ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the problem of immigration with special reference to American circumstances; the general issues involved are equally relevant to Europe, with adjustments for cultural differences. Neo-Jacobin thinking on immigration into the United States corresponds to a very similar thinking across the Atlantic about immigration into the countries of Europe. For many years, an attempt was made in the United States to match immigration to the cultural origins of the earlier Americans. It was thought that such a policy would facilitate assimilation and help maintain the cultural and political identity of the United States, including its tradition of constitutionalism and liberty, which is a product of Anglo-Saxon and European civilization. The neo-Jacobins sharply criticize the ideology of multiculturalism. They see the affirmation by particular groups of distinct cultural identities as undermining the virtuous unity that comes from embracing the American "idea".
