EDITORIAL: Former Harvard president Larry Summers offered wise words on immigration

Common sense is in woefully short supply these days when it comes to the immigration debate — and there’s plenty of blame for that to go around. But Lawrence Summers, former president of Harvard and a secretary of the treasury under Bill Clinton, recently offered some practical wisdom on the subject.

In an interview last week with Tyler Cowen, an economics professor at George Mason University, Mr. Summers correctly noted that most Americans have no problem with immigration and would embrace those coming here to chase the American Dream.

“The understanding should be that if you immigrate to the United States, you’re immigrating to the United States to become an American,” Mr. Summers said. “That reflects acculturation, one crucial part of which is speaking English and understanding that you’re going to be learning English and that you’re going to be carrying on your life in English. If we had more acceptance of the idea that immigration was about becoming American, we would have more acceptance of higher levels of immigration than generate comfort right now.”

Many progressives, consumed with identity politics, now sneer at the notion of the American “melting pot” as tainted by racism and bigotry. That’s ill-considered and divisive. Because as Mr. Summers postulates, the concept is integral to convincing many Americans to more enthusiastically open their arms to those seeking to come here in search of a better life for themselves and their families.