Immigration changing our future
By Robert Hays
What is the ultimate effect of uncontrolled immigration?
Maybe these statistics will give you some idea where we may be headed. The federal government's estimate of 9 million to 12 million illegal aliens may be far below the actual numbers. That shouldn't be a surprise, for the government often minimizes its negligence on many issues, by trying to minimize the size of the problem.
Red flags began to appear in 2005, when a study by the Bear Stearns investment firm concluded the Census Bureau's numbers were extremely low. The study, entitled "The Underground Labor Force Is Rising to the Surface," set the number of illegal aliens at twice the Census Bureau's estimates, making the actual numbers around 20 million.
Since that study, those numbers have increased. Time Magazine reported that 3 million entered the country in 2005, which contradicted government claims that roughly a million cross our borders every year. At this point we could easily be near 30 million and counting.
The significance is obvious. With a drastic increase in the actual number of illegal immigrants, the Census Bureau's predictions for 2050 are worthless. If you double the numbers here now, the projected result will also dramatically increase.
Instead of the Hispanic population eventually being greater than 100 million, it's going to be closer to 200 million. It's conceivable that Hispanics will be 40 percent of our population, instead of the Census Bureau's 24 percent estimate.
With a birth rate 47 percent higher than the overall U.S. average, they would eventually become the largest ethnic group. The growth impact is further magnified by the fact that white and black populations have grown by only 2 percent and 7 percent respectively since 2000.
Statistics indicate that the non-Hispanic white population will contribute nothing to overall growth after 2030 because it will be declining. The black population will double its present size to 62 million by 2050.
Considering that most Hispanic immigrants are of Mexican origin, the higher numbers would easily translate into more immigrants of Mexican origin living in this country than the population of Mexico, which is expected to be 146 million by 2050.
In the coming decades, America's social and ethnic fabric is going to be dramatically transformed unless an unforeseen event alters our present course. For some, this uncontrolled immigration is perceived as a path to destruction, for others a solution to labor shortages.
What cannot be denied is that within 50 years America will be vastly different. With conceivably more Mexican immigrants within our borders than the future population of Mexico itself, I think we have every reason to be concerned.
Will these immigrants assimilate, or will they demand we accept the injection of their culture and language into ours? These are not idle concerns.
We also have reasons to wonder why our leaders in Washington are permitting this uncontrolled migration? Will our children and grandchildren in 2050 enjoy the prosperity and security we have known, or will our mismanagement of this entire issue create a country full of ethic unrest and chaos?
http://hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080329/OPINION01/803290324/1014/OPINION
By Robert Hays
What is the ultimate effect of uncontrolled immigration?
Maybe these statistics will give you some idea where we may be headed. The federal government's estimate of 9 million to 12 million illegal aliens may be far below the actual numbers. That shouldn't be a surprise, for the government often minimizes its negligence on many issues, by trying to minimize the size of the problem.
Red flags began to appear in 2005, when a study by the Bear Stearns investment firm concluded the Census Bureau's numbers were extremely low. The study, entitled "The Underground Labor Force Is Rising to the Surface," set the number of illegal aliens at twice the Census Bureau's estimates, making the actual numbers around 20 million.
Since that study, those numbers have increased. Time Magazine reported that 3 million entered the country in 2005, which contradicted government claims that roughly a million cross our borders every year. At this point we could easily be near 30 million and counting.
The significance is obvious. With a drastic increase in the actual number of illegal immigrants, the Census Bureau's predictions for 2050 are worthless. If you double the numbers here now, the projected result will also dramatically increase.
Instead of the Hispanic population eventually being greater than 100 million, it's going to be closer to 200 million. It's conceivable that Hispanics will be 40 percent of our population, instead of the Census Bureau's 24 percent estimate.
With a birth rate 47 percent higher than the overall U.S. average, they would eventually become the largest ethnic group. The growth impact is further magnified by the fact that white and black populations have grown by only 2 percent and 7 percent respectively since 2000.
Statistics indicate that the non-Hispanic white population will contribute nothing to overall growth after 2030 because it will be declining. The black population will double its present size to 62 million by 2050.
Considering that most Hispanic immigrants are of Mexican origin, the higher numbers would easily translate into more immigrants of Mexican origin living in this country than the population of Mexico, which is expected to be 146 million by 2050.
In the coming decades, America's social and ethnic fabric is going to be dramatically transformed unless an unforeseen event alters our present course. For some, this uncontrolled immigration is perceived as a path to destruction, for others a solution to labor shortages.
What cannot be denied is that within 50 years America will be vastly different. With conceivably more Mexican immigrants within our borders than the future population of Mexico itself, I think we have every reason to be concerned.
Will these immigrants assimilate, or will they demand we accept the injection of their culture and language into ours? These are not idle concerns.
We also have reasons to wonder why our leaders in Washington are permitting this uncontrolled migration? Will our children and grandchildren in 2050 enjoy the prosperity and security we have known, or will our mismanagement of this entire issue create a country full of ethic unrest and chaos?
http://hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080329/OPINION01/803290324/1014/OPINION