To state the obvious: not all Hispanics are immigrants, and not all immigrants are Hispanic. Still, there's no mystery here. If more poor and unskilled people enter the country—and have children—there will be more poverty. (The Census figures cover both legal and illegal immigrants; estimates of illegals range upward from 7 million.) About 33 percent of all immigrants (not just Hispanics) lack a high-school education. The rate among native-born Americans is about 13 percent. Now, this poverty may or may not be temporary. Some immigrants succeed quickly; others do not. But if the poverty persists—and is compounded by more immigration—then it will create mounting political and social problems. One possibility: a growing competition for government benefits between the poor and baby-boom retirees.RTWT!!! I'm betting we won't hear about ANY of this during the last debate even though it should be one of the main foci. I hope I'm proven wrong but Bush's answers to O'Reilly didn't give me much hope.
You haven't heard much in this campaign about these problems—and you won't. To raise them is to seem racist; that's a heavy burden for politicians or journalists. Politicians also risk alienating Hispanic voters. Worse, there's the hard question: what to do? President George W. Bush and various Democrats have offered immigration plans that propose different ways of legalizing today's illegal immigrants. That's fine as long as the future inflow of illegal and poorer immigrants can be controlled. That would require stiffer measures than either party has endorsed. These are tough problems; our leaders give them the silent treatment. This is understandable, but it won't make them go away.
BOTTOM LINE: Dems want illegal immigration for votes (it isn't easy to fight the Republican tide resulting from the "Roe effect") and Reps want them for cheap labor. It's an unholy alliance.
(Hat tip Michelle)
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