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American experiences with immigration are unique, but there is still much Germans can learn from the United States, a panel of American immigration experts told their German counterparts on March 11. Speaking at the Berlin Transatlantic Center of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Americans disagreed on why immigrants to the United States appear to fare better than European immigrants, and they even disagreed on how successful American immigration and integration efforts truly are. Many agreed that the United States does better with immigration and jobs, but struggles with integration. Immigrants to Germany, on the other hand, do fare well if they can find work. The public discussion was the opening event for a two-day, closed-door transatlantic immigration conference, co-sponsored by GMF and the Global Commission on International Migration, with help from the American Embassy in Berlin and the Federal Republic of Germany. Several members of the Global Commission on International Migration were in attendance, including Prof. Dr. Rita Süssmuth, former President of the German Parliament, and Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. At the public event, Susan Martin, director of Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of International Migration, said it isn’t specific programs but rather the United States' general framework for immigration and integration that makes the United States more open to immigration. By granting birthright citizenship, she pointed out, the children of immigrants are automatically citizens. Immigration rules have a strong sponsorship system, so arriving immigrants generally have a support network. A flexible labor market means immigrants contribute to the economy. The English language has acted as a multi-ethnic, multi-religious unifier. Strong anti-discrimination policies and a strong history of voluntary associations have also contributed. The glass is half-empty, though, said Michael Fix, vice-president and director of studies at the Migration Policy Institute.  While immigration policies are strong, integration policies remain ad hoc and under-funded with not enough coordination at the federal, state and local levels. The U.S. welfare system is designed to promote work, marriage, and getting off the welfare system, and that doesn’t always serve immigrant needs. Mary Waters, chair of Harvard University’s sociology department, said the glass is both half-full and half-empty, but that the real goal for immigrants is the long-run economic mobility for their children. A major challenge is when the children of immigrants grow up with a host-country frame of reference, while their parents’ frame of reference is their sending country. This often causes a generational clash among immigrants. The American community college system also affords immigrant children (and adults) second and third chances at obtaining an education. “There is no silver bullet” in successfully integrating immigrants, said Ann Morse of the National Conference of State Legislatures.  Newcomers should be participants in their own lives and decision-making. Employment separates the American experience from the German one, said Phil Martin, a professor at the University of California-Davis. Most immigrants come over for work and fill available jobs, but usually at minimum wage. The difference in Germany is that jobs are hard to come by, but immigrants who do land them are rewarded with wages that are more likely to keep them above the poverty line. From a transatlantic perspective, Susan Martin said, the United States is learning a bad lesson from Germany with its guest-worker programs. Immigration in the United States is increasingly focusing on temporary work, rather than long-term citizenship. One fundamental difference between the United States and Germany, according to Waters, is that while Germany may have a nationality problem, the United States has a race problem. Race is more important than country of origin, she said. As long as the line is drawn between black and white, immigrants to the United States won’t face as much discrimination as they would in Europe. In both Europe and the United States, Waters said, the challenge is getting natives to learn more about immigrants. People who are the most supportive of immigration are those who have the most contact with them. Phil Martin suggested that attitudes toward immigration are dictated by uncertainty of where the society is going. When a country accepts immigrants, it is taking a gamble on the future.