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Posted 20 weeks 3 days ago
Immigration will make whites a minority by 2050
More fuel for the immigration debate: The Pew Research Center says immigration will drive the population of the United States sharply upward between now and 2050 -- and will push whites into a minority.
What do these changes mean for our future? What will it mean for our politics?
Thoughts
Los Estados Unidos
Submitted on April 28th, 2008 by JriosCome on man, this ain't Los Estados Unidos, this is the United States of America. How can we worry about the year 2050 when we can't even get past 2008? I don't believe that Hispanics will ever become the majority in the U.S. The reason being that it never has been! Here we are after 300 years of neighboring Mexico and yet only 14% of the American populace is Hispanic! If it hasen't happened by now, it's never going to. Anglo reproduction has done a great job for the last 3 centuries in maintaining it's racial dominance, (numerically).
Let's review the geographical differences of Mexico in comparison with Germmany and Ireland. Mexico is south of the U.S. across the Rio Grand with Germany and Ireland sailing across an ocean grande...oh my. The reason I want to point this out is becuase German Americans make up America's majority followed closely by the
Irish. These two have one thing in common, their white, placing the Anglo as America's majority. May I remind you that it is the year 2008 with Hispanics trailing with only 14% of the American population? How can this be? I believe that rumors can create very uncomfortable situations...especially if your Hispanic.
Disposable Hispanic America
Assimilation- it IS taking only one generation
Submitted on April 13th, 2008 by AnonymousChildren who are born in and grow up in the US always speak English.
Even if they learned Spanish from their parents first, and even if their parents don't speak English, they always do.
Kids are language-sponges, and once in school and with English speaking kids they not only know English, but tend to prefer it to Spanish.
This change only takes one generation.
Here's another good example of how Hispanics are already assimilating:
In my high school, (I graduated about 6 years ago) the Hispanic kids who were recent immigrants to the US -like those who came in the last year or two- did stick to their own social group and spoke Spanish together.
However, the Hispanic kids who were born in the US were completely mixed in with the other social groups in the high school. You know, some were popular, some weren't, some were jocks, some were punks, some were preppy, some were ghetto... you get the picture. They didn't mainly identify themselves by their race; they just fell into different social groups like the rest of us did.
People worry that Hispanics won't assimilate but they already are -it is only taking one generation.
Just a little satire to make you think.........
Submitted on March 31st, 2008 by AnonymousThere are an estimated 11 million illegal aliens currently residing within the borders of the United States of America. Many critics believe a more accurate estimate is closer to 20 million. No matter what the number is, there are serious implications these undocumented people place on the American society!
Implication number one – there is an enormous financial burden placed upon American taxpayers to cover the cost of housing illegal aliens. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform FAIR, “The annual net cost of illegal immigrants (after subtracting their tax payments) to the American taxpayer is likely to be more than $45 billion.” Costs include the use of the Medicare system, the use of our public education, incarceration of criminals, use of the welfare system, and the cost of the immigration system itself.
Implication number two – with illegal immigration comes illegal criminals. It does not take a genius to figure that if there are 11 million people living in this county unaccounted for, some of those people are bad. In fact The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a 04/07/05 report to Congress entitled "Information on Criminal Aliens Incarcerated in Federal and State Prisons and Local Jails," states that at the end of 2004 there were approximately 49,000 illegal aliens incarcerated out of a total of 179,000 inmates (a 27% rate of illegal inmates) at an estimated cost of 1.2 billion dollars to house them. Some of the most ruthless criminals, in fact, are illegal aliens. Members of the MS-13 gang, 18th Street gang, Columbia Lil’ Cycos gang, and numerous other gangs are filtering violent criminals through our borders and harboring them here. One murderer, rapist, sexual
predator, or drug/arms trafficker is too many.
Implication number three – our children’s education suffers because of the overcrowding illegal children cause. According to Pew Hispanic Center, 3.1 million citizen children are born to an unauthorized parent, and 1.6 million children are unauthorized themselves for a total of 4.7 million children under the age of 18 that need to be educated. The time and energy a teacher uses to teach a non-English speaking student should be used solely to further the educational interests of native English speaking children.
Implication number four – illegal immigrants take jobs away from Americans. According to Pew Hispanic Center, there were approximately 7.5 million unauthorized workers in 2005. Most of the jobs these aliens hold are in low wage and low education fields. Critics will say that illegal aliens do the jobs most Americans will not do; however, low income Americans may beg to differ. Not all of the 7.5 million people are mowing lawns, picking produce, or house cleaning. Most are employed in jobs were the unscrupulous employer does not bother to check the immigration status of the worker and hires them at a rate cheaper than the minimum wage.
WE NEED TO REFORM OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM!
The solution to the illegal alien problem in America is quite simple. All American citizens would be required to register once a year with the DCR, Department of Citizen Registration. Automobiles, boats, bikes, etc… require yearly registration, so too will citizens. Fingerprints, photographs, social security card, and birth certificate/citizenship documentation will all be verified on a yearly basis. A Citizen Identification Number CIN will be tattooed on the person’s right wrist. A citizenship badge will be issued with the citizen’s photo, CIN number and personal information. All citizens MUST wear the badge at all times. Visitors to the country will be issued a Visitor Authorization Badge VA which must be worn at all times.
All Aliens would be subject to “Campaign X”. Any illegal alien found within the borders of the United States would be given a tattooed marking in the middle of their forehead in the shape of an X. This would be their identifying mark to let the country know they are here illegally. On their left wrist would be tattooed an Alien Identification Number AIN for tracking purposes and to make certain the identity of an American citizen has not been used. They would then be transported into specially located “Controlled Compounds” were they will be given the opportunity to work legally in the USA. They will be supplied with food, shelter and medical care; however, they must comply with any and all employment requests from the US Government, including, but not limited to physical labor, medical research, military research, etc.
A secret team of Special Service Agents (S.S.) will be authorized to conduct random searches for aliens and any persons who may be harboring such individuals. Any citizens found guilty of aiding and abedding illegal criminals will also be subject to the laws of “Campaign X”.
If an alien is employed in an approved unskilled job, he will be issued a Justly Employed Worker badge “JEW”, which must be worn at all times. He is then free to leave the “Controlled Compound”. However, if a citizen wants the job of the “JEW”, it is his citizen right to take the job at the national minimum wage rate and the employer must hire him without question. In order to satisfy an employer looking to hire cheap workers, the employer can petition the local “Controlled Compound” requesting permission to hire. If the job description is satisfactorily compatible with the hiring of aliens, then the petition will be granted. If a “JEW” is not acceptable, then the employer must call the Alien Patrol (AP) to have the “JEW” transported back to the “Controlled Compound”.
All children of aliens will not be allowed in public schools. They will instead be taught the skills necessary to be an effective “JEW”.
It is common knowledge that aliens are inferior to citizens, therefore, the purity of citizen blood must be kept clean. The sanctity of our citizen women is of the utmost importance. Any alien male caught fornicating with a citizen woman will face immediate castration.
If any of the terms of “Campaign X” are unsatisfactory to the alien, they have the right, their only right, to go back to their country of origin. The option is theirs.
Immigration and the English Language
Submitted on February 18th, 2008 by AnonymousHistorically, immigrants to the United States have within a generation or two assimilated into American culture and learned the English language. Immigrants have added richness to our culture without creating a divided country. The usage of a common language has been a major contributor to unity.
This may not be the case in the future. For the first time in our history we see a nationwide subversion of the assimilation process by corporate America. A case in point is Lowe's and its corporate policy to provide bilingual signs in every one of its 1425 stores nationwide. Apparently, Lowe's doesn't expect Hispanic immigrants to learn English.
If you disagrre with the policy call Lowe's to complain. Dial one for English.
Official English
Submitted on February 15th, 2008 by BenThanks for your thoughtful reply.
Of course, America has always had a tradition of multilingualism. We've almost always had Germantowns, Chinatowns, Little Italys, Little Tokyos, and the like. At the turn of the 20th century, there were hundreds of ethnic and foreign-language newspapers. Today, we have have Spanish-language television. I have no problem with any of those things. But I do have a problem with ethnic and racial separatism abetted by government.
A few years ago, I interviewed Richard Rodriguez about bilingualism and separatism. He said something I'll never forget: "I don't care if we're speaking Esperanto, as long as it's American."
Rodriguez thinks imposing English is impossible. Rodriguez is always thought-provoking, but I'm not sure I agree. Then again, when I put in a good word for Steve King's bill the other day, I neglected to mention that King has introduced that bill for years and years. He couldn't get traction for it under a Republican Congress. Maybe it's a fool's errand.
"You want official languages? I don't mind if it gets decided at the state level."
I could go for that. I think about 30 states have official language laws. If the goal is to discourage separatism and encourage patriotic assimilation to American culture, then I favor it.
Sorry i used the f-word, i get riled up at unnecessary mandates
Submitted on February 15th, 2008 by MeAmKumarYou make some valid arguements, but it still doesn't justify the imposing of a "national" anything. Sure, the founders of this great nation were nearly all of English descent and, as such, created all the great documents that helped established this great country in that image, but that's not where it ended. The men and women who grew this country from nothing were indeed immigrants. I believe spanish speakers colonized Florida, Louisiana by the French, Texas was primarily by Germans, the northeast by Italians and Irish, California and the rest of the Gadsden Purchase by mexicans and so on... You're right, we're not a nation of immigrants, we're a nation created by immigrants.
You're also right about us being a nation of assimilation. I'm personally first-generation American, and i dont speak the native language of my parents, and as such consider myself completely assimilated. Why would we believe that all the non-english speaking immigrants who are here currently and those who enter between now and 2050 won't go through the same assimilation? Now to be clear, i'm only speaking of legal immigrants. As a anti-McCain republican, i'm AGAINST amnesty for illegal immigrants and i'm even in support of Dr. Paul's call to end birthright citizenship for the children of illegals. Legal immigrants earn their citizenship and before they're completed, they stand before a judge and declare an oath to these United States in english, not their foreign tongue.
Did you really just compare the US to Canada? The use of the word French-Canadian is a far different thing than the use of say African-American. The US has no group that has such an established non-english speaking majority for any major areas, and to be fair, the French-Canadians were there first.
Also, the establishing of english as a national language would not make an impact on the vast size of our government. There are hardly "tens of millions of documents" that are actually transcribed into different languages, unless of course they're dealing with a non-english speaking country. It's not as if every House or Senate bill is re-written and distributed in the 7 major languages, nor every White house memo, nor most judicial decrees. I also seriously doubt the $400+ billion budget deficit has anything to do with the cost of all this reprinting of documents to appease the nonexistant non-english speaking men and women of our government. The size of government has little to do with the nonexistance of a national language and more to do with the lack of following of those great documents written in english, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Lastly, I live in Texas, a state that is "overrun" with non-english speaking illegal immigrants, and i've never walked into a business or government building and been forced to deal with a non-english speaking worker. You're right, english is the de facto national language, and that's not going to change, even with the influx of immigrants for the next 42 years, cause that influx has actually been occuring since before those great documents were even written.
I didnt intend for this to become such a "thing", but i get so annoyed at all the completely useless legislation that gets debated and discussed when there are legitimate issues not being covered. Hundreds of children die in the care of CPS every year, the Bush administration's use of lies and propaganda to get us into a base-less war with no exit strategy and allowing government spending to decimate the value of our currency, the genocide occuring in Darfur this very moment, suicide bombing after suicide bombing occuring in markets in Iraq killing hundreds of people at a time. All this going on, and some politician has the gaul to think that a national language deserves the time for debate on the floor of Congress? It also annoys me that my republican party is always the party who brings up this inane subject. Last i checked, our party was a "state's rights" party (hence the use of the word "republic" in republican), the party of personal freedoms and the desire to keep government out of MY life? You want official languages? I dont mind if it gets decided at the state level, but to think it needs to be forced down the throat of all US citizens, including those of Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico (good luck doing it with those three) is just rediculious...
Friedman: Can't Have Dependant Immigrants in a Welfare State
Submitted on February 13th, 2008 by Chuck_JohnsonSecurity permitting, I'm all for open borders. But the problem happens when those who are here end up becoming net drains on our hospitality. The doyenne of libertarianism, Milton Friedman, had a great line on this: "It's just obvious you can't have free immigration and a welfare state," he warned.
I frankly don't trust Democrats not to offer all those new illegal immigrants certain perks -- instate tuition, drivers licenses, etc. -- that I find wholly inconsistent. For a more realistic view of a "guest worker program," Kerry Howley of reason magazine has a brilliant piece on Singapore's thriving guest worker program. Of course, Singapore's system may be considered draconian -- pregnant women are repatriated, there is no birthright citizenship -- but it is very effective at supplying the workers.
Joel, you are right to point out the Italians and the Irish, but the differences between Hispanics are clear. The Italians and the Irish burned their bridges behind them. While it's true that an estimated one half returned home, most did not return as frequently as do current Hispanics. They also didn't use a lot of our infrastructure because we didn't have a huge infrastructure.
Let's be clear that a huge reason the illegal immigration problem will solve itself is that certain booms, like the housing boom, cannot last forever.
Not kidding about English as the official language
Submitted on February 12th, 2008 by BenNo, I'm not kidding. I regret, however, that it took you just four sentences to haul out the old chestnut of "fascism." I understand that by invoking it, one is supposed to have the last word on any subject and foreclose the possibility of further discussion. But maybe if we delve a little deeper into the subject, we can have a conversation rather than cast aspersions.
"We are an entire nation of immigrants, and as such, no official language can or should be imposed on the public." Sorry, but the one doesn't follow from the other. We are a nation founded by English speakers with a long heritage of English speaking. True, the Founders also spoke Greek, Latin, German, Welsh and French, but those weren't the languages they chose when it came time to write the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, or the Bill of Rights. The early Americans took pains to ensure that newcomers would fit in, and language was an important part of the process.
And let's be precise: We are not a nation of immigrants. I'm not an immigrant, nor do I have any special affinity for the language and culture of my Eastern European ancestors. Most Americans aren't immigrants, but rather the descendants of immigrants. It's more accurate to say we are a nation of assimilation, in which most non-English speaking immigrants have gladly adopted the dominant language to fit in and succeed here.
So English has always been the de facto language of the United States. Let me offer two reasons for making English the official language of the United States under the law:
Finally, not that we should put much stock in public opinion polls, but 85 percent of Americans think English should be the official language, according to Rasmussen Reports. My guess is most people think that making English the official language is common sense. "Fascism" likely has little to do with it.
It's an idea... but a bad one
Submitted on February 12th, 2008 by MeAmKumarEnglish as an "official" language? You're kidding right? Excluding those who are 100% native american, we are an entire nation of immigrants, and as such, no official language can or should be imposed on the public. I know our current president is trying to usurp as much power as possible these days, but i didnt realize we were adopting fascism as a way of life yet, and the imposing of a national language would reflect that.
You need to ask yourself, will a non-english speaking person ever be elected to any state of federal office? Be appointed as a federal or state judge? Hold any authority in this country at all?The answer to all three is a resounding NO, and hence why an official language is a completely rediculous idea.
English should be the official language
Submitted on February 12th, 2008 by Ben"It seems to me that Ben/Joel both make a case for holding to the American ideals. However, we don't even enforce the adoption of the English language on immigrants."
You are correct. We've heard a lot of talk this election year about "unity." Well, how would unity work in practice? Certainly one way to keep a country united is to have government do its business in one language. For the United States, English is that language. So English should be enshrined in U.S. law.
That's one of the crucial points in the Sam Huntington article, by the way.
During the each of the past two years worth of agony about "comprehensive immigration reform," Sen. Lamar Alexander offered an amendment that would have made English the official language and required fairly intensive civic education for newcomers. Had those amendments actually passed, they would have made much of McCain-Kennedy easier to swallow.
There is currently a bill by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, languishing in the House, H.R. 997, that would "declare English as the official language of the United States, to establish a uniform English language rule for naturalization, and to avoid misconstructions of the English language texts of the laws of the United States, pursuant to Congress' powers to provide for the general welfare of the United States and to establish a uniform rule of naturalization under article I, section 8, of the Constitution." King's bill has 145 cosponsors, including a few Democrats. It deserves a full debate and an up-or-down vote.
Press 2 for English?
Submitted on February 12th, 2008 by AnonymousIt seems to me that Ben/Joel both make a case for holding to the American ideals. However, we don't even enforce the adoption of the English language on immigrants.
Fear and Americanization
Submitted on February 12th, 2008 by BenAmericanization doesn't happen solely by osmosis, Joel. That's part of it, of course. But in the past, it also occurred through a fairly rigorous and unapologetic process of civic indoctrination. It may seem silly now, but remember, too, that the sentiments of Franklin and others didn't float out into the ether of American discourse and disappear. They were followed closely by laws and policies, to say nothing of an effort by early educators such as Noah Webster to ensure that generations of Americans learned to be, well, American.
"We'll change them, too," only if we firmly reject the destructive notions that one can be an American without having understanding the language, the principles, the history and the duties of citizenship.
A couple of thoughts about this immigration topic
Submitted on February 12th, 2008 by JoelThe Pew study referenced above bases its projections on past patterns of immigration, legal and illegal. But I'm not sure that it will hold.
The New York Times reports today that the number of immigrants in Arizona now seems to be dropping, thanks to a combination of tougher enforcement and a softening U.S. economy. If the U.S. really is entering a recession -- it is -- and it lasts awhile -- it might -- that will throw a monkey wrench into Pew's projections.
That said, I'd refer Samuel Huntington -- referenced in Ben's take above -- to the Matt Yglesias link, which contains Ben Franklin's worries about German immigrants:
Sound familiar? It should. And similar fears have been expressed, over the years, about immigrants from Italy, Ireland and elsewhere. Today, it all seems silly. Hispanic immigration into America is nothing new, really, and the fears of Huntington (despite his mass of credentials) ignore the trends of history.
That's not to say we won't be changed by our new neighbors: We will. But we'll change them, too. And we'll all end up stronger for it.