ABSTRACT
Chapter 9 The Political Economy of Immigration, Xenophobia, and Educational Language Policy
Jason Goulah and Isabel Nuñez
This chapter traces how the history of immigration and educational language policy have shifted according to the needs of capital in the United States, and how xenophobia and racism have been weaponized to shape political will in the service of such policies. Difference is welcomed when it represents an exploitable resource, a cultural infusion that can be monetized, a new or expanded market. When that difference begins to threaten the dominance of the capitalist class, however, it is swiftly suppressed, restricted, and even vilified—achieving such lethality as to sway sizeable portions of the U.S. working class to vote against their own interests. Despite this ideological feat, cultural and linguistic diversity are significantly beneficial on the individual and societal levels. However, these benefits have been preserved and reserved only for the most privileged in this country, and stolen or snuffed out from the immigrants who bring these valuable resources to the United States. As troubling as this history might seem, there is also a long tradition of cultural and language pluralism in our country—with bilingual education going back as far as Benjamin Franklin. This tradition also begat a legacy, here one of proud multilingualism, ethnic diversity, and resistance to xenophobic policies. The hopeful part of our national history will also be explored in the chapter.
