US Hispanics

Read the new immigration posts here:

http://www.ushispanics.com/category/immigration/

Are illegals overwhelming the healthcare system?

"Too many illegal immigrants are overwhelming the healthcare system and driving up health insurance costs. That's the latest sound bite in the war of words over immigration reform. In a recent poll, a majority of the respondents thought that illegal immigrants were responsible for 50 percent or more of the uninsured treated in Southern California hospitals. But is that really the case?"

Read the complete article here:
http://www.hasc.org/lott.cfm?ID=73623

Se habla English, Vol. II

Some of the comments on the previous article:

"Check any american coin. It says E PLUIBUS UNUM. (FROM MANY TO ONE)"

"He doesn’t speak spanish & won’t work for $8.00 an hour. We don’t have 8 extra people living in our house to split the the bills."

"...I don’t see how we can fault others who are 'just off the boat' for taking a while [to learn English]."

"They ruin our way of life, they ruin our schools,our neigborhoods, and most of them smell like barnyard animals."

"Quizás podemos conversar en coreano o ruso."

"They learned the language, they opened businesses, they became policemen and firemen and even politicians."

"This is America and English is the language of the land."

"People who don’t assimilate into the American culture publicly are an insult to the country that has welcomed them."

"The reality is.. we’re in a melting pot and communities are changing daily..."

"[Walmart] makes announcements over the PA system in both English and Spanish."

" We put up signs in Spanish, Korean, martian, anything that we cant think of to get the almighty dollar through the door. "

More comments...

Se Habla English...

Many newcomers, regardless of their immigration status, don't speak English when they arrive to the United States of America.

This creates the illusion that those immigrants will never learn English.

How long does it take to learn a language, written and spoken?

Since most of these immigrants are adults, their first priority is to work, and learning a new language becomes a secondary one.

Here is an excerpt of an article regarding this matter, which sometimes gets mixed up with cheap labor and standards of living:

"I noticed an unfamiliar man performing landscaping services in my backyard. I opened the window and asked him what company he worked for and what days they are scheduled to work in our community. The middle-aged gentleman who looked Latino just smiled and kept saying “Buenos dias.” He was unable to understand or respond to basic questions that he probably knew the answers to. Because my Spanish is about good as his English we were at an impasse to communicate basic information."

Do you need an interpreter to live in [America]?

Immigration is in America's Self-Interest

It is true that immigrants work when they get to America. They get jobs as soon as they can, and yes, they’re willing to work cheaply. But they don’t steal jobs. If you’re paying the teenager who baby-sits your children $15 an hour, and the girl across the street comes along and says, “I’ll do it for $10,” has the new girl stolen anything when you hire her? Of course not. It’s your money. You have no obligation to pay a higher price, if you can get the labor for a lower one. That doesn’t change when the nationality of the cheaper babysitter happens to be Mexican. As long as the money that you worked for still belongs to you, you get to choose what to do with it.

http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=540

Stopping the Invasion

"To listen to some of these demagogues, one would assume that the Twin Towers had been blown up by followers of the Virgin of Guadalupe or that Spanish had recently been decreed the official language of Connecticut. Having failed to scourge the world of evil by invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, Republicans, supported by some Democrats, now propose that we invade ourselves: sending the Marines and Green Berets, along with the National Guard, into the hostile deserts of California and New Mexico where national sovereignty is supposedly under siege."

Mexico's immigration problem

Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day

MSU President responds to 'Catch an illegal' event

http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=37774

Immigration Reform for Dummies

This is a nice article by conservative writer "Ruben Navarrete, hijo" :)

"First, as any border patrol agent will tell you, there's no fence that can keep out someone who is desperate to feed his family and who's willing to go around, go over, or go under.

Next, every time we crack down on the border, it enhances the bottom line for these multimillion-dollar smuggling outfits. Whereas it used to cost about $500 to cross the border, now the price is closer to $3,000. If we build more walls, the smugglers will raise prices again. That's bad. It creates an incentive for smugglers to stay in business since business is so good.

Lastly, we've built fences before, and it only resulted in more illegal immigration. It used to be that one member of a family would go north -- a father, son or brother -- and he'd work and go back to Mexico for Christmas or Mother's Day.

Each time he returned home, there was the chance he'd stay. Now, it's too difficult and expensive to cross, so the workers no longer go back. Instead, they're paying smugglers to bring their families to join them in the United States.

That's why the numbers have gone up. Like I said, 'Immigration Reform for Dummies.'"

Read the whole article here:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/25/navarrette/index.html

Secretary Gutierrez visits Colorado Springs

Secretary Gutierrez visits Colorado Springs
“We need workers” - that was the message related to Secretary Carlos Gutierrez at a round table discussion held at the Broadmoor on Monday.
“We have jobs in our country, that American citizens either don’t want to do or aren’t available to do, but need to get done.”
Stephen Bartolin, Jr. President & CEO of the Broadmoor stated the Seasonal Worker Visa (H2B) program is needed. “Without the Seasonal Worker Visa, I’m not sure what we would do. These are not minimum wage jobs we offer,” stated Bartolin, “the average housekeeper is going to make $10 an hour with a healthcare, dental and vision plan. All of that is there. But we can’t find anyone who wants to make up 12 rooms a day; work in the laundry or the golf course.”
The President of the Colorado hotel and Lodging Association reminded all that some business can outsource, but “you can’t clean a room from India”
Over all, the group was in concert that a guest worker program such as H2B is sorely needed.

www.hispanianews.com

America's growing diversity has reached nearly every state.

From South Carolina's budding immigrant population to the fast-rising number of Hispanics in Arkansas, minority groups make up an increasing share of the population in every state but one, according to figures released Tuesday by the Census Bureau.

"This is just an extraordinary explosion of diversity all across the United States," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. "It's diversity and immigration going hand in hand."

West Virginia is the exception, with its struggling economy and little history of attracting immigrants. (See state-by-state comparisons)

Frey said states that attract large numbers of immigrants can consider it a "badge of economic success." There have, however, been backlashes.

"In some places it will be a while before they are accepted by the locals," Frey said. "All we have to do is look at this immigration debate."

Immigration policy is a big issue in this year's midterm congressional elections, and the new data help explain why.

Immigrants -- legal and illegal -- make up a growing portion of the population in 46 states and the District of Columbia. Nationally, they went from 11.1 percent of the population in 2000 to 12.4 percent last year.

The 2005 figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which is replacing the "long form" on the 10-year census. Starting this year, the annual survey of about 3 million households provides yearly data on communities of 65,000 or larger. By 2010, it will provide annual multiyear averages for the smallest neighborhoods covered by the 10-year census.

The data released Tuesday cover race, immigration, education and age characteristics. Economic and housing data will be released in the coming weeks.

The survey, which cost $170 million in 2005, has limitations. For example, only people living in households were surveyed. That excludes the 3 percent of people who live in nursing homes, hospitals, college dormitories, military barracks, prisons and other dwellings known as group quarters.

Also, the numbers for Gulf Coast states do not reflect the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which scattered hundreds of thousands of people last year.

Among the findings:


Education levels increased in every state from 2000 to 2005. Nationally, the share of adults 25 and older with at least a high school diploma increased from 80 percent to 84 percent. The share of adults with at least a bachelor's degree increased from 24 percent to 27 percent.


Every state is getting older. Nationally, the median age -- the one at which half the population is older and half is younger -- went from 35.3 in 2000 to 36.4 last year.


Hispanics increased their hold as the country's largest minority group, at 14.5 percent of the population, compared with 12.8 percent for blacks. Hispanic is a term for people with ethnic backgrounds in Spanish- speaking countries. Hispanics can be of any race, and most in the U.S. are white. When demographers talk about the shrinking percentage of white people in America, generally they are talking about whites who are not Hispanic.


Such whites are a minority in four states -- Hawaii, New Mexico, California and Texas -- and the District of Columbia. The share of white people fell below 60 percent in three other states: Maryland, Georgia and Nevada. Nationally, non-Hispanic whites make up about 67 percent of the population, down from 70 percent at the start of the decade.

California, New York, Texas and Florida have the nation's largest immigrant populations. The new data show that immigrants will travel beyond those states if there are jobs available.

South Carolina's immigrant population grew by 47 percent since 2000, more than any other state. The Hispanic population grew by 48 percent in Arkansas, the most for any state.

Michael MacFarlane, South Carolina's state demographer, said immigrants and Hispanics were attracted by a healthy economy that offered jobs requiring few skills.

"They are in all sorts of construction, food processing, service jobs, the whole spectrum, where they used to be primarily in agriculture," MacFarlane said.

West Virginia, meanwhile, was one of only two states in which the percentage of white people grew. The other was Hawaii, where whites are an increasing minority.

U.S. about to have 300 million Americans

Some countries have growth headaches, others beg for babies

WASHINGTON (AP) -- As the U.S. population speeds toward 300 million, the growth is producing headaches for Americans fed up with traffic congestion, sprawl and dwindling natural resources.

But the alternatives are pretty scary, too. Just look at Europe and Japan, which are on the verge of such big population losses that several countries are practically begging women to have babies.

"Europe and Japan are now facing a population problem that is unprecedented in human history -- declining population over time with an increase in the percentage of old people," said Bill Butz, president of the Population Reference Bureau, a Washington think tank.

Countries have lost people because of wars, disease and natural disasters but never -- at least in modern history -- because women stopped having enough children, Butz said.

The U.S. is the fastest growing industrialized nation in the world, adding about 2.8 million people a year. That's a little less than 1 percent, but enough to mitigate the kinds of problems facing Japan and many European countries.

Europe, with 728 million people, saw its population shrink by 74,000 since the beginning of the decade, according to the United Nations. By 2050, it is projected to lose a total of 75 million people.

That ought to give motorists on Germany's Autobahn some extra room to change lanes. But experts warn it could cause labor shortages while straining retirement and health programs, ultimately threatening economic competitiveness.

The problem is that birth rates are so low there aren't enough young people entering the work force to support an aging population, said Hans-Peter Kohler, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania.

"Presumably, many people would not be so concerned about the numbers declining if it wasn't combined with an aging population," Kohler said. "I think it's more the age structure that gives rise to these concerns, and these concerns are well justified."

Russian President Vladimir Putin is so concerned he recently proposed paying women to have children. Last year, France increased monthly stipends to parents who take time off work to care for a third child.

When Japan announced in June that its population had shrunk in 2005 for the first time, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said, "The data must be accepted gravely."

On Friday, Japan announced that it is now the world's most elderly nation, with more than a fifth of its people 65 or older. Italy is second.

On average, women must have 2.1 children in their lifetimes for a society to replenish itself, accounting for infant mortality and other factors. Only one country in Europe -- Albania -- has a fertility rate above 2, according to statistics gathered by the Central Intelligence Agency. Russia's fertility rate is 1.28. In Japan, it's 1.25.

"We're going to have the chance to learn from Europe," Butz said. "For better or worse, they are leading the world into something that has never happened before."

John Seager, president of Population Connection, predicted that any adverse affects of shrinking populations will be temporary.

"It may be the only good crisis we ever had," said Seager, whose group, formerly known as Zero Population Growth, advocates lower birth rates.

America is getting older, too -- the oldest baby boomers turn 60 this year -- and there have been consequences. Private pensions are failing at an alarming rate and Social Security, if left unchanged, is projected to drain the money in its trust fund by 2041.

Twelve percent of the U.S. population is 65 or older, a share that is projected to grow. But two factors keep America younger than Europe: higher fertility rates and immigration.

The United States has a fertility rate of 2.05, about enough to maintain a stable population. The U.S. also adds people through immigration, something many European countries have shunned.

About 40 percent of U.S. population growth comes from immigration, both legal and illegal, according to the Census Bureau. However, if the fertility rate remains unchanged, all of America's population increase will eventually come from immigration, Butz said.

The immigration issue has preoccupied Washington and much of the country for the past year, with Congress working on legislation that would tighten borders and, perhaps, create an avenue to citizenship for many of the 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants.

Advocates argue that immigrants take jobs that would go unfilled by people born in this country. They note that the number of immigrants in the U.S. has nearly quadrupled in the past 40 years, to about 36 million, and unemployment remains low.

Opponents accuse immigrants of driving down wages and adding to an increasingly crowded country.

"Population growth kind of cuts both ways," said Steven Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates tighter restrictions on immigration.

"If you are someone who sells cars for a living, you've got more people to sell cars to," he said. "But if you are someone who drives, you have a lot more cars to contend with."

A USA Today/Gallup Poll found that 39 percent of adults think U.S. population growth is a major problem, and 57 percent think it will be a major problem in the future.

But even with immigration, the nation's growth rate is slowing. The number of people had been doubling about every half century, from 75 million in 1900 to 150 million in 1950. The Census Bureau projects it will hit 300 million sometime in October.

By 2050, the United States is projected to have about 420 million people.

Many developing countries, meanwhile, are facing population explosions. India is projected to add 473 million people by 2050 for a new total of 1.6 billion, sending it past China as the world's most populous country.

Some smaller nations will grow significantly as well, with Uganda projected to more than quadruple its population and Niger projected to more than triple its size.

At the other end is Ukraine, which is projected to lose more than 40 percent of its population, shrinking to 26 million.

China, with its one-child policy, is expected to maintain a stable population for the next four decades, leaving it the second most populous country. The United States would remain third.

"Most people would consider moderate population growth preferable to the alternatives," said Kohler, the sociology professor. "I would say that's where the U.S. falls."

Presidential address on US immigration policy

President George W. Bush: "Good evening. I've asked for a few minutes of your time to discuss a matter of national importance -- the reform of America's immigration system.

The issue of immigration stirs intense emotions, and in recent weeks, Americans have seen those emotions on display. On the streets of major cities, crowds have rallied in support of those in our country illegally. At our southern border, others have organized to stop illegal immigrants from coming in. Across the country, Americans are trying to reconcile these contrasting images. And in Washington, the debate over immigration reform has reached a time of decision. Tonight, I will make it clear where I stand, and where I want to lead our country on this vital issue.

We must begin by recognizing the problems with our immigration system. For decades, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders. As a result, many who want to work in our economy have been able to sneak across our border, and millions have stayed.

Once here, illegal immigrants live in the shadows of our society. Many use forged documents to get jobs, and that makes it difficult for employers to verify that the workers they hire are legal. Illegal immigration puts pressure on public schools and hospitals, it strains state and local budgets, and brings crime to our communities. These are real problems. Yet we must remember that the vast majority of illegal immigrants are decent people who work hard, support their families, practice their faith, and lead responsible lives. They are a part of American life, but they are beyond the reach and protection of American law.

We're a nation of laws, and we must enforce our laws. We're also a nation of immigrants, and we must uphold that tradition, which has strengthened our country in so many ways. These are not contradictory goals. America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time. We will fix the problems created by illegal immigration, and we will deliver a system that is secure, orderly, and fair. So I support comprehensive immigration reform that will accomplish five clear objectives.

First, the United States must secure its borders. This is a basic responsibility of a sovereign nation. It is also an urgent requirement of our national security. Our objective is straightforward: The border should be open to trade and lawful immigration, and shut to illegal immigrants, as well as criminals, drug dealers, and terrorists.

I was a governor of a state that has a 1,200-mile border with Mexico. So I know how difficult it is to enforce the border, and how important it is. Since I became President, we've increased funding for border security by 66 percent, and expanded the Border Patrol from about 9,000 to 12,000 agents. The men and women of our Border Patrol are doing a fine job in difficult circumstances, and over the past five years, they have apprehended and sent home about six million people entering America illegally.

Despite this progress, we do not yet have full control of the border, and I am determined to change that. Tonight I'm calling on Congress to provide funding for dramatic improvements in manpower and technology at the border. By the end of 2008, we'll increase the number of Border Patrol officers by an additional 6,000. When these new agents are deployed, we'll have more than doubled the size of the Border Patrol during my presidency.

At the same time, we're launching the most technologically advanced border security initiative in American history. We will construct high-tech fences in urban corridors, and build new patrol roads and barriers in rural areas. We'll employ motion sensors, infrared cameras, and unmanned aerial vehicles to prevent illegal crossings. America has the best technology in the world, and we will ensure that the Border Patrol has the technology they need to do their job and secure our border.

Training thousands of new Border Patrol agents and bringing the most advanced technology to the border will take time. Yet the need to secure our border is urgent. So I'm announcing several immediate steps to strengthen border enforcement during this period of transition:

One way to help during this transition is to use the National Guard. So, in coordination with governors, up to 6,000 Guard members will be deployed to our southern border. The Border Patrol will remain in the lead. The Guard will assist the Border Patrol by operating surveillance systems, analyzing intelligence, installing fences and vehicle barriers, building patrol roads, and providing training. Guard units will not be involved in direct law enforcement activities -- that duty will be done by the Border Patrol. This initial commitment of Guard members would last for a period of one year. After that, the number of Guard forces will be reduced as new Border Patrol agents and new technologies come online. It is important for Americans to know that we have enough Guard forces to win the war on terror, to respond to natural disasters, and to help secure our border.

The United States is not going to militarize the southern border. Mexico is our neighbor, and our friend. We will continue to work cooperatively to improve security on both sides of the border, to confront common problems like drug trafficking and crime, and to reduce illegal immigration.

Another way to help during this period of transition is through state and local law enforcement in our border communities. So we'll increase federal funding for state and local authorities assisting the Border Patrol on targeted enforcement missions. We will give state and local authorities the specialized training they need to help federal officers apprehend and detain illegal immigrants. State and local law enforcement officials are an important part of our border security and they need to be a part of our strategy to secure our borders.

The steps I've outlined will improve our ability to catch people entering our country illegally. At the same time, we must ensure that every illegal immigrant we catch crossing our southern border is returned home. More than 85 percent of the illegal immigrants we catch crossing the southern border are Mexicans, and most are sent back home within 24 hours. But when we catch illegal immigrants from other country [sic] it is not as easy to send them home. For many years, the government did not have enough space in our detention facilities to hold them while the legal process unfolded. So most were released back into our society and asked to return for a court date. When the date arrived, the vast majority did not show up. This practice, called "catch and release," is unacceptable, and we will end it.

We're taking several important steps to meet this goal. We've expanded the number of beds in our detention facilities, and we will continue to add more. We've expedited the legal process to cut the average deportation time. And we're making it clear to foreign governments that they must accept back their citizens who violate our immigration laws. As a result of these actions, we've ended "catch and release" for illegal immigrants from some countries. And I will ask Congress for additional funding and legal authority, so we can end "catch and release" at the southern border once and for all. When people know that they'll be caught and sent home if they enter our country illegally, they will be less likely to try to sneak in.

Second, to secure our border, we must create a temporary worker program. The reality is that there are many people on the other side of our border who will do anything to come to America to work and build a better life. They walk across miles of desert in the summer heat, or hide in the back of 18-wheelers to reach our country. This creates enormous pressure on our border that walls and patrols alone will not stop. To secure the border effectively, we must reduce the numbers of people trying to sneak across.

Therefore, I support a temporary worker program that would create a legal path for foreign workers to enter our country in an orderly way, for a limited period of time. This program would match willing foreign workers with willing American employers for jobs Americans are not doing. Every worker who applies for the program would be required to pass criminal background checks. And temporary workers must return to their home country at the conclusion of their stay.

A temporary worker program would meet the needs of our economy, and it would give honest immigrants a way to provide for their families while respecting the law. A temporary worker program would reduce the appeal of human smugglers, and make it less likely that people would risk their lives to cross the border. It would ease the financial burden on state and local governments, by replacing illegal workers with lawful taxpayers. And above all, a temporary worker program would add to our security by making certain we know who is in our country and why they are here.

Third, we need to hold employers to account for the workers they hire. It is against the law to hire someone who is in this country illegally. Yet businesses often cannot verify the legal status of their employees because of the widespread problem of document fraud. Therefore, comprehensive immigration reform must include a better system for verifying documents and work eligibility. A key part of that system should be a new identification card for every legal foreign worker. This card should use biometric technology, such as digital fingerprints, to make it tamper-proof. A tamper-proof card would help us enforce the law, and leave employers with no excuse for violating it. And by making it harder for illegal immigrants to find work in our country, we would discourage people from crossing the border illegally in the first place.

Fourth, we must face the reality that millions of illegal immigrants are here already. They should not be given an automatic path to citizenship. This is amnesty, and I oppose it. Amnesty would be unfair to those who are here lawfully, and it would invite further waves of illegal immigration.

Some in this country argue that the solution is to deport every illegal immigrant, and that any proposal short of this amounts to amnesty. I disagree. It is neither wise, nor realistic to round up millions of people, many with deep roots in the United States, and send them across the border. There is a rational middle ground between granting an automatic path to citizenship for every illegal immigrant, and a program of mass deportation. That middle ground recognizes there are differences between an illegal immigrant who crossed the border recently, and someone who has worked here for many years, and has a home, a family, and an otherwise clean record.

I believe that illegal immigrants who have roots in our country and want to stay should have to pay a meaningful penalty for breaking the law, to pay their taxes, to learn English, and to work in a job for a number of years. People who meet these conditions should be able to apply for citizenship, but approval would not be automatic, and they will have to wait in line behind those who played by the rules and followed the law. What I've just described is not amnesty, it is a way for those who have broken the law to pay their debt to society, and demonstrate the character that makes a good citizen.

Fifth, we must honor the great American tradition of the melting pot, which has made us one nation out of many peoples. The success of our country depends upon helping newcomers assimilate into our society, and embrace our common identity as Americans. Americans are bound together by our shared ideals, an appreciation of our history, respect for the flag we fly, and an ability to speak and write the English language. English is also the key to unlocking the opportunity of America. English allows newcomers to go from picking crops to opening a grocery, from cleaning offices to running offices, from a life of low-paying jobs to a diploma, a career, and a home of their own. When immigrants assimilate and advance in our society, they realize their dreams, they renew our spirit, and they add to the unity of America.

Tonight, I want to speak directly to members of the House and the Senate: An immigration reform bill needs to be comprehensive, because all elements of this problem must be addressed together, or none of them will be solved at all. The House has passed an immigration bill. The Senate should act by the end of this month so we can work out the differences between the two bills, and Congress can pass a comprehensive bill for me to sign into law.

America needs to conduct this debate on immigration in a reasoned and respectful tone. Feelings run deep on this issue, and as we work it out, all of us need to keep some things in mind. We cannot build a unified country by inciting people to anger, or playing on anyone's fears, or exploiting the issue of immigration for political gain. We must always remember that real lives will be affected by our debates and decisions, and that every human being has dignity and value no matter what their citizenship papers say.

I know many of you listening tonight have a parent or a grandparent who came here from another country with dreams of a better life. You know what freedom meant to them, and you know that America is a more hopeful country because of their hard work and sacrifice. As President, I've had the opportunity to meet people of many backgrounds, and hear what America means to them. On a visit to Bethesda Naval Hospital, Laura and I met a wounded Marine named Guadalupe Denogean. Master Gunnery Sergeant Denogean came to the United States from Mexico when he was a boy. He spent his summers picking crops with his family, and then he volunteered for the United States Marine Corps as soon as he was able. During the liberation of Iraq, Master Gunnery Sergeant Denogean was seriously injured. And when asked if he had any requests, he made two: a promotion for the corporal who helped rescue him, and the chance to become an American citizen. And when this brave Marine raised his right hand, and swore an oath to become a citizen of the country he had defended for more than 26 years, I was honored to stand at his side.

We will always be proud to welcome people like Guadalupe Denogean as fellow Americans. Our new immigrants are just what they've always been -- people willing to risk everything for the dream of freedom. And America remains what she has always been: the great hope on the horizon, an open door to the future, a blessed and promised land. We honor the heritage of all who come here, no matter where they come from, because we trust in our country's genius for making us all Americans -- one nation under God.

Thank you, and good night."