(This image is from the website Modern American History.)The Republicans would like for you to believe that we have a serious problem of immigrants in this nation of immigrants -- and that there are so many immigrants (especially undocumented immigrants) that they are destroying this country. I have never believed that was true. Immigrants are the backbone of this country -- and even the undocumented immigrants give to this country far more than they take. They boost our economy by taking jobs no one else wants, and by spending billions of dollars in this country -- and believe it or not, they pay billions in taxes (income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, fees, etc.).
O. Ricardo Pimentel has written an article about this for the San Antonio Express-News, and it is well worth your time. He says:
The sound and fury coming out of the GOP presidential race on immigration is puzzling. The facts on the ground simply don’t merit the hysteria. Mexican anthropologist Jorge Durand laid this out in a talk Sept. 15 at the University of Texas at San Antonio’s downtown campus. He detailed the “collapse” of migration from Mexico — you know, the country Donald Trump nonetheless continues to accuse of sending us bunches of criminals and rapists. Sorry, just not happening. Durand — co-founder of the statistic-gathering, trend-spotting Mexican Migration Project — spoke as part of the UTSA College of Public Policy’s distinguished lecture series. He noted that migration from Mexico reached a “saturation” point in 2007 — 10 percent of Mexicans living in the United States. But that flow has abated so much that one traditional region for migration, Los Altos de Jalisco, sends virtually no one anymore. Yes, the 2008 economic collapse in the U.S. and tighter border security have played a role, but playing bigger ones are declining birthrates and the ability to earn a nominally living wage in Mexico, particularly when families pool resources. Even with increased educational levels and wages in Mexico, paying $5,000 or so to a coyote to shepherd you across is cost prohibitive. And relatives on the U.S. side of the border aren’t financing such treks anymore. Undocumented immigration overall, but particularly from Mexico, has been at a historic low. Central Americans are still coming but not in last year’s numbers. And though the administration has been curtailing removals of undocumented immigrants this year — 229,000 — it has reportedly outpaced previous administrations in the other years of its tenure, more than 414,000 in 2014 alone. Wait, didn’t you just see an article that said the number of foreign-born in the U.S. population jumped 1.04 million last year? Right, but if you read down, you saw that this is according to government data that doesn’t account for whether the immigrants are here legally or not. And it notes that other research says the numbers for the undocumented variety are flat. Oh, and most of this growth has been fueled by Asian immigration, which doesn’t seem to be the focus of those demagoguing on the issue. Moreover, a study released last week by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine shows that the newest generations of immigrants are assimilating as quickly and as much as previous generations. They are also learning English “as rapidly or faster.” So, that leaves crime by undocumented immigrants. A few legitimately generate headlines and warrant outrage because they involve repeat felons who should have been deported. Here’s what doesn’t get a headline, however: Undocumented immigrants are no more likely — and many experts say far less likely — to commit violent crimes than the native born. Obviously, there is under way an attempt to scare you to the primary polls and the undocumented folks already here can be part of the scare tactic. Not only did they get here — illegally!!!! — but they, gasp, stayed. The problem: These immigrants essentially work for you. If mass deportations were to occur, good luck finding people to do all those jobs Americans won’t do. Good luck also paying higher prices for everything from fruit and vegetables to new houses and restaurant meals. Perhaps the real fear is what many an emailer has told me is my motivation in supporting immigration reform — the creation of more Democrats. That’s rich. Immigration reform will occur at some point because it has to — labor needs and economics generally will demand it. And there will be no mass deportations because they are logistically impractical and morally repugnant to even contemplate. This reform will likely inflict long waits until immigrants can move from provisional legal status to being eligible for citizenship — and these folks will gladly do the time and then act. Their citizen children will simply wait until they are 18 to decide whether to become politically active, in any case. Here’s what’s rich. Republicans, today’s party of finger-pointing demagoguery, are the ones creating tomorrow’s Democrats among Latinos, immigrants or not. It’s a population growing mighty fast compared to most non-Hispanic groups. Talk about fulfilling your own prophesy, sleeping in a bed of your own making.
