No Easy Answers on Immigration

Julia Preston writes in the NY Times: 

New immigrationand the political reaction against it are nearly as old as the UnitedStates itself. Yet the immigration surge of the last decade hasawakened tensions of unexpected intensity that have pervaded thepresidential campaigns of both parties and stirred voter anger acrossthe country.

In 1960, census figures show, the largest national group ofimmigrants was the Italians, accounting for 13 percent of theforeign-born. Today, Mexicans account for one-third of all immigrants.Spanish-speakers make up nearly half of the 37.5 million foreign-bornpeople in the country. Young Latino immigrants have brought Spanish tostates that had had little exposure to it, like Iowa and NorthCarolina.

In addition, never before have illegal immigrants settled here insuch numbers — an estimated 12 million. Almost 70 percent of thoseimmigrants are Spanish-speaking, coming from Mexico and CentralAmerica, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisanresearch group.

Coinciding with the mood of apprehension following the Sept. 11,2001, terrorist attacks, the new immigration has provoked more than thetraditional suspicion that foreigners are taking jobs from Americanworkers. For many voters in the primary races, immigration has becomean urgent national security concern and a challenge to the Americanidentity.

The new immigration also sharpened the rift between the federalgovernment and the states. Across party lines, frustrated voters accusethe Bush administration of failing to secure the southern borderagainst intruders, of being lax on employers hiring illegal immigrantsand of preaching assimilation without providing resources for localschools where Spanish-speaking students are enrolled. Click here for the rest of the story.

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