enough of the language to function. The US should offer affordable or free English classes to our new immigrants too.

• Follow basic US cultural norms. In my Minnesota childhood many years ago, it was common for churches to sponsor refugees from Vietnam and other countries, to give them a community, and to help them understand unfamiliar aspects of our culture. The US should also offer cultural-integration sessions like these, or like the one we received in Switzerland.

I believe that the vast majority of people want to be able to communicate and to be law-abiding, respectful, and cooperative, but often they don’t know what is expected of them. If we take the time to help immigrants feel like they belong in their new home, we will all be winners.

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How about you, readers? Do you think these ideas would work, or do you have your own ideas for what would help? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

The Tidbit

Potluck or pie? How about both! Readers who prefer their pies to be savory rather than sweet will enjoy this recipe for another pie you can take to a potluck: Swiss Cheese Pie. This pie is very filling, so it generously serves eight at a potluck or buffet. The secret to its transcendent deliciousness? Cheese! Lots of cheese!

Swiss Cheese Pie

Ingredients

One baked pie crust, either store-bought or homemade (you can find my quick and tasty recipe here)

the flowers from 1 medium head of broccoli, chopped into small pieces

1 small garlic clove, very finely minced with 1/2tsp salt to make a paste

2T olive oil

freshly-ground black pepper and chopped fresh oregano and/or thyme, to taste

12oz/340gms grated sharp cheese (I use Alpkäse, but if you can’t find this cheese, aged Gouda, Gruyère, or Cheddar all work great)

1/3c each whole milk and cream at room temperature

2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks at room temperature

about a dozen cherry tomatoes, stem ends cut off, pulp squeezed out and discarded, and halved

Method

1. Sauté the garlic briefly in the olive oil (don’t let it brown) and then toss in the broccoli. Sprinkle a bit of water over everything and cover to cook until the broccoli just begins to soften (just a few minutes). Uncover, turn off heat, and scatter the herbs over, stirring to blend.

2. Evenly spread the broccoli in your crust and distribute the cheese over everything. Your crust will look very full!

3. Beat the milk, cream, and eggs together and then slooooowly pour the custard over the cheese until all the gaps are filled with custard.

4. Scatter the halved tomatoes on top evenly.

5. Bake at 375F/190C for 30–45 minutes (depending on how hot your oven runs), until the custard is set and the top has browned slightly. Cool on a rack before cutting. Note: You can eat this pie hot, but it’s really best at room temperature.

1. I am aware that “illegal immigrant” is considered a slur by many people, and that the preferred term is “undocumented worker.” However, the immigrants under discussion in this paragraph do in fact have a document—a fake Social Security number, with which they pay into the system—so calling them undocumented is inaccurate.

2. It’s five years for immigrants from Europe, the US, Canada, and a few other countries; for all other countries it’s ten years.

3. In 2021, the most recent year before the war in Ukraine began, Switzerland admitted 118,829 refugees in a total population of 8.7 million, for an annual per-capita rate of about one refugee per 73 people living in Switzerland. (In 2022 the number of refugees was 53 percent higher than in typical years because of the war in Ukraine.)

In 2021, the US admitted 11,411 refugees in a total population of 332 million, for an annual per capita rate of about one refugee per 29,100 people living in the US.

4. A funny story: Many years ago, our family saw a live performance of The Sound of Music. At the end of the show, as the Von Trapps departed to a rousing chorus of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” my daughter leaned over and whispered, “Won’t all that loud singing tell the Nazis where they are?”

5. Switzerland’s origin is the opposite of a rebellion: According to legend, Switzerland came into being in 1291 when leaders from Cantons Uri, Unterwalden, and Schwyz met in a meadow and made a pact to work together.