Immigration And The Loss Of The Golden State

           The furor over the recent Arizona Immigration bill, which represents a minimalist attempt by the state of Arizona to address the festering problem of illegal immigration, is instructive.  Rather than applaud Arizona's stand, the media and the left have attacked them viciously, threatening boycotts and hurling the standard "racist" and "Nazi" epithets.

            Arizona, as a frontline state, faces a slew of problems related to illegal immigrants, probably more acutely than others further removed from the border.  These include increased crime rates, higher unemployment, and rising costs.  Illegal immigrants are a tremendous burden on schools, hospitals, and prisons.  They also strain many social programs such as Medicaid and food assistance, which are already on the verge of insolvency. 

            Yet, all states, to greater or lesser extents, face the same problems, for all states, even those in the interior, have large numbers of illegal immigrants encumbering their public systems.  

            In 1970, there were 9.9 million Hispanics living in the US or 4.7% of the population.  In 2010, they are approximately 47.8 million or 15% of the population, making them the country's largest minority.  The (projected) Hispanic population will be 132 million or 30% in 2050.

            Illegal immigrants entering the country average about one million per year.  The number of illegal immigrants living in the US is estimated at about 13 million (but as high as 20 million), of which 59% (7 million) are Mexican; another 24% come from other Latin American countries (mostly Central America) for a total of 83% of illegal immigrants that are of Hispanic origin. 

            The number of Mexican migrants living in the US has grown 17 fold, from 760,000 in 1970 to 12.7 million (more than half illegal) in 2008, or 8% per year, maintained over 35 years, driven largely by illegal immigration.  Eleven percent of Mexico’s population of 110 million lives in the US. 

            In 1965, the “Immigration and Nationality Act” removed quotas and emphasized family reunification over merit or skills, and shifted away from European ethnicities.  Mexico has since sent the largest number of “legal” (along with illegal) immigrants (21%).  With family reunification as the primary consideration, not merit or skills, the phenomenon of "chain migration" began, a vastly increased influx of immigrants based on family ties with generally lower skills and qualifications.

            In 1986, the Immigration Control and Reform Act ("Simpson-Mazzoli"), granted amnesty to 3 million illegal aliens including more than 2 million Mexicans (who could then bring in spouses, children, and other relatives, numbering in the millions). 

            The influx of illegals continued in higher numbers, migrants realizing there would be no enforcement, and lured by the hope of also being "legalized" some day.  In twenty years, their number has grown to as many as 20 million; many of them bearing children on US soil (hence granted citizenship).  Illegal immigrants and their offspring today are also a far more vocal and radicalized bunch, with an ever-growing sense of entitlement. 

            With the massive influx of Hispanics and particularly Mexicans entering the nation either through legal channels, or, more commonly, illegal ones, it is reasonable to ask whether this unprecedented demographic shift is beneficial to the nation? 

            Alex Alexiev, writing for National Review, examines the impact of Hispanic immigration on the former "golden" state of California, the state with the greatest concentration of illegal immigrants.  He reports the following: 

            The California K-12 school system is more than 50% Hispanic.  Two thirds of kindergarten students are Hispanic, most non-English speaking.  In the Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest in California, three fourths of its 700,000 students are Hispanic.  More than half of the Hispanic students in LA are English learners and roughly half drop out of high school. 

            Sixty nine percent of Hispanic high school graduates are unable to satisfy college requirements or possess the skills necessary for a living wage.  California's once envied school system is now near the bottom among the fifty states.  It also has the highest adult illiteracy rate in the US at 23%.  The illiteracy rate in Los Angeles is at 33% or close to sub-Saharan levels.           

            Approximately half of illegal immigrant led families are on public aid of one sort or another.  The illegitimacy rate for Hispanics is 50%, double the rate for whites.  Since 1995, twenty eight percent of Mexican-American males (in San Diego) between the ages of 18-24 have been arrested and 20% have been incarcerated.  

            Most illegal immigrants and their families remain poor, unskilled, and outside the mainstream.  Research also shows that most Hispanic immigrants do not integrate into the mainstream even twenty years later, underperforming compared with the native population. 

             The cost of illegal immigrants to the California taxpayer is estimated at $13 billion or half of the state's budget deficit.

            In a single generation, the once great state of California, world leader in research and innovation, a cultural and technologic trendsetter, moves relentlessly toward deficit ridden, impoverished, third world status. 

            It is clear that the nation, like individual states such as California and others, cannot sustain the importation of millions of poor, unskilled, non-English speakers with 8th grade educations, who consume resources, burden the public systems, pay little or no taxes, and represent an emerging permanent underclass.