I'm an immigrant too, X 2 – from Puerto Rico to the U.S. (N.Y.) to Canada, where I finally found a home.
1
Good number of comments can be summed up as "Whew, I made it! Quick, shut the door before all the riff raff come in."
10
US census stats show that Asians in America get more education , earn more money , have American born children that have mastered English better, have markedly lower substance abuse rate, are incarcerated Markedly less. Pay more taxes per capita , have Markedly lower rates of teenage and out of wedlock pregnancy, have more intact families, commit less crime etc...etc...than the rest of the American population ....particularly the white population
I’d say if people wanted America to rot from within ...you keep those “Asian” people out ...then the crime rates would actually increase
24
So what if demographically speaking, you preferred the country the way it was circa 1980 or even 1990? Why is that automatically an evil thing?
14
What’s the unspoken backstory? We hear endless racists rants from the right about Central and South Americans but IN FACT most are Asian born? That’s just how I read it.
2
All of my friends who live in Brooklyn complain about how Asians are buying up all of the real estate in Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge, etc. and pushing up the prices of the homes (which are attached homes probably built in the 1920s) to over a million dollars and many are probably a million and a half. I recently had to go to a specialist on the border of Borough Park and Bensonhurst (we drove over the Verrazano Narrows bridge from NJ through Staten Island to Brooklyn) and I could not believe how many Asian people were walking in the street in that area. The whole neighborhood has changed dramatically.
I can remember living in Brooklyn in the mid 1960's we moved away in 1966 to another borough. It now looks like a foreign country. I have also noticed that the property taxes in certain areas of NYC have tripled in the past 18 years since we moved to NJ. The house I used to own had annual property taxes of $2,000 in 2000. I looked at the house online recently (it's for sale) and the property taxes are now over $7,000. When we bought that same house in 1987 the property taxes were $1,800. I also have noticed that houses in the upstate NY area are astronomical. Why do $200K homes in the Binghamton area have property taxes which are over $6,000? I know people who live in Fredericksburg, VA in a nice home and their property taxes are about $2,000. Something is definitely amiss here. These newcomers are straining the budget for services.
15
‘Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.' fits perfectly our current predicament. Except that this time it will take much less than 29 years for the pot to boil over.
5
1 in 3 residents of Boston are landed immigrants, both legal and illegal. Some days I don't know what country I am in. It's too much, too many people especially on public transportation.
11
Most Europeans, I mean the white ones, no longer like this *diverse* America, and could care less about movies chock full with minorities. I bet, in 50 years, the rest of the world will see the US, as another Brazil, and the appeal will fade. The dream they all come to is the clean, beautiful, rich suburb with blue eyed people and other hot whites they see in the movies. The rest, the poverty, the slums, the non European people they have at home, for lower rents.
7
It's almost automatic that you read that people were fleeing famine and/or violence, when you read articles about emigration, particularly to the U.S. This article is no exception. But what major wars exactly were happening in Europe around the turn of the previous century, and exactly what famines occurred back then? Maybe people just had the urge to try something new or were driven by "wanderlust." It was probably not always out of dire necessity that people uprooted themselves. At the end of WWI almost nobody came to the U.S. from Europe.
2
When I came here almost 9 years ago, people were so nice to me that I really felt I have come to a really great country where I can make my home.
But things have changed now, not sure if people have changed or they are just able to express their real views on social media or internet forums without showing their face. Now, there is so much hate everywhere even for immigrants who follow all laws, pay their taxes, are qualified. If not for some extra bucks I need to support my family back home, I will not think twice in leaving this country.
4
It's encouraging that people from other lands still want to come here, in spite of all the unwelcoming rhetoric that's put forth. I believe that diversity of culture is a good thing, good for our society and good for our economy. We can learn from others' viewpoints, habits and tastes. If you ever hosted an exchange student or were one yourself, you already know this. So enjoy your foreign born colleagues and neighbors, and make some new discoveries.
8
I am an immigrant myself who came here 38 years ago. I am living American dream, work hard and you will be rewarded based on your accomplishments and not who you know.
I have given good education to my two sons and they are contributor to the society and paying their dues to Uncle Sam.
However, our education system is not doing as good as the education I received when I was in elementary school. Because of my math skills, I am successful where I am. I had to provide additional tutoring for math and science for my kids. Corporate America needs Engineers and Scientists and there are fewer Americans going this path and I blame this on the foundation during the elementary school.
Until we fix this problem - we will continue to see other countries students who will come here, secure higher education and land jobs.
15
No wonder immigration is such a hot-button issue. 1910 was during the golden age of immigration, and we are on par with that! In 1910, our country was still growing and welcomed the immigrants, who by and large came legally. A processing center at Ellis Island was set up to screen the immigrants. Immigrants had to prove that they could support themselves and would not be a burden on the US taxpayer. There was no welfare or other federal support programs back then, unlike now.
We needed settlers then, unlike now. With a current population of 326 M, we do not need any more people! In 1910, the population in the US was 92 M. A 254% increase since 1910.
Most liberals are environmentally friendly, and preach about climate change, and well they should. But they have a tremendous blind spot regarding immigration – the rate that the US is experiencing will contribute greatly to increased C02 emissions, because Americans produce a greater level of these emissions than people in most other countries, including the immigrant-producing countries.
This level is destabilizing, politically and environmentally. It is not doing the US any good.
45
@Philly You make some good points. I can't agree with all of them though. Population has increased across the world, on average by about a factor of 4X since 1910, an even greater increase than in just the U.S.
From an economic standpoint, industrialized nations *need* immigration, as enough children are not being born to offset deaths, leading to declining populations (and economies). The fact that our per capita emissions are greater today is unlikely to maintain, in my opinion, given the rapid economic growth in many countries outside of the typical economic superpowers.
Finally, we have a unique role as a country of immigrants, that has accepted people from across the globe in a way that few other nations have emulated. While our diversity is not perfect in that there exists rampant discrimination, that is the role we have historically played and our viewed as having by many of the world's citizens.
To reject our heritage and principles over CO2 emissions while implying that we cannot reduce our per capita pollution seems like a euphemism for avoiding further demographic change. We are all citizens of this planet, and the US should lead in showing how we can best live together, responsibly and in harmony with our environment and with one another.
8
@Philly. Bingo. You've hit it perfectly. The left never addresses the obvious blind spot of immigration, population growth and the environment. Our population is unsustainable now. Adding any more people regardless of where they are from and even by birth is the single worst thing you can do for the environment.
12
@Philly
Based on your arguments, it appears that the rate of immigration in this country contributes to increase CO2 emission and hence green house effect. That is a novel and radical hypothesis. It needs proofs by evidence based data. Otherwise it is outright demagoguery. Destabilizing? Thermodynamics and fuzzy logic deals with chaos but always results in equilibrium and reasoned outcomes. Furthermore, your phrase "tremendous..." sounded like Donald who likes this word a lot.
5
For most of us, we have never been anti-immigrant. We prefer legal immigration, have been as historically tolerant as a population of one in four immigrants, and we do not intend to fill the country with immigrants nor natural bornpeople.
Like the open spaces of the western United States, the continent we share will not tolerate filling with a human population.
Despite being a magnet of populations, the USA could sustain a decade of non-immigration for assimilation. And we welcome the contributing cultural diversity.
I and others see also a positive in voluntary reproduction attrition to reduce earth's human population by a billion or two in the next 25 years.
9
I take no joy in this because this is the thing that led to Trump’s election. Maybe congress should have debated whether radically altering the ethic makeup of the US could have blowback. The blowback might be the end of the US.
7
All immigrants are not alike. In the future, I can see serious conflict arising from the highly skilled, educated workers from Asia intent on remaking America into a version of their home countries (all about technology, gaining wealth and having access to all kinds of bizarre foods) and the low paid, low skilled workers from Latin America and Africa who will feel discriminated against and cheated out of the high paying jobs that will go to these Asian workers. It will be minority vs minority, while the white minority retains its privilege, observing the conflict from the sidelines.
5
USA situation sounds very similar to NZ, what with the increase in Asian immigrants and unaffordable house prices and people who work not being able to afford rents and are living in their cars.
USA needs to get onto the education scams as well so as your nation doesn't loose it's superpower status by being conned by citizens with lots of confidence from nations that figure high on the world corruption index. Lot of new Asian families who get citizenship and bring out there elderly parents, leave their elderly parents in NZ to bring up the children, while the parents go back to their Asian country and work and pay no taxes in NZ and the elderly parents go on an Emergency benefit and the kids get everything free in our Welfare State. USA needs to check out abuse of their immigration system and get some advice off NZ.
Here's another example of Asian corruption in NZ: Do a web search: Multi-million dollar university 'assignment cheating' business in court
www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/104603775/multimillion-dollar-university-...
9
@CK New Zealand has a poor history, IMHO, when it comes to assessing who to let into their (all-whites-are-immigrants-to) their country and why. About 70 years ago, during another time of increasing far-right abuse of power, people I personally know of died horrible murder camp deaths in Europe simply because they were of the Jewish faith and the (all-born-of-white-immigrants) leaders of the New Zealand government, perhaps pressured by citizens of like mind to you, decided they’d had enough of “those” people. The United States of America can and should do without your brand of New Zealander perspective and advice. We enough of that sentiment already.
And p.s. How much of your NZ economy rests on access to the Asian market and on exploiting poorly treated workers in Asian countries that supply New Zealanders with goods at markedly lower prices than if they were produced in New Zealand factories?
2
Oh No, not another wall to be built along the west coast. Will be certainly more expensive because it has to earthquake proof. That's okay, the Chinese and other Asian countries will pay for it but not North Korea. We're best buds now.
2
Many Americans have immigration indigestion today.
12
It's not that Trump or Republicans are against immigration, it's that they are against ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. I really wish the Times would be honest and clearly differentiate between legal and illegal immigration
15
I'm pretty much anti-immigration, but it's not related to where people are coming to this country from. Ethnic diversity is awesome, and who cares if our cities are a third Korean, or Mexican, or Swedish? In fifty years, people will be wondering why we didn't do more to combat climate change, and immigration policies and silly debates like this over which immigrant group contributes most will be Exhibit A. As a Californian who lives in a Bay Area that is bursting to the seams, we have to draw a line over how many people this country can sustainably hold. I love the ethnic diversity of Silicon Valley, but it's at the point where we have to start considering the long-term welfare of our environment over endless profits.
43
@Bryan. The left is far more interested in admitting more immigrants as potential democratic voters than they are in the environment or the longterm future of this country.
7
So how about limiting interstate migration into CA or into the Bay Area? Would you favor that?
How is it ok for Americans to have been, in effect, migrant workers (albeit maybe more as managers than basic laborers) in places like oil-rich Saudi Arabia, Dubai, the Emirates or in agriculture-rich Latin America or in mineral-rich African countries or labor-rich Asia and despoil the environment in those parts of the world, but not ok for people from those lands to tax America’s environment with their presence?
3
I have always known that white liberals have a very different definition of "liberal". For them, it means abortion rights, gay rights, right to smoke pot, and other such personal freedoms that whites care about. Civil rights and rights of minorities have never been issues that excites them. That is the fatal flaw of the liberal coalition. That is why Trump won. That is why candidates like Trump will keep winning.
Unless white liberals understand that they need the other part of their coalition and pay more than lip service to their issues, they will keep losing elections, and along with them, many of the rights they cherish.
6
I'm one of the foreign born Asian-American the article describes. That "foreign" is at best imprecise. I've been here 35 years and the national median age is 37.8 in 2015. That means in a few years, I would have lived in the USA more than most natural-born Americans. But I'll always be "foreign born."
7
No one in the immigration debate seems to care about the immigration policies of the countries from which many immigrants come. In their mind, only the US is discriminatory. How much easier/harder is it for someone from Mexico or Denmark or Canada or UK or Japan or Ghana or Norway or Peru or Malaysia or South Korea or France or Tanzania or Switzerland or Guatemala or Australia to become (legal/documented) a permanent resident or a citizen of the USA than it is for an American to gain citizenship or legal permanent residency in those or other countries?
16
The only constant is change. When I immigrated to the US twenty three years ago, I was amazed at how naive and ignorant most Americans were about other cultures and about what life was like in the rest of the world. 9/11 changed that in some ways but a huge result of that has been a sudden suspicion of the differences between cultures. There is more diversity all over the world. Ask any european country or even African countries. Frankly, ask any Asian country too. Suddenly there is an influx of foreign workers who sometimes choose to stay put. Global mobility is an option and people with education and drive are taking the leap. What is sad is that the countries that are most welcoming to immigrants are going to be the successes of the future. Falling back onto exclusionist philosophies and circling the wagons is a self defeating response created by fear and ignorance.
36
@Diana Japan restricts immigration. You have to be able to speak and write Japanese in order to immigrate there. Plenty of other countries restrict immigration. My son just returned from a trip to the Netherlands, he saw plenty of Dutch people on the island of Texel on the coast of the Netherlands and in Amsterdam.
4
No one thinks of immigrants as uneducated or low-skilled. But this is largely the case with ILLEGAL ALIENS, conveniently omitted here. The far leftist propaganda keeps conflating the two and then acts surprised when the data shows what should be expected from the legal foreigners. The illegals are the issue, not immigrants.
18
From ASIA? Build a sea wall! Get the Space Force to erect an Invisible Shield (now with Gardol!) in the sky! Strong borders! We don't have a country without borders!
They're bringing physicists, they're bringing math wonks, they're bringing AI engineers and coders! They're even bringing wok jockeys! And some of them, I suppose, are good people.
P.S. Mr. 'President,' please feel free to 'retweet.' This is right up your alley.
4
How long before the narrative around immigration changes to one attacking Asians? They're taking our best jobs, trump and his ilk will say. They're just not blending in with real Americans. And they're overrepresented in Ivy League schools.
5
@tony
There are already subtle signs of it popping up: talk to someone in the Bay Area about housing and you're sure to get an earful about Asian billionaires buying up American real estate to pwn the gweilos or whatever.
3
@tony
I'm waiting for that one too. My wife fled Vietnam and she fears we may have to flee here soon.
2
Asia is a huge area, not just eastern and southern Asian countries. People from Syria are from Asia.
3
Asia has 4463 million population, which is more than 7 times the population of Latin America at 625 million. Yet the number of immigrants to the US is roughly the same 41 percent vs 39 percent. With this population background, it becomes crystal clear that Latin America immigrants are overwhelmingly over-represented in immigrants to the US. What a surprise!
13
It is unclear if the above analysis includes undocumented immigrants and DACA? It would be helpful to get the actual numbers and analysis behind the article.
7
When the instinct to prefer those who look, act, eat, speak and dress like me rears its ugly head I always remind myself we are all humans. True enough. But are all humans of equal worth and value? There are cultures where women and children are considered slaves and have no human rights, and treated horrifically. There are cultures that condone honor killings, the rape of toddlers from a lower caste, female genital mutilation, etc. etc. All the ugliness and brutality of this world that reminds me no, all humans are not created equal. I don’t care what people look like physically; I don’t care what they eat, or wear, or speak. But they must share our western values of freedom, equality, human rights; and they must abide by the laws of our society.
6
So, Deb, are you saying that female humans are not born with equal worth? And would you support asylum in the USA for women and children from these women and children enslaving raping mutilating cultures? But maybe not the men?
1
@Deb
So you reject the US Constitution because you don't share its "fundamental creed".
In that case, why would you consider yourself to be a better American than someone who's born outside of the US and does believe in the Constitution ... ?
1
Since 2000, 33 out of 85 Nobel Prize winners were immigrants.
14
It's important to emphasize that study is counting only legal immigrants.
Given their proximity to the United States, it's almost certain that Latin Americans will continue to be the majority of immigrants.
Even strict border enforcement and immigration laws that include deportations are not sufficient to offset the steady stream of immigrants from Latin America. Many thousands annually slip across the border undetected, thanks to professional smugglers.
11
When I first arrived in San Francisco after WWII from Hong Kong there were about 100,000 Chinese in the US. Most of them located in California and NYC. I was a high school student and because the Korean War, American government asked me to stay put and I am still here almost 90 years old. In fact I was drafted by the US Army during the Korean War in 1953. I must say that I love America and fulfilled my American dream. I worked hard and retired about 15 years ago and I never asked American government provide me with free meals. I hope all new arrivals from Asia should be all productive Americans not taking free rides. America is a land of opportunities. I didn't intend to stay here after my college education but politics in China Changed my life destiny. I was lucky I didn't suffered through the Mao's cultural revolution.
9
For America to prosper we need more high achievers, whether from Asia, Africa, Latin America and especially from the United States. We don't need more coal miners or human robots to run factory production lines. We need engineers who design the non-human robots that will do the factory work that humans once did. And scientists and health care workers and educators and other educateds.Trump's silly ideas and those who support him are relics of the 20th Century. To make America Great Again we need to replace the quaint xenophobic and racist ideas of Trump and his "deplorables" and start welcoming those from abroad who can really make America Great Again.
40
@RLW I must, respectfully, disagree. Our priority must be the citizens already present in this country, many of whom will need to be retrained or go through further education due to job displacement or the failure of our education system to sufficiently prepare them for the jobs of today. There are millions of college students in our country, and the only difference between American students and immigrants is how much they expect to be paid and how they expect to be treated. Many immigrants, like many Americans, are incredibly talented and capable, but we must make sure that immigration is driven by the needs of the American people and not corporate interests.
11
@RLW
Most people do not realize that only 1/3 of US STEM graduates end up working in STEM careers. The STEM "shortage" is just a ploy by the Tech Industry to bring in H1-B workers to keep wages down.
If there is a real shortage of these workers then four conditions would exist: 1) Wages for the classification would have significantly increased. 2) Unemployment in the classification would be significantly lower than comparable professions. 3) We would see is the internal training/retraining of employees to meet the new demand. 4) Companies would be more flexible in hiring STEM professionals in similar fields and/or older STEM professionals. There is some improvement in wages and unemployment (historically), but not to the extent that indicates a true “shortage”.
The reality is that the H-1B visa is used to depress skilled US wages and prepare jobs to be outsourced overseas.
The enforcement of H-1B visa requirements for paying a “market wage” is laughable. It is the wage at which the position can be filled (legally). That does not include hiring labor from overseas at below “Market Wage”. If these people are so needed and valuable, then why do they tend to be paid much lower than average wages for each classification?
4
If it includes Puerto Ricans, the number would probably triple or quadruple....
• In 1994, Puerto Rican activist Juan Mari Brás flew to Venezuela and renounced his US citizenship before a consular agent in the US Embassy. Mari Brás, through his renunciation of U.S. citizenship, sought to redefine Section VII as a source of law that recognized a Puerto Rican nationality separate from that of the United States. In December 1995, his denaturalization was confirmed by the US State Department.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rican_citizenship
• United States recognition of Puerto Rican citizenship
On April 12, 1900, the United States Congress enacted the Foraker Act of 1900, which replaced the governing military regime in Puerto Rico with a civil form of government. Section VII of this act created a Puerto Rican citizenship for the residents "born in Puerto Rico and, therefore, subject to its jurisdiction".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico
• Puerto Rican citizenship and Puerto Rican nationality
Since 2007, the Government of Puerto Rico has been issuing "Certificates of Puerto Rican Citizenship" to anyone born in Puerto Rico or to anyone born outside of Puerto Rico with at least one parent who was born in Puerto Rico. The Spanish Government recognizes Puerto Ricans as a people with Puerto Rican, "and not American," citizenship.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rican_citizenship
1
More importantly, the U.S. has managed to assimilate foreign born very well. At least the Asian Americans. While the less educated might park themselves in their own enclaves, Chinatown, Korean towns or what have you, many choose to move out of these enclaves eventually or by the next generation. The same with other foreign born. My lawyer was born in Italy. She grew up in North End (Italian enclave) but she lives in a suburb and her kids were raised in the suburb. Yet, when her mom passed away several years ago, she had a mass held back at the North End church. Americans should pride ourselves with such dynamism. On one hand, we assimilate; on the other hand, we don't forget our roots
8
@DRS. Does that way of life include agricultural workers, cheap construction labor, cheaper housing, trimmed golf courses, clean offices, homes, caregivers for Mom and Dad when you and they need sponge baths, competent Doctors, Nurses, medical staff, (Ever been in a Kaiser or other Hospital? Asians and Indians. Doctors aren't coming out of Evangelical U. or Trump U. Romney is a Mormon. The FBI and CIA recruit heavily from the Mormon population because these folks go around the world to speak the languages of those Brownies who they hope to introduce to Sky Daddy. Maybe you know some Mormons who would like to go undercover in Afghanistan or Syria against ISIS? Or, Maybe American Conservatives would like to have a an FBI Agent like Ali Soufan find out what's going on in Turdistan before the next ISIS suicide truck driver decides to park his truck outside the Oklahoma City Federal Building. Oh Wait, that's already been done by Red White and Blue terrorist named Timothy McVeigh. Or, maybe American Conservatives would like to have a DEA Agent like Michael Sum go undercover against the Shan United Army in Burma in 1990, rather than Mitt's Kids. Oh wait, they have never served in any government capacity in five generations. Or DEA Agent Violet Szel going undercover against the Colombian Cartel selling death to White Conservative America in New York City. Is that the way if life you are lamenting? The Immigrants and Sons and Daughters of Immigrants. That America?
8
This is the immigration I like. Educated people who can speak English and contribute to our economy from Day 1. This definitely helps America and American citizens as well as the immigrant. I would support more immigration like this. A more merit based immigration system.
What I dont really support is the immigration of economic migrants with no skills, who cant speak English, and who cannot contribute from Day 1. Immigration is supposed to benefit the immigrants, America, and American citizens from Day 1.
I'm fine with letting in refugees that need a generation or two to contribute, but not economic migrants. And having a bad husband does not make you a refugee. Just reclassifying all economic migrants as refugees is pretty crass to all the actual refugees out there, of which there are many millions.
If we had a more sensible immigration policy, I would support letting in more refugees. But no party supports my position. It's either build the wall or open borders. Why oh why isnt there a real third party?
16
@Jacqueline
NO political party is proposing to "reclassify all (or any) economic migrants as refugees".
And fact is that many immigrants first come here to study (we still have the best universities), and then decide to stay and to become a taxpaying citizen. What's your problem with that?
At the same time, we're at full employment and more than 100,000 jobs are still open, with companies desperately needing mostly low-skilled workers. Why would we use the government to artificially keep those economic immigrants who accept to do those jobs (with or without training inside that company, according to the type of job demanded) out of the country and as such reduce the productivity of those companies and the wealth of our nation ... ?
And no, NO party supports "open borders". Obama even deported more illegal aliens than Bush. And if you want to know what Democrats support, read the bipartisan comprehensive immigration bills that Congress has written for years already (including strongly increased border security and more limits on immigration), but that Republicans systematically block in Congress (the latest even included full funding for Trump's wall, during the spring of this year, and guess who blocked it? Trump).
Conclusion: don't believe no matter what tweet, fact-check if you're interested in the truth ... !
1
The ignorance in this comment is astounding. I suggest you do some research on what s going on in parts of South America. “A bad husband”? People are escaping areas that are like war zones because of the gang violence. They are escaping the rape of their daughters, their sons being taken by gangs, and sometimes murderous husbands but the government is such a mess, no one can protect these women.
And why do you want immigrants with a degree? Are those the jobs that need filling?
6
@Jacqueline : How many millions of Americans would not be here today if the U.S. had implemented your proposed and supposedly 'rational immigration policy' 100 or 125 years ago?
Not the Trump family. Donald J. Trump's grandfather, Frederich Trump, came here in the late 19th century at 16, spoke virtually no English, and his education ended with training to become a barber. An 'unaccompanied minor,' your 'rational immigration policy' would have placed him in a detention camp. Instead, he went out to the Pacific Northwest, where he made a small fortune operating 'hotels' (a polite euphemism for 'a place where women earn their keep lying down) near rough mining camps. That's the Trump pedigree.
Stephen Miller's family came here, like my mother's family, in the wave of Jews fleeing pogroms in Russia in the late 19th century. They spoke virtually no English, communicated mostly in Yiddish, and ran a 'dry goods store.' They were reviled upon their arrival, anti-Semitism having been far more open and fashionable than it is today. The 'dry goods store' be ame a small chain of department stores that made the Miller family somewhat wealthy. But your 'rational immigration policy' would have left them to fend for themselves with the Cossacks back home.
And your family, Jacqueline, came from where? Unless you're Native American, certainly not from around here. And were they rocket scientists?
Each new wave of immigrants has been scorned. And each new wave has made America greater.
7
It would be nice if the article provided a link to the “analysis” provided by Mr. Frey of the Brookings Institute. According to the United States DHS, Latin America (including Mexico) is STILL ahead of Asia (including India & China) for “Persons Obtaining Lawful Permanent Resident Status” (link at end). It should be recognized that Latin America represents about 10% of the Global Population, while Asia represents about 50% of the Global Population. He also glosses over the relative Educational/Skill Level between the two populations. Apparently he is MUCH more interested in pushing a Pro-Migration (legal & illegal) Political Agenda, than providing a factual analysis.
https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2016/table3
10
President Xi’s new “Silk Road” seems to be working just fine. President Xi is exporting people and goods. As this new segment of immigrants settle down in the US, Sino-American relations will undergo changes, titling more to China’s favor. President Nixon and people like the late national security advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski had been warning for decades.
Finally, Congress seems to be putting the brakes into a moratorium of sensitive technology exports to China.
Australia is another popular destination for Chinese immigrants and the government is now expressing concern - not so much for the Chinese race - as for the potential politics that awaits to be unpacked and protection of Australian mines and mineral companies.
7
A tidbit of supporting evidence: for the first time in history, Mexico's birthrate fell below the replacement rate in 2017.
It's interesting that the greatest resentment of immigrants comes from places where they are rare. The percentage increases in some red states hide the fact that they are starting from a very low base. You want to see the "harm" caused by immigration, look at West Virginia and Mississippi, two of the three states with the lowest percentages of immigrants and the highest percentage speaking English only. Would anyone argue these states are models for emulation?
8
WELCOME to the greatest melting pot in the world, Folks. Wherever you came from doesn't matter, we're just glad you got here safely. Our families got here safely enough for the last 400 years so that we're here to welcome you!
You'll quickly notice that right now, we're a nation under repair. It will get messier before it get cleaned up, but be patient, because the progress and prospects are promising. Cleaning out the nation's house and government isn't fun, but it's finally going rather well.
For now, we hope you love America as we do. Try to learn American English (it's a bit different than England's English) so we can communicate better than when we speak different languages, but keep everything you value of your more familiar culture, so we can all share in that, too. I'm glad you're here. You belong here as much as those who were here when you came. We're better for what you bring, and you'll be better for what we share with you. Welcome home.
8
Americans still perceive themselves as being either overrun with immigrants or being a exceptionally welcoming to immigrants. But almost all western european countries have a similar percentage of foreign born population. In some cases, such as Spain, it passed from almost nil to 13% in less than 20 years, and they have access to a much more extensive net of social benefits (free health and education). So America, you can afford that much and more and take care to your own in need.
9
@O Paco Americans already pay for their protection by funding NATO.
4
Those who know American history will recall that the Immigration Acts of 1917 & 1921 were the first to severely limit immigration, so the reference to 1910 levels is very instructive.
9
"41 percent of the people who said they arrived since 2010 came from Asia. Just 39 percent were from Latin America."
"Since 2010, the increase in the number of people from Asia — 2.6 million — was more than double the 1.2 million who came from Latin America."
I'm confused on how these two numbers can both be true. Were there *slightly* more post-2010 Asian immigrants than Latin American immigrants? Or *lots* more? Or am I misunderstanding these figures?
4
If 41% of people who arrived since 2010 come from Asia, then 41% of a total number of immigrants that we can all X, are Asians.
The second paragraph looks at X in a different way, and analyses the difference between how many Asians entered the country post-2010, compared to how many entered before, and the difference between how many Latin Americans entered the country before and now.
Now, 2.6 million MORE Asians entered the country than before. So now it's A (the number of Asians that entered before) + 2.6 million. We'll call the sum of A plus 2.6 million "x1".
And 1.2 million more Latin Americans entered than before, so that's LA (the number that entered before) + 1.2 million. We'll call the sum of LA plus 1.2 million "x2".
Now let's take the entire number of immigrants since 2010 again, number that we called X.
Since 2010, X is made up of x1 + x2 + x3 (with x3 being the number of immigrants who entered post-2010, are foreign-born and neither Asians nor Latin Americans. As 41% of X are Asians and 39% of X Latin Americans, x1 + x2 taken together = 80%. So x3 is 20% of those who came in since 2010 and are foreign born.
In order to know, however, how many people x1 and x2 and x3 refer to, we need to know how many entered BEFORE 2010 (= number A and LA), which we don't. We only know that there was a surge after 2010, and how much per category.
So there were slightly more post-2010 Asian than Latin American immigrants, BECAUSE of the huge surge among Asians, you see?
8
@Ted Pikul
No, you're confounding percentages of a total, and absolute numbers within a demographic before 2010 compared to absolute numbers within that same demographic after 2010.
It's just a simple math thing, you see?
By the way, imagining that people must be lying or cheating just because you don't immediately understand how what they're saying can be coherent, is not a good idea. Starting to analyze what they say to see whether you overlooked something is a much better way to get closer to the truth. If not, you'll always stick with your own prejudices.
And by the way, you're also confounding op-eds, reports, and scientific studies.
This is not an op-ed but a report. You can discover this by looking at the top of the article, where you don't see "opinion section" nor "op-ed". So it's an article that tries to objectively describe the news. Here "the news" is this new study. So it's that study, not the author of this article, that contains the numbers EJRT is referring to, you see?
What those numbers say is that before 2010, there were more Latin American born immigrants than Asia born immigrants. Today, the opposite is true, for the first time in US history, although the difference is only 2% points.
How to explain that difference?
Bot demographics saw 1.2 million more people coming to the US after than before 2010, but on top of that we had 1.4 million Asians than Latin Americans, so 2.6 million overall. And that EXPLAINS why Asians now have a higher %, you see?
@EJRT
Mr. Frey of the Brookings Institute is playing “fast & loose” with the definitions and data. (notice that the article does NOT provide a link) According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Department of Homeland Security DHS). The USA has been accepting about 1 million Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) each year for over a decade. (link at end)The numbers from Latin American Countries (including Mexico) are still higher than the numbers for all of Asia. Please remember that the Latin American population is about 1/5 of the population of Asia. It appears that Mr. Frey is more interested in pushing an agenda instead of providing solid data for the Immigration Policy discussion.
https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2016/table3
https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2016/table1
What the future looks like is my present- I work as a " pick up nanny"( transport kids to school & after school) for only non- white parents. i am caucasian- the minority care worker. We are a "village". All working to help children of our future in LosAngeles. And at times my work place perks are some great Indian food! This is in one of wealthest & affluent areas in USA- Rolling Hills Estates, CA.
4
Perhaps he'll ask the Chinese to pay for the wall now.
11
Looking for citizenship and all the benefits that come along with it, including bringing out there extended elderly families so they can suck off the welfare teat and health system.
From nations high on the corruption index; here's just one of many examples: Do a web search: Staff told to take English tests for overseas students - agents
www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/358882/staff-told-to-take-english-tests-...
15
In many of the opinions here and "out there" at large, is this idea that Mexicans in particular, and Latinos in general, are somehow less virtuous immigrants than others, say, South-Asians. Uh, why? Latin-American immigration has been an obvious blessing to the United States, and their assimilation into the population is as good as anyone's. I was amused by self-proclaimed strongly socially-conservative republicans who say they fear South-Asian immigration basically because they see this group as being somehow very different in their opinions. They shouldn't worry, they're in fine company: South-Asians are among the most socially conservative people in the world.
5
@J.B.
Yeah because of course there are no profound cultural differences between a an Islamic fundamentalist adherent and somebody who goes to an evangelical Church.
I mean Saudi Arabia is just like rural Indiana what with the praying and such.
4
There are simply more human beings in Asia and Latin America compared to North America and Europe. Consequently, we are seeing resettlement of populations across the globe, people do what they can to improve lives for themselves and their family.
America and Canada have been choice destinations for generations, although the tide may be turning.
We have to collectively think of the planet to be able to keep our world healthy for our children and their children. Simply putting up boundaries and turning a blind eye to destruction elsewhere is decidedly myopic.
3
Whether it is racist Republican hysteria over immigration or many Democrats’ recent obsession with Russia’s alleged election meddling, many Americans seem to believe that their country has the right to thoroughly effect and lord over the rest of the world while being totally insulated from its other human residents and their aspirations. These beliefs betray the US’s imperialist culture and are untenable over the long term.
Trump is a reminder that this country’s ignorance is profound and dangerous. I blame Americans less for their ignorance of foreign cultures and more for their lack of self-awareness: patriotic Americans must learn to know themselves and the ways their country effects the world.
5
@Basant Tyagi
All American intelligence agencies and bipartisan Senate committees have confirmed the fact that all available evidence PROVES Russian meddling in the last elections.
The fact that only Democrats and the Republicans on those committees and in intelligence agencies still have the guts to face and admit proven truths whereas the president and many other Republicans and the GOP propaganda machine Fox News prefer to put their heads in the sand and make people believe that that evidence does not exist, does not in any way alter that evidence, or makes it the result of a "Democrats' obsession".
The truth matters.
I do agree with the rest of your comment though.
2
I am a legal immigrant from India and I totally dis agree with your analysis. Trump is finally speaking the truth and actually cares for American citizens.
4
@Ana Luisa, you are right that the evidence supports Russia attempting to influence the election and that Republicans have been cowardly in not openly accepting this. My problem is when Democrats ignore the US’s decades-long, bipartisan and continuing program of coups, foreign military intervention and election meddling. Indeed America intervened far more significantly in Russian politics after the fall USSR than Putin has recently. When one country dominates the world to the extent that the US has and affects the lives of so many who are not allowed a voice in US (global) decision making, it is only natural that they would seek to influence the American political system.
Democrats also fail to point out how other players, often “allies”, have intervened in US politics in problematic ways, instead choosing to revive aggressive cold war rhetoric for votes. The singular focus on Russia distracts from the way American politics has become saturated with money: greedy domestic billionaires and interest groups have been far more corrosive to democracy than Putin, yet they are shielded when Democrats make it all about Russia.
1
Everyone has to keep in mind that the debate is between legal and illegal immigration, not just the idea of immigration. I do not recall anyone in DC saying stop all immigration, rather they advocate for a thorough vetting process and that those coming to America have certain qualities. The article seems to focus on legal immigration and yet, so many comments seem to inject the legal/illegal aspect into the conversation.
18
@Dissappointed Not sure where you look for news about legal immigration. The news is and has been over the last year, about the slow but sure introduction and implementation of rules that slow down, and in some cases completely shut down possible avenues for legal migration. there are many such laws you can find if you look for it. One example is the rule that rolled out today - which is that if a legal migrant applies for an immigration-related process - like extending a stay or transfer of status etc, and if the application is missing some informaiton - itcould be as trivial as the last page which has no content, then the government can deny the applicaiton outright and place the immigrant in deportation proceedings immediately. There is no chance to correct any mistakes, or challenge the decision because the denial places you out of status immediately.
If you are not affected by the rule, you can easily dismiss it as "y'all shoud take care to file properly", but for the people affected, it is a dracnonian law, with no oversight into how it will be applied.
These laws together combine to create a legal wall, and there is nothing to indicate this is for America's benefit. The intention seems to be to reduce the rate of brown people coming in, and preserve the white majority for a few more years.
7
@Dissappointed, Then please remind the NYT when they publish most of their immigration related articles to differentiate between legal and illegal.
6
Let’s not forget the South East Asians, legal and illegal living in the United States of America.
1
Having been an Army linguist, all my instructors were foreign (native speakers of the language I was learning). Many had been here awhile. I am an English tutor specializing in ESL.
As a rule, the first generation continues to speak their native tongue and are not terribly good with English (sometimes not wanting to speak English at all). The second generation speaks English and their native tongue fluently. The third generation learns English and hardly knows more than a few words in the grandparents' first language (that would be me).
The old customs go away except maybe a few Christmas traditions (again me). But that was immigrants from the 1800s and early 1900s. Nowadays many immigrants arrive already speaking English and knowing American customs.
The days of grandpa dragging grandkids to the store to help them shop are fading fast. Many of today's immigrants can get along just fine alone. These are the students I see in my ESL classes. Their English is sufficient to get by, but they want good English.
Once an immigrant arrives, American culture slowly takes over and the old customs begin to fade no matter how hard they may resist the change. I see it in my classes and I saw it in my language instructors.
9
@Peteyroo
"Once an immigrant arrives, American culture slowly takes over and the old customs begin to fade no matter how hard they may resist the change."
I see you're from NV.
Ever been to barrios in CA or S. Texas, where everything is in Spanish?
8
I generally recognize this but I am concerned about the stress put on public schools from having so many students with so many different native languages. I hear about this all the time when I talk to public school math and science teachers. Also, many immigrant parents don’t value education as highly as one might think; their view is that the kids should learn a trade and get to work asap. It’s very similar to my great-grandparents’ views 80-100 years ago.
9
@Peteyroo Today's immigrants cannot be counted on to assimilate the way they used to. It's too easy to stay connected to their old country, old language and old culture via the Internet.
8
"Of the 15 states with the highest concentration of immigrants, all but three — Florida, Texas and Arizona — voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. Many of the states with low and moderate concentrations of foreign-born people voted for Mr. Trump, Mr. Frey found."
That's encouraging that our increasingly college educated immigrant population is voting for rational, science based, equity based political policies.
Now all we need is for US to be democratic in presidential elections (which Clinton won by one of the largest majorities in US election history) as it is in House and Senate races and we won't have Trump disasters or Bush II WMD/Great Recession disasters.
9
@EaglesPDX
Oh yeah the Karl Marx science of sociology. Brilliant teacher that Karl. Very science based and equitable that socialism was. If only there were a political party to do a coup d'état and seize power. Oh wait that happened almost 101 years ago. Didn’t turn out good.
2
If you're not native American, you or someone in your family was/is an immigrant. My grandfather was born in Norway. Great grandparents were born all over Europe. One distant relative came here in the early 1700s from Scotland.
Stop bashing immigrants unless you're willing to hit yourself on the head with a hammer.
14
@Peteyroo. Ironically, Mexican unskilled workers hail from rural Mexico, some either don’t speak Spanish or as a second language and are descendants of people who have been in America well before God was born ( ove 10K years or more by some estimates)
6
@Peteyroo Native Americans aint from North America. Sure they got here first, but they are as immigrant as I am...
@Peteyroo You need to realize this argument makes no sense.
First, no one's family is really native to here or anywhere. Of course, Native Americans migrated to North America at some point, but even before and after Columbus there was a lot of intra-American migration with some Native American groups moving in on the territories of others. Same thing happened basically everywhere on earth. I guess to sum up: no one is born with an inherent right to any land (despite some people claiming God set aside land for them exclusively).
Second, it doesn't follow that if your grandfather was an immigrant, you must support further immigration. My grandfather may have been a coal-mining, facist, slaveowner--doesn't mean I can't oppose those things today for any number of good reasons.
4
You can buy College degrees in Asia. Lots will be from nations that are high on the worldwide Corruption Index. USA is naive.
15
@CK
And what makes you believe that highly corrupt people can nevertheless thrive in a country like the US ... ?
The example the current majority and White House is giving ... ?
In that case, they'll fit in perfectly, no?
14
Either that or attend Trump University…...
2
It's the Asians that will keep our growth going. 44% of Asian kids are college ready vs 9% of Hispanics. Keep the Asian flow going and from my limited experience they meld into the American way even if they develop their own communities for now.
6
Sure, it we still need carpenters, painters, garden help, migrants who harvest our produce (do some research the farmers have been desperate for help this season! ). College educated is awesome. We need a myriad of workers. BTW every member of my family has a college degree, we are, Hispanic.
5
"But after the passage of strict racial quotas in the 1920s, the foreign-born population fell sharply for decades in the middle of the 20th century. By 1970, the population was below 5 percent."
The Immigration Act of 1924 did not adopt "strict racial quotas." It adopted strict quotas on people not from the Western Hemisphere based on nationality (or territoriality in the case of colonies, or changes to countries). Whether or not the intent was racial, that's what was adopted.
Furthermore, it is not true that there are no quotas anymore -- there are very strict quotas on family reunification specified by country of origin and by what family member, and by whether or not the applicant for such reunification is a citizen or a green card holder.
Failure of a journalist to research what she says before she says it is not acceptable.
Eldridge Cleaver once said, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." The solution is to have an honest and open discussion about immigration, about refugee law, about all the attending issues and beliefs, and to write a new immigration act that it fits what we as a nation want for immigration, refuge, and society.
Pushing uninformed junk, regardless of good intent, isn't helpful. Gaming the current system, whether it's anti-immigrant executive action or pro-immigrant clever court arguments, isn't a good substitute for having a working and representative legislature that implements good and just policy and law.
10
The NYT LOVES this type of headline, the rest of America.......not so much
10
@There
But the rest of America were immigrants once too, or have they forgotten?
7
@There
Just for the record. This has nothing to do with: "The NYT LOVES this type of headline ..."
You do realize there is such a thing as FACTS -- don't you?
And who are you to speak for the rest of America anyway?
1
“The Census Bureau’s figures for 2017 confirm a major shift in who is coming to the United States”
I’d take this with a huge bucket of salt. Illegals from Mexico or Honduras don’t respond to the IRS, let alone the official census. Legal, educated immigrants from Asian have no fear in reporting their legal status.
We have 15M low skill illegals from Latin America taking blue collar jobs and I’m willing to bet they are continuing to come in at bigger numbers than any legal group. This has got to change to merit based.
12
@Jay Lincoln, Interesting point, if true. Can you give us a valid, reliable source, please
3
First of all, "illegals" is a dehumanizing term! Shame on you! Secondly, we needs laborers, and where did you get the number 15M?! Source?
1
If anyone is wondering where the anti-immigrant vitriol is coming from, Drudge Report has a bright red link to this article.
7
First of all, most NYT articles on immigration have a surprising percentage of anti-illegal immigration comments because negative feelings about illegal immigration can and do cross party lines. Second, any link from Drudge brings welcome additional traffic to a website and, in the case of the NYT, a welcome relief (for some of us) from the groupthink that so often prevails at the newspaper of record.
11
Very pleased to see the rich, diverse tapestry of a manifold of cultures, experiences and people in rural and suburban parts of the US - outside of the California-NY bubbles. As more Americans are exposed to diversity, and see their neighbors, who may have a different cultural heritage, as neighbors, this will hopefully reduce some of the xenophobic, paranoid stereotyping by the far-right. Segregation and economic inequality are issues that must be addressed. We need a more community-based approach to politics, and people like Beto O'Rourke and Jamie McLeod-Skinner are demonstrating a politics of inclusion is possible in the most "red" of red states and districts. Democrats: follow the path of inclusion, argue for economic equality, Medicare for All, ending Trump's insane border policies (like his decision to stop those seeking asylum for domestic violence from applying for refuge), etc.
5
@Tony Cochran, Accommodation on all sides is needed.
Native-born Americans need to be open to diversity and the foreirn-born need to make a solid effort to become better-acquainted with American culture.
2
Well, if this is true then it will only be a matter of time before Mr. Trump starts taking aim at the Asian community when it comes to immigration.
5
Creed.If your smart please come to Canada.Weather getting warmer and immigrants welcome.
2
Immigrants! WE get the job done.
7
@KO
Absolutely! Always have.
4
Those championing sane immigration control are unfairly generalized into a category of "nativists, bigots, racists". This generalization is a blatant attempt to ramrod unfettered open borders down the throat of the US public using ad hominem attacks to try & discredit opposing border control proponents. The motive for wide open borders is undoubtedly political, an naked attempt at voter harvesting.
What nobody every brings up is that vast majority of border control ppl don't care one iota /where/ immigrants come from, as long as it's a legal entrance, followed by swift assimilation and //adoption of our language & customs//. Full stop. My anecdotal experience is that Asians are Fantastic at assimilation and fitting in/productivity ASAP.
Also no one amazingly never utters 1 word about the consequences of open borders on our already fragile infrastructure. Sincere journalists would study train/highway/air capacity and infrastructure status and how immigration trends impact it and project to impact it. Notice how I said sincere journalists, and not propoganda mouth pieces.
13
One thought is that the 2017 data presage the 2020 census; the data might even obviate a door-to-door "enumeration." The Constitution says sensuses must be by "such manner as (Congress) shall by Law direct." It doesn't say that personal interviews/mailed responses are required.
1
Trump will find a way to turn these statistics into fear. Kim-chi everywhere!!!! Curry trucks on every corner!!! Sikhs seeking work!!! Take a good look at the population that was arriving in the US in 1910 & who they were & who they are now. They are most likely you & me.
7
With current immigration and birth/death rate trends, the white population will become an ever decreasing minority in the U.S.
1
Our great country is a country of immigrants! Yes, they were mostly white and sadly that is the criteria for a minority of our population to judge immigrants of today. WHAT A SAD MISTAKE!
8
I will watch Fox news tonight. It will be very scary. Fun night.!
4
You mean all of this talk of Hispanics taking over US politics because of immigration was wrong. You tell me now that Asians outnumber Hispanic immigrants! Now you tell me. What kind of an expert couldn’t have discovered this while it was happening? What would you know now that you didn’t know in 2014 for example.
5
Let's face it. Advances in technology, transportation and trade make the world ever closer together. Yet native-born population in many developed nations reproduces less and ages faster. So a logical solutions to re-vitalize an aging country is to bring in immigrants and integrate them well into the society. The US as a country has proved that it can make this integration work. In fact, this is a great source of this country's competitive advantage. In comparison, just look at Japan - ethnically homogeneous country with aging population and declining economy - and unable and willing to integrate immigrants. So the answer to the immigration question is not to bar immigrants, but to focus on finding ways to improve integration.
7
I live in Southern California and raised my children here. We have all benefited by the countless number of children who are the products of first generation Asian immigrants. My kids were constantly trying to do as well in school as a Yee, Su or Kim sitting next to them. It made them better and enriched their understanding of the world and the value of hard work. The best thing we ever did as a family was to move to California in the 1980's. The state still embodies what it means to be an Amercian and it always will. Diverse, smart, forward thinking and welcoming. Captured in an appropriate name...The Golden State
8
Australia's foreign-born population percentage is over double that of the United States at 28.5%. Somehow our nation seems to have retained its sense of itself and not descended too far into inter-ethnic strife and far-right ignominy. Could be 'cause it's more like a social democracy than the US me thinks.
6
@GRW
Unless you are an Aboriginal Australian....
5
@Alex
We didn't sell horses and rifles to our indigenous population and then go to war against them.
Does the US have a bi-partisan policy to "Close the Gap" between its indigenous and non-indigenous population's life outcomes?
Does the US have a government-funded national indigenous free-to-air television station?
How many native Americans are there in your Congress?
Unbelievable!
1
Let's not concern ourselves with the "we don't want them" mental pathology. Better that we wonder whether "they" want us. We can't suppress their votes forever.
6
Finally some substantial immigration from somewhere else in the world than Central America and Mexico. By the way, who ever thought it was just that the majority of immigrants would come from one country?
1
@Shamrock Who ever thought it would be desirable for a majority of immigrants to come from one country?
1
Good. Hopefully they "take us over" demographically and save us from ourselves. First and second generation appreciate our democracy in a much better way than our complacent white folk who take it for granted.
We've lost it. Hope it can be regained.
8
To be honest, I think a good amount of the reaction to immigration is due to the fact that the composition was heavily weighted towards persons originating from Mexico. The issue of immigration and NAFTA both seem to provoke rather negative emotional references to Mexico and Mexicans from certain partisans. Wonder if these trends will lead to a change in sentiments? My guess is maybe not so much - such partisans seem to ignore the plateau in Mexican immigration since 2010, and that China, not Mexico, has presented the biggest challenge to US domestic manufacturing, and other salient developments.
4
Some years ago, the NYTimes op-ed pages had a column about post grad foreigners in Ivy League universities. I do not recall the writer but he noted that there was significant representation from Black African countries and the Caribbean as well. He may have said over representation. This has been well known as is the fall off in graduate students coming to do post grad in USA based universities. A combination of religiosity and ignorance is allegedly involved. Students and their funding increasingly prefer Asia and Europe. This is ongoing.
3
I am a 4th generation Native Californian and immigrants have made our state the 5th largest economy in the world. As a Californian, non-white residents have always been in my life and a part of my life.
This is what makes my state my home.
12
While the NYTimes embraces open borders and diversity, they condemn segregation and inequality. But the fact remains that most coming to the US build an enclave for themselves with others like them. Every city in the US shows that distinctly, it cannot be denied. I do not blame people for wanting to live in areas that share their values and culture. But it is hypocritical to claim that diversity is a good thing, when in reality, people come and live together - no diversification is desired by them. Yes, we have lots of different restaurants, but that is not diversity. As far as ranting about inequality - the NYTimes conflates equal access with equal outcomes. The US is like Europe now, taking in too many immigrants, over-running their own social programs and way of life while they stand upside down to demand the host country accommodate them. The immigrants, legal or illegal, come mostly for economic gain, which they send back to their country. The cost of an immigrant to the US is not a net, but on average $250,000. For each immigrant. They NYTimes lies about those stats, conveniently telling the story of an individual over the group. But when I can no longer expect to speak English in my own country, I'm beyond angry. The Dems are on the wrong side of history here. Period.
29
@Ma
And where exactly does this study (NOT the NYT, but the Brookings Institute, remember ... ?) mention (let alone embrace) "open borders" ...
And "diversification" doesn't mean entirely abandoning your roots. As many places on earth show, the more you embrace your own roots freely and intelligently, the more you learn how to live in harmony with people who prefer totally different ways of life.
And as someone living in Europe right now, I can assure you that Europe is NOT "over-running their own social programs and way of life" at all. There's just no evidence to back up such a fears.
And of course immigrants, contrary to refugees, come for economic gain. But here too studies show you wrong when you believe that America, the wealthiest nation on earth, somehow would lose money by attracting so much foreign-born talent (whether blue or white collar).
Finally, why would you no longer be expected to speak English ... ? And since when are Democrats trying to get rid of English ... ?
Many Western nations have more than three official languages, and nobody ever suggested to no longer see English as an official American language - especially not Democrats.
Conclusion: imho you're suffering from FNS, "fake news syndrome" ... and that's exactly where the GOP wants to be. And I really don't see how scaring their own voters with fake news somehow can be called "American" ...
6
@Ma, pretty much everything in your comment is wrong, exaggerated or half truths. The one standout is the cost of immigration to the U S. The 2016 National Academy of Sciences report on immigration covers both the first generation negative impact and the second and third generation net economic gain from immigration. So conservatives like to point to the first generation and ignore the resulting gains from second and third generation immigration. The part of your comment about open borders (hyperbolic nonsense) ignores the fact that no one including the NYT is advocating what anti immigration purists (ie racists and xenophobes) call "open borders". As to diversity I suggest you do more than visit restaurants and you will find a much more diverse nation then you imagine.
7
I’ve worked with many Asian immigrants. Definitely, they like their customs but within a few years they are living in mixed neighborhoods. Remember, most of the immigrants from Asia speak excellent English, are well educated & add to our economy & pay taxes. They do not cost the US $250,000!
3
I like all the different people and cultures we have here in Southern California, but it is so crowded that I rarely go anywhere besides to local businesses. Meanwhile population grows, poverty grows and water reserves shrink.
18
America is at the beginning of a new era that will challenge old and new inhabitants alike to redefine itself if we are to continue to deserve to be called “united”. The old middle class is gone. Upward mobility is now more challenging as our borders are opened to the best and brightest from the rest of the world. Our education systems lag behind, further disadvantaging those who grow up here. The American work ethic, based on 40 hours of work a week and that most American of inventions, the weekend, is a fond memory for Americans of a certain age. We are lazy in comparison to the effort put forth by many if not most immigrants. We are spoiled by a long run of prosperity that erased from our being, the moxie to endure the hardship that our ancestors did through the Depression and 2 world wars. We have a lot to process about our new place in our country.
I will be interested to see how civil rights will play out in immigrant communities where things like interracial and gay marriage are simply not acceptable and patriarchy is still the norm. These tests will play out in the next generations of these immigrant families. What will assimilation look like, to the degree it comes at all?
38
@LL Like it or not, you hit the nail on the head. What I find interesting are all the mainstream television commercials that still depict "Good Ol' America" being alive and well. It seems as though advertisements of any kind are the only "places" where it still exists.
3
@LL
"see how civil rights will play out in immigrant communities where things like interracial and gay marriage are simply not acceptable and patriarchy is still the norm"
Ironically, I worry more about rural white Americans lack of acceptance of interracial and gay marriage. I worry about American women who recently voted for more patriarchy rather than rejecting it. Immigrants are not the problem.
2
41% from Asia and 39% from Latin America - And this article makes it seem like an Asian Invasion???
Slanting facts to fit a storyline?
A 2% point difference is negligible.
8
Furthermore, Asia has a population that is 7 times that of Latin America. This is not an apples to apples comparison!
6
@Jake
Mr. Frey of the Brookings Institute is playing “fast & loose” with the definitions and data. (notice that the article does NOT provide a link)
According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Department of Homeland Security DHS). The USA has been accepting about 1 million Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) each year for over a decade. (link at end) The numbers from Latin American Countries (including Mexico) are still higher than the numbers for all of Asia.
It appears that Mr. Frey is more interested in pushing an agenda instead of providing solid data for the Immigration Policy discussion.
https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2016/table3
https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2016/table1
Before the anti-immigrant community goes off on this article too much I wanna ask a simple question: How did your family come to America?
13
I could say they came here thousands of years ago and when discovered by Europeans in the 15 th century, they were largely exterminated over the next few hundred years and their culture destroyed.
The details differ but I see it as equivalent to the 1940's Holocaust. We did the same to native Hawaiians but with less violence.
So this European infestation must be diluted by welcoming immigrants from around the world. Placing Latino children in cages is also Nazi type behavior. And disappointingly the American public is largely apathetic.
Government treatment of Muslims and those south of the border is also deplorable.
And racism re African Americans, though it changes in form remains unabated.
We have much to be ashamed about.
5
No wonder de Blasio and his education flunkies are so concerned about Asians making up such a large portion of the competitive NYC high schools, claiming that African-Americans and Latinos can't compete with the Asians for entrance into those schools. No wonder schools like Harvard are so adamant about limiting spaces for students of Asian background.
The good news is that the Trumpster doesn't need to worry about building a wall to keep out Asians. The oceans serve that purpose. But facts don't seem to matter.
8
What was the share of the foreign born in America in 1491?
If you don't like America and its vast descendants of foreign born or newly foreign born residents, then stay out.
7
@Uptown Guy
How did not controlling their borders work out for Native Americans?
Why should we repeat their mistake? I would prefer to learn from my ancestors' mistake.
2
As one of the migrants to US from Asia let me assure some native born Americans that we share your values. I feel many of the so called American values such as right to free expression should be human rights. We didn't come to US to make a quick dime. Arguably Asian economy which is booming offers a lot of opportunities. We came here to live in a meritorious society where it doesn't matter whom you know or what family you were born in. Unfortunately US is not quite there. But it still a heck of a lot better than where I am from. We will fight as Americans for that vision.
101
@Vik inspiring! Thanks for your perspective
4
Welcome and thanks for the vote of confidence. We are all better for having you here.
1
America is a very tough place to live, let's not kid ourselves. The streets are not paved in gold and you can fall just as quickly as you rise but the opportunities are getting more and more scarce because 95% of the working people in this country are left to compete for the remaining 25% of the wealth! The top 20% on the social ladder own over 75% of the wealth of this country and they've tried to convince us all that our "competitor" for the scraps off their table is an immigrant? I don't think so.
8
@Geraldine
That is an incredibly slick backhanded although ultimately unsuccessful argument for not changing our immigration policy.
3
Does this mean Trump will be moving his walls to SFO, LAX. and JFK?
11
I wonder about the accuracy of the census. If I were a foreign born US Citizen from a Latin American country I would not have responded to a census. Is it possible there are a lot more Latino- Americans than we have counted?
9
The idea of America, the values and emphasis on freedom etc are what makes an American. You can be uneducated or highly educated, poor or rich , highly skilled or low-skilled - it doesnt matter - people fall across an entire spectrum of diversity.
What should matter is that if there are demographic changes on a grand scale, the idea of America should not change- the tenacious adherence to liberty and freedom should always be preserved by the people - whether they are brown or black or white or any color in between.
If immigration poses a threat to these ideals, it is cause for concern. However, the objections raised by anti-immigration forces are entirely the opposite - that they don't 'like' how people look or talk etc. It lacks any substance.
7
@Guest
Because voting overwhelmingly for radical social engineering and quasi and/or Socialist, some would say borderline Fascist or “Red Fascist”, political and social ideals is as American as baseball and apple pie.
1
I'm sure a lot of the increase from Asia has to do with companies sponsoring them because of their highly technical training. Skills that take a long time to learn and which the American education system hasn't really aimed to instill until recently.
3
@LR Sure they're sponsored, but those companies routinely abuse the intent of the so-called skilled worker visas and what they sponsor is not the best or most skilled. I am so tired of having to work with poorly trained H1b visa holders when I know there are Anericans who might not claim the same level of knowledge on their resumed but who could do the same work.
10
Do we really need masses of new people entering the country? Whether on not immigrants are on average energetic, educated and talented isn't the only issue. Where do we put them? Our water, electrical, sewerage and other infrastructure resources are already strained and there's little room for new highways. Have you tried to drive around the New York area lately?
27
What astonishes me about this topic is not the growth rate but the absolute value. 13.7 % foreign born.
If you were at lunch with 10 representative Americans, one, let's call him Joe, would be foreign born. The other NINE wouldn't be.
Is Joe so noxious that he is really, single handedly, ruining lunch? Is his presence the defining aspect of the afternoon, worth worrying about ahead of all else? Does it make sense for the other nine to be viscously divided on how to treat Joe? Whether to kick him out, or invite him again, whether or not he is paying his part of the bill (which incidentally he is.)
If 3 or 4 folks at the table are having a tough time in their lives, can they really ALL blame Joe?
And by the way that 13 percent includes a lot of variety. Joe might be a longtime US citizen who is American as apple pie.
6
@Ray
The 2 million illegal aliens currently working in California represent over 11% of the total California workforce. It is of course a MUCH higher percentage of the lower skilled workforce. As a rough guess considering the education & skill level, I would guess that illegal aliens are about 30% to 35% of the lower skilled work force. THAT causes a MAJOR impact on competitive wages. You CANNOT increase a labor workforce by 30% to 35% and NOT expect a decrease in wages and/or working conditions.
http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.ca.htm
The numbers in the US overall are not quite as bad. The 8 million illegal aliens currently working represent about 5.3% of the total US workforce and about 16% to 20% of the lower skilled work force.
Here is a link to the official numbers from the US Department of Labor & Training: http://www.dlt.ri.gov/lmi/laus/us/usadj.htm
Deportation & E-Verify are the best ways to quickly improve wages, working conditions and employment for citizens & legal alien workers.
BTW: We currently have 43 million (legal) immigrants in the USA. How many is enough? Shouldn’t our Immigration Policy assure that EACH immigrant is a benefit to the US and all its citizens? Why would we import people that have minimal skills and education?
4
Had Mr. Frey of the Brookings Institution lived near Oregon's Silicon Forest, he would have lost his antiquated view of low-skilled immigrants years ago.
Yes, educated, ambitious immigrants inject vitality into our economy and diversity into our communities. And yes, it does take some getting used to seeing and living with that increased diversity.
It's also challenging to think that if our nation invested in higher education like most other industrial nations, we would need less immigrants to fill high-tech jobs.
Here is yet another example of conservatives shooting themselves (and the rest of us) in the foot. By decrying "big government" and not funding higher education, conservatives enable corporations to import educated laborers who will work for less.
7
@Steve W...It wasn't conservatives who gutted the great California system of higher education. All the credit goes to the "progressives" that have infested Sacto for decades.
3
San Francisco is a messy, crowded city overrun with persons of every ethnicity, religion, birthplace, etc., and we love living in the midst of such vibrant diversity. In a nearby mall are an imported Japanese udon noodle restaurant, a bakery chain popular in China and Taiwan, clothing and variety stores headquartered in Asia, in addition to standbys like Nordstrom, Target and Peet’s coffee. A heady mix of languages provides the shopping soundtrack. The many immigrant families who traverse this mall exude energy and optimism. In my view, the renewing forces of immigration have always been America’s “secret sauce”.
8
I swear the only thing taught about immigration to people in the US is the Lazerus Poem and that we are a 'melting pot'.
How about too many people? That was then this is now.
11
@james "that was then this is now"
Well, if we go back to then, let's say 1905, we will find a nation that was very xenophobic and unwelcoming of immigrants, especially of Italians, Slavs, East European Jews, etc. We will find a Congress that created the Dillingham Commission to study the immigration "problem" (first time in our history when immigration was viewed as a problem and not a benefit, as it was in the mid-1800s, Irish immigrants aside), and then by 1924 we will find immigration quotas designed to favor people from desirable places (England, Germany) and restrict people from undesirable places (Italy, Greece, all of Asia). Those quotas lasted until 1965 and in those 40 years, the share of foreign born dwindled to nothing.
So, you are correct, we learn nothing in school about immigration history. If we did, we wouldn't be spouting the same baseless fears over and over again. All anti-immigrant rhetoric is recycled language from 1910. The Lazerus poem was a lofty ideal that this country did not live up to then.
53
@GC, And don't forget all of the "American Dream" mythology. Hearty individualism and bootstraps and all.
@GC...Thanks for the current version of immigration history. But, you didn't address james' question. To repeat: How about too many people? Claiming that E Pluribus Unum and the Melting Pot are unrealized ideals does not address the fundamental carrying capacity of the American ecosystem.
This article is the first I've read in a long time that gives me hope. We need fresh voices to keep our Democracy alive and well. I'm hopeful that at long last the puritanical strain that has infected this country since its inception can be diluted.
5
I was just talking to a (Korean) friend the other day about the midterms and wondering why we never hear about “the Asian vote”. I had the same conversation with another friend before the 2016 election.
Maybe we will here more about it now.
3
Good. There's hope after all.
4
We emigrated to the US when my youngest child was 9. My husband is an engineer and I am a science teacher. We are living happily in California. However, my daughter, after receiving a math degree, decided to return to the UK where she married a fellow Brit and they now have 2 sons.
They have no intention of returning to the US. Why? Two main reasons, the National Health Service and better school curricula. My grandsons are in school at least till 4, no leaving early for sports, they are studying for the national exams required for college entry.
16
Americans have long enjoyed the economic benefits of globalization. But they are woefully ill-prepared to deal with its costs.
We have increasingly become a provincial and insular culture, too busy enjoying our reflection in the water while the rest of the world changes.
Immigrants continue to pour into our country because we are still one of the freest and most prosperous countries in the world. But for how long?
America’s greatest strengths have always been its adaptability to change and its optimism. Those strengths are now in danger of being undermined by apathy, cynicism, fear, and bigotry.
Rather than fear immigrants or blame them for all of our troubles, we should be embracing them and helping them learn more about the country that they have chosen to live and work in.
Here in Hawai’i, we continue to benefit from having a multiethnic and multicultural community. That process has not always been easy; there are tensions even in “paradise.” But the glue that keeps everything together are those Hawaiian values that we try to carefully and respectfully share with everyone who comes to our Islands.
So instead of falling back on historical myths or isolating ourselves behind walls, America needs to go back to what has always worked in the past - and that is the courage to embrace change. This will not be an easy process, but it is necessary in the globalized world that all of us now live in.
8
I was born in Havana, Cuba in 1962 and became a child immigrant at the age of 5. I watched my parents, armed with a third grade education, struggle to navigate a system they never quite understood. They worked two full-time jobs, saved every penny, paid taxes, bought a home and encouraged my sister and I to attend college.
Although we had little to spare, we opened our doors to other refugee families and provided them with a humble refuge until they were able to get on their feet. And we watched them progress, educate their children, and contribute proudly to their respective communities.
This is the story of the immigrant in America. It is a narrative of epic grit, sacrifice, faith and immeasurable contributions. This new wave of Asian immigrants will surely contribute to the American experiment as every immigrant group has before them. We are fortunate as a nation to attract so many of the world's young adventurers and risk takers, at a time when our own native-born population reproduces at rate which no longer makes our economy sustainable.
9
Unfortunate how many Americans writing comments about immigration do not understand the many reasons people leave their homelands and come to the United Sates! I read the fearful comments, the phobia of "others" ....we fear what we do not understand. Has anyone driven across our beautiful country? It's enormous! There is room for immigrants. We won't lose anything by being welcoming.
Facts:
Majority of immigrants both legal and undocumented are not criminals.
Majority of immigrants both legal and undocumented are hard working, decent people. Many from Latin America are Catholics.
Majority of immigrants both legal and undocumented DO assimilate...I know I was 8 when I came to the U.S. from Cuba in 1962. Took my mother longer to learn English but she did learn!
Majority of immigrants DO NOT use welfare! You must be a U.S. citizen to use the safety net programs!
Lastly, we need both professionals and laborers because our "native" population is not growing enough to keep up with demands for medical personnel, etc.,etc. America has a long history of loathing immigrants, read up on how the Irish and Italians were treated. Can we please DO better?!
16
It gives me great comfort to know that, no matter how much money the current federal regime transfers from FEMA to ICE, no matter how hard they try to whitewash America, they will never ever turn back the tide.
America is a rainbow, as it should always be. And it's getting more colorful every day. I love it.
7
While racism toward black and brown Americans is vigorously addressed in national lexicon, racism toward Asian Americans and Asian immigrants seems to be a blind spot for many so-called "tolerant" people.
We can observe this racism rear its head during the affirmative action debate, where many normally rational and non-racist people decide to spew the most dehumanizing stereotypes about Asians, implying that they're essentially a bunch of uncreative test-taking robots.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with immigrants from Asia coming to America, and I as a white woman do not feel "threatened" like many people from both sides of the spectrum seem to be.
13
Why the Brookings Institute? Isn’t there better source of unbiased analyses? According to Wikipedia, 2017 funding for the Brookings Institute was provided by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Hutchins Family Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, the LEGO Foundation, David Rubenstein, State of Qatar, and John L. Thornton. In 2014, the Brookings Institute received $250,000 from the United States Central Command of the United States Department of Defense. These people/entities provide money with certain expectations. Rather than pay taxes in the form of over-priced products, why not tax these people appropriately, and address political corruption, so that we can set up research programs that work for all Americans? We need information we can rely on.
6
@Ed Fredrickson
The only reason why you seem to assume, without reading this study, that it contains that we can't rely on, is because of who's funding it.
That's not how science works.
If you can't believe the results of a scientific study, you have to:
1. start by reading that study
2. look for logical mistakes or crucial data lacking
3. tell us why you believe that that's the case and where's the evidence showing that your findings are correct.
ALL scientific work is funded by people who, like any citizens, have their own personal political philosophy. That in itself is never enough to systematically discard that work. And the exact same thing goes for what you read in newspapers.
The truth is never something this or that person naturally possesses. It's the result of lots of very specific and demanding scientific operations, and the fact THAT it's objective is precisely what makes science so powerful and reliable - and important in any democracy where "we the people" decide what kind of future we want and how to get there.
As a researcher myself, I can tell you that what drives me is research, not disguising my own personal beliefs as fake science. Does that go for ALL researchers out there? No. I have colleagues who indeed never learned how to distinguish an intimate belief and an objectively proven truth.
Here's the good news though: researchers have to publish, so colleagues can criticize your work. THAT's why science is so solid and trustworthy.
16
My parents—both primary care physicians in Toledo, Ohio—immigrated here from India as part of the wave of skilled STEM professionals between 1965 and 1975. They both hail from lower middle class backgrounds (poor by American standards) and could never have afforded going to medical school without the Indian government subsidizing their education. America has relied on other governments to educate and train skilled workers while we defund public education for the native-born, which includes people like me, born to brown-skinned immigrants. What I fear is that educated immigrants (and their children, who never asked to come here, by the way) will bear the brunt of American anger over wealth inequality, the result of 40-plus years of privatization and the financialization of our economy.
7
As one of the new immigrants, I think some myths need to be disspelled. I have no plans of staying here. No one wants to stay in a country which has overwhelmingly made it clear that it looks down upon us. I and most people I know look at the stay here as an opportunity to earn quick money and then head back.
So far all the people who are afraid that we are infesting your nation, be at peace.
43
@Creed Here is one person that does not
"look down" on any immigrant. On the contrary, I see your presence as ushering in a new era of creativity, openness, and prosperity. The days of the "old white men" making decision for you and I are fast fading. For proof, watch the next election cycle! Please stay.
@Creed Yes, your right. Americans look down on immigrants. You might want to broaden your group of friends.
1
@Creed
"So far all the people who are afraid that we are infesting your nation, be at peace."
Thanks for your kind assurance, Mr. Creed, but with 13+ and growing number of illegals, it somehow doesn't feel assuring.
2
We Republicans do not oppose immigration. We want legal immigration. We also want the brightest and those who will meld into our national culture rather than oppose it.
16
Our culture is multinational.
1
Totally agree with that sentiment as I am myself a legal immigrant and believe that we are here to join the society not change it to our liking (unless we are taking about technological progress).
6
"We also want the brightest and those who will meld into our national culture rather than oppose it."
Please define "national culture". If by national culture, you mean abide by the laws or work through constitutional processes to change them, then sure, fine. On the other hand, "national culture" or "American culture" is often a phrase through out by the right with the intent of expressing the white majority's social mores. To that, I'd say, "There's good and bad there. It's my choice how to live, what religion to practice, what politics to practice, how I bring up my kids, etc., consistent with the laws. That's nobody else's business."
Also, I don't claim to be smart enough to know exactly how to filter immigrants for personal traits, with the obvious exception of criminal behavior. Should everyone admitted into the country be an overachieving business person or even be highly educated? That seems to me to be an extremely foolish basis for deciding who is permitted to immigrate, and the sort of narrow-minded view often characteristic of the riight.
4
For all immigrant families, by the third generation, everybody is full-blooded American. Only prejudice differentiates the influx of Europeans in the 1890-1910 period from today.
We need immigration to supply the workforce to pay for social security and Medicare.
And it doesn't hurt to remember that a great percentage of our WWI dough boys were foreign born.
As for the concerns expressed in some comments, relax. Take a look at the diversity of culture and good restaurants and celebrate the melting pot.
11
This is good. Hybrid vigor benefits societies as well as individuals. And, an aging population needs all of the smart highly-motivated young people it can get, no matter where they were born.
4
There is this notion that an economy has some inherent, latent "potential growth rate." That growth rate is equal to the sum of growth in the labor force (i.e. more babies and more immigrants) and growth in productivity (i.e. assembling more cars per hour this year than last year).
Potential growth rate for the US dipped during the 1920's after the more restrictive immigration policy (followed by the Depression) and rose during the 1960's after the more liberal immigration policy (which boosted the economy).
The ups and downs of the US economy can be tracked with things like the inventory cycle or the credit cycle, but the "immigration cycle" is another thing to watch.
If the long term productivity gain is a steady 1.6%, a 1.4% gain in the labor would give you 3.0% base speed. That can double the GDP in two and a half decades (i.e. your kids income should be double yours).
But if the gain in the labor force were only 0.4%, you get only 2.0% basic growth line (i.e. your grand kids income may be double yours).
One reason the US economy outperforms the rest of the world is the extra turbo charge provided by the immigrants. Compare this situation with Russia where the labor force has begun to shrink.
1
Highlights vis-a-vis foreign born: More are now from Asia than from Latin America. Fully 50% have college degrees. And the population of foreign born is the highest since 1910.
Trump's wall and his racist obsession with Latin America yet again are not in accord with the facts. His wall should be built in the Pacific and on college campuses.
The largest gains were in states with few immigrants. And the immigrants are much better educated than the natives. In Ohio twice as many have college degrees.
Asian-Americans (a group which includes our family) are not the model minority stereotype. We already knew this. Instead they constitute they are the most economically unequal group in America.
So many foreign born with college degrees are a formidable challenge for Trump's white supporters who are under-qualified, undereducated and unwilling to do either the hard work or the hard thinking.
With for instance their support for the Harvard case, the Trump Republicans seek to bring Asian-Americans into the white supremacy fold. But Asian-Americans are the largest threat to the Trump base.
WWI was remarkable. An editorial in today's paper tells us the forces we sent were comprised to a remarkable degree of immigrants and the sons of immigrants. Who by all accounts were great patriots and fought heroically.
The richest and the poorest Americans are Asian-American. In that light are they the unhappy future of Trump Republican America?
6
@Robert
Earth to Robert, there was nothing heroic about WWI on any side Axis or Allies. It was the worst blunder in Western Civilization on par with chattel slavery.
1
@Peter
Thanks for your reply, Peter. I did not say anything about WWI itself. I merely said that the American soldiers who were immigrants or sons of immigrants did their part loyally and well. It looks to me as if your reply has no connection to what I actually said.
Peter wrote:
"Earth to Robert, there was nothing heroic about WWI on any side Axis or Allies. It was the worst blunder in Western Civilization on par with chattel slavery."
2
Asian Americans that I know from India support Trump.
4
This is exactly what Trump and his supporters have been saying. Isn't it? Its not a natural phenomenon but the result of choices we made in the past. We are free to make other choices, pass other legislation.
I choose to live in Brooklyn partly because I like the mix of people, I like hearing different languages, observing different customs. But its easy to see that many of my fellow Americans don't feel the same way.
The Times and my fellow liberals should stop slandering the opposition and start dealing with their concerns directly and honestly. Like it or not, that's what it means to be a nation.
11
As the author accurately notes, the previous peak in foreign born immigrant population ,as a percentage of US population ,was 1910-1915. What goes unreported is the extreme wave of anti-immigrant sentiment that had begun with the Chineses Exclusion Act of 1883 and ultimately resulted in the complete blockage of immigration from all but English speaking northwest-European nations by the Immigration Act of 1923.
From 1925 until 1975 , as a matter of public policy, there was virtually no mass immigration into the United States. Immigration during this half century was limited in both numbers and country of origin to the races and ethnicities already present in the population of 1880.
If we see a similiar resurgence of opposition to immigration by the Ango-Nordic, white Anglo-Saxon, Protestant majority that is drifting toward xenophobia and whie racial nationalism then we may soon see the legislative end to all legal immigration of “ people of color”.
4
This story was begging for an infographic.
2
The author should have also written a paragraph about where the immigrants in 1910 and years before that came from.
3
So is Trump's response going to be to take away their citizenship and right to vote? He imagines himself the very white knight saving white America from foreign influences, except if they are Russian.
10
Surrounded by awesome Korean, Chinese American neighbors: Professor, Oncologist, Lawyer. Their children attending Princeton, Yale, N.Y.U.
17
@Sean It's not their fault that their parents made them do all their math homework instead of watching TV or playing video games.
American parents should try it.
3
Historically every wave of immigration has been seen with distrust and fear. Eventually these immigrants have assimilated and become Americans and joined in the game of looking askance at the next and culturally different wave of immigration.The only group that hasn't really benefited from the melting pot are black Americans who many, including many new immigrants seem to see with that same distrust and fear. In the main the blacks came to America not as immigrants looking for a new and better life but in chains. They are the real victims in this great American melting pot experience.
10
@Tony Francis Exactly. These new immigrants may be educated but some of them have no problem picking up (or bringing with them) the same racist attitudes towards people of color.
8
Oh, goody. Now we get to hear more of the old, "We can't let those dark people in, we'll be swamped by our inferiors," plus more, "We can't let those yellow people in, we'll be swamped by our superiors," claptrap.
Not to mention more drivel about lifeboats, hyphenated Americans, they's a-takin our jobs, they's a-takin our health care and welfare, we don't want a Third World Country, and so on and so forth, out of the cradle, endlessly yapping.
About all one may do, in words, is to say yet again that this has always been a nation of immigrants, that we badly need more young people as the Boomers age out, these folks generally give more than they get, and so on.
Oh, and to the jealous and the lazy and the bigoted: first time I was in for surgery, I groggily noted that almost all of the nice, competent folks taking care of me were...Asian-Americans.
Know why that was? Partly where I happened to live, and a lot of decades of such stuff as very hard work by the families that run businesses and have the kids studying at a table in the corner, when they're not behind the counter.
The folks bewailing all this need to get off their duffs. Because if they don't, they're the people we can get by without just fine. And frankly, we've overpopulated with 'em.
21
@Robert
I counted a half dozen cliches and straw men in your jeremiad blasting the slack jawed yokels. Thanks for the laughs. You say essentially the same things as Jeb Bush and Bret Stephens. Who knows, maybe you could be the next nominee for the Dems once our inter and intra party civil wars escalate after the midterms. It is always scary to hear regular people talk like our worst pols and pundits be they for Clintons, Bushes, Trump.
3
If you live in CA you know that the Asian immigrant population has grown dramatically in the last ten-fifteen years. Hispanics have always been a big portion. The fact that we are importing the more educated vs un-educated people in big numbers is good for our future. Someone tell our dull witted president so that we can back away from his xenophobia for white only.
17
@denotte the fact that we are welcoming not importing please, but you are on point. Thank you
1
"We think of immigrants as being low-skilled workers from Latin America"
There is too much of emphasis on college educated, high- level immigrants in this article, don't we need immigrants of all skill levels? There is a perception that low skilled immigrants will take American jobs and hurt US wages. Many economists have found, however, that low skilled immigrants don't necessarily drive down the wages of native workers instead, they compete with other immigrants. Immigrants of all skill levels can also boost the economy by spending their earnings into their communities and by starting businesses of their own that employ Americans.
Healthcare has become the largest US employer. As the US population ages, we need more and more home health care workers, nurses aids and caregivers, they are not necessarily college graduates but they have the skills to take care of our aging population. So I do not agree with the argument that we need more and more college educated immigrants.
5
@Padman The article was not emphasizing the need for college educated immigrants as you claim. It was showing that the claims of some, e.g., the President, Republicans, that immigrants are all unskilled is simply not true. Also, it did show the absorption of immigrants of all levels into the US economy and culture has been positive. It debunks false claims.
4
Uh huh. For a start, ask any native born American still in the building trades, hotel service industry, or landscaping business whether the flood of illegal immigration we have had over the last 20 years has affected their wages. You are clearly not in touch with the working class of this country.
9
In Canada, we have the same trend of immigration than in your country. From 2003 to 2012, Philippines, India and China are the countries which send the most immigrants in Canada. In 2016 48.1% of the foreign born population was from Asia including the Middle East. If the trend continues the proportion should be 55-57% in 2036. Here are the numbers of the top three countries which had send most immigrants for the year 2016.
Philippines 188,805
India 147,190
China 129,020
4
We should encourage immigration from more educated people in order to help assimilation. In NYC where almost 50% of the population are immigrants only 25% are college educated. Then the children get clustered in schools in their enclaves where a large proportion of the parents neither speak English nor have college educations.
8
America is a place and an idea, not an ethnicity. Even when Anglo-Saxons ruled, it was a very diverse country. And the diversity brings means new ideas - food, clothes, entertainment, businesses, science - everything. The idea that cultural dispersion and exchange is cultural appropriation and a bad thing, is plain wrong. From my point of view, we have been getting closer and closer to a more perfect union since the beginning, realizing, of course, there are no utopias. One of those ideas is that we are a country of laws. We have recently come to a place where it seems that fewer people care about that. They just want what they want and the law is a vehicle for their feelings. That will not end well, if not checked. Another idea we have to maintain is the embodiment of MLK Jr.'s dream that we be judged not by our skin color (or other superficial identity) but by our character. That has now, sadly, been abandoned as an idea by many people who regard themselves as still oppressed and violence or intimidation as a legitimate approach to a better life. "Social justice" exists as a phrase b/c it doesn't mean justice individuals but justice based on skin color, sex, ethnicity, etc. That's a huge mistake in my view and one I expect my expected grandkid(s) will struggle with too, as it is gaining followers. Another idea is that we are a country, even if not a nation ethnically. The call for no borders, laughed at by some, is called for by others is another very bad idea.
1
If immigrants have a slightly lower crime rate than Americans but a high proportion are legal, Asian, and college educated than the Latin immigrant have a higher crime rate than Americans.
The United States is made up of immigrants. Humankind did not originate here.
The result is a powerful nation strengthened by the huge diversity.Only the xenophobic and the uneducated see it otherwise.
It is too bad that everyone is not required to travel abroad before they graduate high school. They would see that there are many ways to live and think and that all have value.
5
If we are worried about immigrants changing the culture of the US perhaps we need to do a better job with the education of both citizens and immigrants. Science, math, engineering studies are pretty global. What make us Americans is our literature, philosophy of government, beliefs in equality and justice, and a viable safety net. And yes, the idea of the US as a melting pot. Yet these subjects are being steadily devalued and eroded along with our public schools. As well as the value of music, art, and language in education.
Better education will make a better country and turn immigrants into Americans.
18
Wondering how China, India nad Mexico compare with immigration into those countries. The US population growth from childbirth is stable. How does that compare to other countries. It really is fear from overpopulation that people are experiencing. Famine, war and civil unrest also drive fear. Give us all people of the world. Let us feed and care for people all 8 billion. We offer refuge for the devastation of over population.
3
This is interesting information especially as I hear people on the right try to argue that we are NOT a nation of immigrants because our population is more native born than foreign born. Nope suckas, we are still a nation of immigrants and always will be!
6
Weird that the Democrats in Congress prefer low-skilled immigrants. Every time somebody suggests making our system more like Canada's where a college degree and English proficiency put you in the fast lane, the Democrats object that it's discrimination. Why?
I think elite Americans should face more competition from foreign elites who want to move here.
12
@Frank, Absolutely. And when their schools, medical centers, neighbourhoods and houses on their street are filled with newcomers they'll 'get it'. Competition has only been for low income US citizens.
6
@Frank
Here's why: today, thanks to Obama and the Democrats' economic decisions, we're at full employment, and American companies are unable to find candidates for more than 100,000 blue-collar jobs.
Why would anybody want to reduce the productivity of a US company artificially, through government intervention, rather than allowing that company to employ someone who's biggest dream is to come to the US and who happened to be born elsewhere ... ?
And as you can see, today already half of the immigrants HAVE college degree. Democrats don't have any problem with that, what they denounce is the poor way Republicans treat science and education in this country, which is the main cause explaining just why it is that so many US-born Americans who want to get into the middle class through a college degree but have to give their seat to an immigrant because they can't afford it.
We shouldn't discriminate against any type of immigrant.
I hope you realize that those who want to discriminate against poor Americans, when it comes to giving any American access to high-quality universities, and only want the sons of elites to get in, are the exact same ones who want to discriminate against poor immigrants too ... ? Now WHO's protecting "the elites" here, you think? Right, the GOP, and the GOP alone.
2
@Frank Where did you get that 'fake' information from Frank, faux news? You need to worry about your people in southern states getting a college degree and becoming proficient in the English language before you complain that Democrats don't want educated people to come here? Another lie by a Trump supporter.
1
It doesn't take a genius to go back through the last few hundred years of American (US) history to realize that this country and its dominance is deeply rooted in attracting restless, bright people from outside these lands.
Countries that stagnate in their own homogeneity, e.g. southern Europe, Hungary, have economies that might best be compared to 1970s motels. Youth in these countries have the unfortunate disadvantage of knowing that better life exists (TV) but no way of achieving it given overwhelming helplessness, corruption, and lack of IT infrastructure.
Change is hard, and immigrants bring a lot of it. The most dynamic places on the planet where ideas are born are cauldrons of change, and those who grow old in their fixed ways will either yield to new generations or self-destruct. In sports, selecting the best athletes irrespective of race to make your team is an obvious move, but somehow this is forgotten when it comes to intellectual endeavors.
6
I feel like a foreigner in my old hometown today. In just one generation I do not recognize it anymore. It feels inundated with those who have no desire to assimilate. We need an immigration time-out. It's too much.
23
@james
And what exactly is it that makes you suffer, when sharing your hometown with people who are human beings just like you and me, wanting the exact same thing (a job, food on the table, a shelter, and happiness) but looking different and dressing in different way and having different habits ... ?
What exactly is "too much" for you to bear, and how come that this is so difficult for you ... ?
3
Everything changes in unexpected ways. It’s foolish to think everything should stay the same. Get yourself out to an immigrant run restaurant and enjoy the food!
2
@Ana Luisa I do agree with you but I personally object to women in a free society wearing full burkas, including the veiled face. And there are a lot of them in areas around Boston and Washington.
The French government banned burkas as being unsuited for a democratic nation.
If religious Arab men cannot constrain themselves from becoming aroused by an uncovered women (a la Harvey Weinstein or Matt Lauer, for example), then they should probably go back to their home country.
2
The Republicans worst nightmare. The browning of America. While it should not matter where immigrants come from; in this age of hyper divided politics it will be interesting to see how these demographics play out long term. Perhaps the Florida state election on Nov.6 may offer a peek into the future. Not sure how many American citizens who fled the aftermath of hurricane Maria will make a real difference after Trump`s moronic comments about Puerto Rico will reflect a new America. Certainly the influx of Asian immigrants will be hotly sought after by both parties. How the G.O.P. will explain Trump is beyond me. One has to admire their work ethic and intellectual striving for a high education is much to be admired.
1
There is another side of immigration from
Asia-brain drain. A large number of Indian
doctors are working in USA but India has severe
shortage of the doctors. This is filled by the
quakes. Indians receive medical education
subsidized by the tax payers. They move to
USA and Britain to staff the healthcare services.
It is a big loss for India. Clearly immigration
is we win they lose.
13
There is one example that is of interest. Since 2010 the percentage of technical workers who are Asian at Google has gone up from 30% to 45%. At the same time, clear evidence exists that Google refuses to hire older technical workers, disabled workers, women and members of some but not all ethnic minorities.
Since these new Asians immigrants come from some of the most racist societies on earth (Indians for example still love the caste system even if they rarely admit it), new Asian immigrants hire other Asian immigrants in exclusion of any vulnerable US citizen who might apply for a well paying job. If this continues real discord awaits.
17
Census articles are usually about people immigrating INTO the U.S., not OUT of the U.S. I'd like to know more about those who are leaving or have already emigrated, and why -- beyond extended travel adventures or a second home in a resort area. I mean living exclusively with a residence permit in another country, and learning another language and customs.
Recent emigration figures are nowhere near as high as those of immigration, but I do know the numbers have been going up over the last 5-10 years. It may be hard for the census bureau to track emigration because many of those people may not renounce their US citizenship while living abroad. Still, it would be nice to look at how the people flow goes in both directions.
6
@Alexandra, Many US born millenials with college degrees are leaving because they can not find decent employment here. I tell ALL young people to leave and get out of here as early as possible. It is not going to be a nice place to live in another generation.
4
@Alexandra from Budapest...
What makes you assume that those of us living overseas would willingly renounce our U.S. citizenship? There are many more of us than you expect—but not for the reasons you might suspect.
For those of us who live and thrive beyond our native country, it is for as many reasons as there are emigrants who do so. Not all of us are extended vacation backpackers or are of the 1% who own second homes. We work in a variety of roles within many professional sectors and have the good fortune to be granted the ability to do so by the governments of our adopted countries.
While America is a great country in which to live, it is certainly not the only country in which to live.
If you would, please check your biases at the door.
2
I can't help read this article without thinking about yesterday's article about a few thousand Yemeni refugees in South Korea, and the completely intolerant reaction of the South Korean population with fears of a takeover, etc. So, it is with so many countries around the world in Europe, Asia, etc. The share of immigrants in their midst is inconsequential compared to the U.S. and especially a city like New York, where my parents immigrated and where I've lived all my life. Despite the trouble that U.S. has had absorbing immigrants regardless of where they come from, it is still among the most accepting places in the world and those of us who have studied immigration history in the 1800s and early 1900s would concur, I think, that as each day passes, the U.S. becomes increasingly tolerant. Not totally, but more or less; and when contrasted with the article on South Korea, the U.S. is a virtual wonderland of love and acceptance.
7
@GC, We all actually get along a lot better here in the US than we are told by the MSM. Feudalism is stirring the pot constantly. Keeps us more divided and warring.
3
@james
I'm not sure about your diagnosis (feudalism) but I totally agree otherwise. The great majority of Americans are decent, kind-hearted people.
I wonder if the journalists (of all sorts) aren't spending all their time on social media and just assuming that's a good way to "take the pulse of the nation". It's always a safe bet that people are lazy and will take the easy way. That includes journalists.
1
I recently took a neighbor to her dental clinic.
While we were in the reception area, an Indian woman approached the receptionist about an appointment. I heard the receptionist tell the woman that here appointment had been for the previous day.
What followed was a disgusting display of racist laden profanities from this foreign born woman. It ended with her calling the receptionist an incompetent savage. She had used the N word several times so the receptionist called the security guard.
On her way out, I politely told her that as a citizen, I considered her display of racist vulgarity out of place and if she couldn't change her attitude, she was unwelcome as a GUEST in my country!
When I was leaving, I spoke with the receptionist and she told me those remarks were common with people from that part of the world!
I would put up with that for about 5 minutes before I would throw her and her nasty attitude out of the building!
18
@Richard Marcley, Blacks are considered below Asians in their caste system. American blacks discover this racism when they travel abroad pretty quickly. Usually to their great shock and surprise.
7
@Richard Marcley I've had the same kind of negative encounter with someone from India. For some reason they think they are not black and they think they are 'acceptable' to the kinds of people who support Trump. That boggles my mind.
6
It would be helpful if the eight paragraph, when you finally state the actual percentages, was moved to the opening of the article.
Are these percentage increases not simply the effects of large and small numbers? If you start with 3 people and you get 1 new person you have a 33% increase. But if you start with 100 people and you get the same 1 new person, it will only be a 1% increase.
The article claims that states with small populations of immigrants are seeing much bigger percentage increases than states with large populations of immigrants. Does that really mean that immigrants are “spreading out”? Why would that be the case?
This is an interesting article but it lacks critical analysis.
8
These are survey data. There are 41% from one group and "just" (?) 39% from another group. In a survey, those numbers are equal; take the same survey tomorrow and the results will be reversed. The reporting is not very impressive.
6
I was out the other day and saw an Italian guy wearing a t-shirt that read "Welcome to America. Now Speak English". I have bad news for the Asians and Indian immigrants. Trump and his followers have but one welcoming message for you: Get ready to pack your bags. For if you think you are looked at differently than Latinos and African and Middle Eastern people, you have not been paying attention. You, too, are taking their jobs, voting illegally, and using benefits they are paying for. No matter what the facts say. Don't know if you were paying attention a few weeks ago when Trump uttered the following: "All the Chinese immigrants are spies". So it begins.
4
OK, so Asian immigrants are showing up with 'college degrees'. This while American born college graduates are going jobless. If you're telling me that these 'educated' immigrants are more qualified than the American born job seekers, great. If you're telling me that the Apples, Googles, Facebooks, et al, are importing these people as cost saving moves, maybe not so great.
32
@sheikyerbouti If you are a white American college graduate and you're not willing to work because you're not getting your ideal pay, you might consider either 1) starting your own company and being your own boss or 2) take the job and efforts to rise quickly. This is what people, "immigrants" and others, who come from nothing are willing to do. To incite protectionism just so a few bratty kids with degrees but little talent can have jobs is a not sustainable, because nothing will ever get done, no products will ever be made, and no innovation will occur.
No one is being imported for lower cost - if you are an Indian engineer at Google, chances are you make 6 figures +. It's a matter of talent and work-ethic. As a business owner I do not care if you're white or hot pink, if you can code well and stay past 5 pm I want you on my team.
2
@Mark So American college graduates who want jobs with good pay are bratty, huh? I feel sorry for any American who works for you. If you don't think people are being imported here to work for lower wages I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
2
What % of that foreign born includes countries like UK, Ireland, EU countries etc.... & Canada!!!???
You know like many celebrities who become Us Citizens .....?
Lots decide to, lucky for us as we get the tax money. They also are mostly assimilated already.
Christopher Hitchens became a US Citizen.
That & people like him not so famous of course but I’m sure USA gets more Immigrants from 1st World national than other 1st World nations ?
There are lots of immigrants from first world countries. Several of them are my friends. The question always are what are the incentives for someone to uproot themselves to go to another country. Most Western European countries & Canada offer a better quality of life that the U.S. And these countries are generally free of major strife (other than many contrived or overblown issues). So there is little incentive for someone from Canada or the U.K to come to the U.S. unless they are coming for love, for a great academic opportunity (e.g. a professorship, if even only as a visiting scholar) or for a great professional/financial opportunity (e.g. a managerial level job for a major corporation or a posting for a multinational bank on Wall Street). For average Europeans or Canadians, however, coming to the U.S. is a step down.
For Asians, Africans & Latin-Americans, however, the U.S. is a step up. For refugees, it can be life saving. For common workers, it can offer job opportunities unavailable at the home country & readily available in the U.S. (either because these are jobs that most Americans would not do or because the U.S. currently has full employment). For the better educated, the U.S. offers the best opportunities to advance their skills & professional potential (even if the end up going back home). For instance, my father came to the U.S. more than a half-century ago to practice medicine during a huge physician shortage. It was a win-win for both our family & the U.S.
2
This "barbarian invasion" also explains the "fake recovery" theory: the USA has the second biggest demographic bonus between the OCDE countries (behind only India). That's why its GDP still manages to grown between 2-3% per year since 2009, but GDP per capita has stagnated.
The 2008 decimated the American suburban middle class. However, the USA as a whole didn't sink because, given its already existing structure, still can attract talent and (specially) brute workforce from abroad simply because, even in its crumbling version, it is much better than where the "barbarians" came from.
So you have, e.g. South Korean engineers and doctors who are willing to go to the USA for half the salary because it is still bigger than what he/she would earn in their home country (South Korea's per capita is only aprox. US$ 22,000.00 per year).
3
The faster rate of growth in immigrants population in Trump country may explain why States that have predominantly White population or more homogeneous populations are also States that support tougher policies on immigrants, legal and illegal.
3
Sounds like we have an immigrant inequality problem.
45% of them come with college degrees or higher, mostly legally, fully engage in the American economy and are part of the statistics of Asians having higher incomes than even native whites.
Then we have the others, coming with little skill, mostly illegally, with not much interest in learning English and fully engaging in our society.
We need to have a national debate on what types of immigrants we want. What types of immigrants should be encouraged to come, and what types should be discouraged or prevented from coming.
Countries like Australia and Canada have that extremely well honed. Time for America to do the same.
8
The older immigrant may have trouble learning English— but the younger generation all learn English. Just because people speak their mother tongue does not mean they can’t speak English.
Those immigrants with degrees take living wages jobs. Immigrants without degrees take low wage jobs that are also necessary but not sought after.
2
And we should re-examine that statistic I always see quoted about immigrants having a lower crime rate than Americans. If half of them coming are Asian, legal and educated what is the crime rate for the other half?
1
If we want to be able to afford buying homes in North America, then governments need to wake up and legislate on foreign buyers. These people are going to make it impossible for your grand kids to buy homes. Yet, immigrants from Asia receive way less scrutiny than Africans and Muslims from the Middle East. There are lots of illegal immigrants from Korea and China in Canada, however, when people complain on this issue, it is usually brown people who are targeted. I worked for Immigration Canada, so I know that most students from China and Korea let their visa lapse and never go back home.
15
"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name MOTHER OF EXILES. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Emma Lazarus ... is rolling in her grave today. Im sure if Mr Trump can affix cables to her casket, he would tout (and rightfully so) a new source of energy that comes only at the cost of a nations integrity.
2
The more immigrants, the bigger our economy. The United States is still a relative empty quarter (so is Sub-Saharan Africa despite popular beliefs). In Wikipedia's list of countries and dependencies by population density, the US is 191/255! Of course, there are mountaintops, watercourses and tundra that will never be populated, but still, we are, compared to the civilized world, wide-open country. The problem is white supremacy. While the Irish, Italian and German "races" (we once called them different races, too), qualify for full-time Americanness (whiteness) within a couple of generations, those immigrants with the badge of color will not be able to surmount that obstacle. Instead of an active campaign for negating "whiteness" for the artificial construct that it is, we refuse to disuse this grouping as what it means to be a "real American." It's a problem. Oppression is the ongoing/eventual result when true citizenship requires a "purity test" and it risks getting worse. Already we've experienced in two years too much of what we thought could not or would not ever happen here (again).
10
yeah and Tr ump is complaining about Mexicans lol... the Chinese have been takong over placed buying real estate with cash and then moving on their relatives and other people .. look at Brooklyn and queens now its crazy ... but he doesn't care bc thats how his daughter gets her trademarks and such...
5
@k And a lot of them DO NOT speak English.
3
I’m a direct beneficiary of the ‘65 law. I believe so is our whole nation.
My parents (w/ my siblings & me in tow) were among the highly educated S. Asians who immigrated to the US in the ‘70s. My father well served for 40 years a rural N. Carolina community that had needed quality physicians. In turn, we experienced the American Dream firsthand.
Over time my parents have sponsored/supported family members who too have wanted a chance to contribute & pursue the dream. Like other Americans, some have served as professionals or business owners, others in our military or as cab-drivers or restaurant workers & so on, & yes, when a couple have endured hardship, they have sought relief from the social safety net that should protect everyone in a nation as rich in resources as ours.
Many people who support building walls & banning people who don’t look, sound or worship like them but who know my family might say that we are somehow different & they don’t mean the country should exclude people like us. But we really aren’t different than those who now seek the refuge & security of this nation. We all (native-born & immigrant) are working for a better future & more perfect union. Yes there are great economic & social disparities that need fixing across America. The remedies are complex, but no one benefits (other than those capitalizing on falsehoods) by scapegoating immigrants who greatly enrich the fabric of our society, often filling needed roles that otherwise go unfilled.
172
Thank you for sharing your story. Very true, that all of us, immigrants only want a better life and to support this beautiful country.
@AMB "Many people who support building walls & banning people who don’t look, sound or worship like them but who know my family might say that we are somehow different & they don’t mean the country should exclude people like us."
This old lady who's lived decades in the deep South is sad to hear that this old racist trope goes on and on. "I don't mean *you* -- you're one of the good ones."
Sigh.
2
@AMB: Thank you for expressing this concept. As a retired bilingual teacher, I know that immigrants contribute greatly to our country. In general they arrive with a better work ethic than our native-born Americans; maybe that is why some resent them. The parents of my young students, including many illiterate field workers, have been far more supportive of their kids' education than some of our LTEs [Limited To English]. And I have seen these citizen children of undocumented immigrants succeed in school, go to college, and add greatly not only to the rich fabric of our society but also to our national resources in the form of community-building services rendered and income taxes paid. Some of those kids I taught years ago have become teachers, lawyers and doctors now. We should bless and welcome such families as yours who may very well be the salvation of our country.
Are the majority of the well-educated newcomers student visa-overstays?
Since the citizenship question is not asked yet on the census questionnaire, how exactly were these statistics determined?
I’m certainly happy to see new productive members of US society, especially in areas of the country that needed a rejuvenated population so long as the migration is done legally.
4
@Conservative Democrat student visa overstayers cannot work. These are immigrants who are on average earning more than and therefore contributing more in taxes than the average US born citizen. A large percentage of them are american citizens too (naturalized).
I’m Mayflower through my mother. My dad’s folks came in a few years later through what is now called Nantucket Island.
Thank God that this nation is not homogenous; being made up of people just like I am.
14
This is a trend that has been going on for decades. It began with the passage of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, which removed national-origin quotas established in 1921. Suddenly, on September 13, 2018, it is the top news of the day.
The big wigs at the Times want you to know that immigrants are highly likely to be educated and to contribute much to America. They have chosen a fact that would surely be cited by a high school debater and they treat it as the blockbuster news of the idea. What they report is true. Why they report it is not to tell you the news but to score a point in those they debate with. I'd call this a standby argument for the affirmative side in the immigration debate. It surely is not news.
In my hometown, the Irish have been displaced by Asian immigrants over three decades. I might take a trip home to tell my Asian neighbors that they have made it. They were front page news in the NYT on September 13, 2018.
7
The last time this happened, we saw the rise of the second KKK and in 1924 the closing of our borders to almost all immigration. I loved the American I grew up in. It had problems but as a people, we sought to solve them. That America is gone. In places like New York, there is a question if there even is such a thing as an American. Those of you who supported these changes, took things from me which can never be compensated. This article understates the real change. More than a third of the country are immigrants or descendant from immigrants. Half of those people have dual citizenship. Social contract that citizens will support the law and the government will enforce the law is broken. It is time to reduce legal immigration and deport the illegals.
9
Yeah, there is such a "thing as being an American" they are the Native Americans, the Cherokees, the Tulalip, the Yakima, etc., etc.! The America of the past? Where lacks were not treated as humans? Where lynching went on? Where desperate women went to dark alleys seeking brutal abortions?! America is better today, more free, more inclusive! Your America? No, thanks!
1
@Michael Green
what did they take from you that cant be compensated?
The immigrants from Asia are college educated and typically fully support themselves, produce more than they consume, pay taxes, and don't bring gang-violence, drugs, single motherhood and all the other "demographics" of poverty. At the same time, while Asians are definitely filling a void in technology areas, they are definitely also being used to suppress salaries of American workers in IT, engineering, etc. The bottom line... American immigration needs to be merit based, with the exception of a HANDFUL of special humanitarian cases. We can't import the entire Third World, and when we do make the occasional exception, the people need to be fully vetted, and be on special visas where they can't be on welfare for more than a couple of years, crimes will send them home, and they can't generally be a burden on society.
11
What's wrong with Asia such that no one wants to stay and everyone wants to get out? Soon it will be our turn. After that then there's no where left for anyone as the world's full. Antarctica? Maybe climate change wasn't a mistake after all, merely adaptation. I hate change, leave me alone in my rut.
9
Are you going back to Europe or wherever your ancestors came from?
We know that immigrants are typically hard working and law abiding, and less likely to ask for government assistance. With an aging population, large numbers of immigrants increase our tax paying base to support our greater number of retirees. Republicans scream gloom and doom about the future of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid but immigrants are helping to keep these programs solvent. There is little downside other than upsetting racists.
18
@Bill So there's no downside then?
5
@Bill
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Who do you think pays for the public schooling, hospital bills, prison bills, etc. that goes to illegal immigrants?
4
Yet again on this board, many deliberately and dishonestly confuse opposition to illegal immigration with opposition to legal immigration to make proponents of legal immigration look racist. No surprise there, I’m sorry to say.
16
@EGD The issue is that people often overlook how people from Asia do not generally integrate. For example, here in Canada, there are literally streets that are named in Chinese as well as English. People do not really complain about this. If you attempt to write Arabic on a street name here in Canada, the backlash will be heard from space. Maybe in the US things are different, but in Canada, they are talking about reducing the number of immigrants coming in...legal immigrants that is. The debate on immigration has gone over the edge, it is difficult to understand what people are actually talking about anymore. If you want to worry about being taken over, then worry about Asian immigrants. They have huge economic power, and money speaks volumes. In certain places in Canada, the government had to intervene in the housing market, because of foreign buyers, mainly from China and Korea have been making it difficult for locals to own homes. To me that is more scary.
12
@EGD Blame Jeff Sessions for fostering this impression by articulating the current Administration’s policy, saying we need to reduce ALL immigration because immigrants come from different cultures and don’t assimilate. That’s not the problem. They assimilate to well. They steal our CEO jobs and even take Nobel Prizes, crowd orchestra conductor podia and opera stages. That’s not to mention all the Canadians becoming Hollywood celebrities at the expense of the native- born, and we don’t even know they’re not real Americans!
1
@Jorje
foreign buyers are not immigrants are they?
Chinese and indian immigants have been in canada for over a 100 years. Longer than many European immigrants have been.
Ever wonder what attracts people from the third world? It's not to live in a place like where they come from.
9
@Mark. As we rush to catch China and India, the only more populous countries on earth, the attraction to come here will diminish. Of coarse, by then it will be too late to save what's left of the u.s. (Or the planet for that matter) from the devastation of over population.
8
@Mark. Then why don’t they assimilate? Learn English, embrace our culture and customs?
7
@Bar Tennant many of them do assimilate and learn the language, otherwise they would not be so successful!
1
Interestingly if one calculates the wealth these Asians have created is astounding. Take the numbers and figure out. It will come to close to Three Trillion dollars. Not chump change!
They are CEOs, Venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and list is long.
14
Very few Asian Americans are CEOs. Racial discrimination has long kept people of Asian descent from reaching high management positions—they are underrepresented in the upper echelons compared to whites (obviously), blacks, Hispanics and women.
This is another reason why Trump's ridiculous border wall is such a joke. The majority of immigrants to the U.S. (both legal and undocumented) are coming from Asia, not Mexico.
Though until Fox News does a report on Asian immigration, Mexicans will continue to be scapegoated by the right.
10
With this being the case, I wonder if it is time to allow greencard holders the opportunity to vote?
@Tom, on what reasoning?
Green card holders can become citizens after the appropriate period of time and the appropriate attestation of allegiance. Then they can vote. Until then, they are citizens of a foreign power, and cannot be expected to hold American interests to be their own, nor should they be. This is a country, not just a collection of people. A country with its own beliefs and its own government and its own culture, just as all the other countries are.
2
We’ll, seriously, maybe it’s time to report on how Native Americans have been treated!
7
@MIMA do you mean the Native American Indians?
@M What other Native Americans are there?
Dear angry white men in fly over states -
My family works in high tech.
An enormous number of our industry's (semiconductors) decision making (i.e. mgrs. and R+D types) employees are Asian Ph.D.'s. They are well educated, driven, eager and most importantly they posses many of the same biases and bigotry's as you. That all adds up the following; 1) the well paying jobs are not digging coal or pumping oil, 2) you won't be able to rely on grandpa's membership in the Elks to get your kid a job at the factory ('cause they won't be joining the Elks) and 3) our new countrymen/women will be participating in the process and holding positions of influence and power for a long time into the future.
So hang on to your guns and for gosh sakes dig your coal (the people of the Carolina's thank you!) but just realize the real threat to your positions of influence and your preferred table in the donut shop ain't coming from your landscaper - its coming from your tech support.
Thanks and have a great day!
Yours,
Reality
27
@JF Shepard, see who laughs last when you pick up your iPhone and find the battery dead. No problem for a shotgun as they're not required. As far as drive, hunger will do the same so don't give your education more credit than it's due.
2
Anyone around me would have to be blind not to see the steady influx of Asians, as nearly every house purchased in my neighborhood (greater Boston) has been by Chinese, in cash. Popular culture, is now catching up too (i.e. Crazy Rich Asians).
9
@JBK007. At least they won’t be on welfare
4
So are illegal immigrants on welfare or do Illegal immigrants take our jobs? Which is it?
1
@Bar tennant
Buying homes creates a huge boost to the local economy. commisions to realtors, tax, etc. this money gets circulated locally. You should be welcoming it
geez, if this keeps up, the usa might crack the top 20 in per capita foreign born population.
1
This is a dog whistle story. You have to read well into the article to find that the share of foreign born citizens is 13.7%. Up from 13.5% in 2016. That's your huge change? Thirteen percent is an overwhelming onslaught of foreigners? I expect better than this from the NYT. This story belongs on Fox with it's ridiculous click-bait headline.
10
@Festivus It is possible, but as someone who worked in immigration, you guys need to realise that there are more illegal immigrants from Asia. They came in legally, but they never got their visa's renewed. Secondly, if we are serious about the "American dream", then keep an eye on the housing market. If you think that your children will be able to afford most of the nice places where your parents were able to live, think again.
4
@Festivus is absolutely right. What is the big news here?
1
Heres the news Houston: If you are an engineer, I retired after 40 years, you have seen the percentage of foreign born and first generation Asian(including India) engineers rise sharply. By the time I retired last year the percentage of foreign born engineers was about 50%. That's the big and accurate news. I have many good friends in India and China still.
2
Immigration is essential for continued vibrancy in our economy. Closed nations like Japan, despite a highly educated, innovative population, are in decline because of dropping birthrates. Besides, the range of fantastic, authentic ethnic restaurants has never been better, due to immigration. Illegal immigration is a big problem and needs to be tackled but legal immigration enhances life for all of us.
13
You can celebrate or decry this population boom, but one thing needs to be understood. The u.s. is the third most populous country on earth (our population has doubled in 60 years). Most of our immigrants are coming from countries already far over populated. We would do well to look at the rest of the world and have a rational discussion of what we want this country and the planet to look like in say 100 years. At 5% of the worlds humans using 25% of its resources you cannot be for more population growth in the u.s. and at the same time be upset about GW and co2 production. The left claims to care about GW and yet celebrates our booming population, although much of it seems to be centered on the fact that it is diluting the so-called white majority. No matter what color we are, the planet is worse off, by far, as the number of Americans continues to go up. Some will claim that the Ponzi scheme of ever more population growth especially by low wage earners is the path to economic happiness. Of coarse, these people never mention how/who will pay for these peoples old age and retirement unless the ponzi scheme is continued to infinity, which will be difficult, even for the PC to believe. The evidence is plain to see that if having a huge population of poor, low wage people was a good idea, the residents of the countries many of our immigrants are coming from wouldn't be leaving would they?
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@Althese immigrants pay into social security and Medicare all their working lives, as well as paying payroll and sales taxes. Some even return to home countries to retire and can't even receive the Medicare they paid for. On top of that, the country needs workers, innovators and entrepreneurs to stay strong and immigration helps with that.
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@Suzy. You can't have it both ways. Having low wage workers who cannot support themselves (think good stamps and Medicair and free public education etc) will not lead to comfortable retirement for them or us. There is no free lunch and most people aren't going home or turning into soylent green. If you have a political agenda, just say it, but don't take us for fools.
@Suzy. Not the illegal aliens
1
Rather than immigrant phobia ranging from people looking different, speaking different languages, maybe having an accent, cooking odd foods, maybe being a bit odd compared to their 5th generation American neighbors .. Being a child of immigrants, I don't understand that .. and I certainly remember anyone including Europeans with an accent being looked down on only 20-30-40 years ago.
However, it is worth thinking about whether you should bring in low skilled people who are willing to do jobs we really need but don't want to do at low salaries and lifestyles Americans who expect a nice house a nice car a cell phone etc .. just won't do.
Or do we import people with high skills .. who then compete for the jobs our youth are paying tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to learn how to do? Sure we should take the brilliant PhD types (and Americans really don't want to be in grad school for STEM either, look at the statistics), but how about an entry level engineer or programmer or even doctor ?
Bringing in foreign born doctors rather than say making medical school more affordable or training more nurse practitioners who can do triage and leave doctors to do more difficult cases .. well that is a decision ..
Doctors, engineers, computer scientists, scientists - these are the good paying jobs all Americans want ..
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@Innovator, what junk.
Americans don't want to pay for graduate school in full, and a very short time ago, they didn't. Then came foreign students who's full payments were offered by their governments. In a flash, the hyper-altruistic academic community switched to taking all such students, and to offering graduate school at full tuition to American students, causing huge debt. That wasn't a diversity move, it wasn't a "best and brightest" move, it was a pure money move.
Saying that, "Americans really don't want to be in grad school for STEM either, look at the statistics" is just plain wrong. It's the same self-serving argument that was used to justify illegal immigration after the fact, and the one certainty in the statistics is that someone will justify a change with a self-serving argument using statistics after the fact, no matter what the change was.
You finish up by saying that the same jobs you say Americans don't want, in STEM, are the same jobs they do want.
Statistics are easy to misuse. They are easy for those who are advocating to manipulate, they are easy for those targeted to be conned.
Americans create almost all of the "brilliant PhDs" now working in America. They generally create the foreign born "brilliant PhDs" at American graduate schools. They could be creating "brilliant PhDs" who are Americans, but that would require less greed from academia and an end to the incessant funding cuts and funding channeling we've seen for going on 40 years.
7
I work in a creative industry and have a new client who just moved here from China. She is so very pleased to be in the U.S. She says that America is so much more open to foreigners and to artistic risk taking than anywhere else she's ever been. We who have lived here since birth are so down on our country right now, and so quick to find fault...but this woman had nothing but praise. To her, it's still the greatest country in the world. I suspect many immigrants feel as she does.
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@vmur All immigrants feel like her. That’s why they come here. Half the planet would come here tomorrow if they could. The other half don’t know anything about the US.
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@vmur
There has been 250 years of sacrifices by those who came before her to make America what it is. This open society did not happen by accident.
4
Please remember that the sacrifices were mostly done by non whites.
When I last visited my hometown on LI, I went to the public library it's was filled with Asians families reading and doing research. They have become the primary immigrants to a community I grew up in when my parents moved from Queens to LI for the school system.
They are revitalizing the public school system. North Shore Hospital is full of young Indian and Asian doctors. It's a shot in the arm to a community that rose out of the post war boom and would be dying if it weren't for this revitalization.
Here in Arizona, hispanics, Indians and Asians are taking care of mostly older Americans who have come here to retire. They are building homes, providing services, doctors, nurses along with tradespeople who are vital to this older community.
I recently spoke to an Indian classmate and asked him about his grandson who just graduated from Duke. When is he moving to the US? He told me his son and his friends feel their is more opportunity in India. They don't see the US as the cutting edge center of opportunity anymore. They feel there is more going on in India and more opportunity. I was shocked and admittedly saddened by this reality.
People who are willing to move across the globe to better their lives and their families future are inherently different than everyone else. They are energetic, adventurous risk takers, the kind of people who shape the future. They will not be victims despite the current fear that is infecting our country.
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Speaking as a physician immigrant, I provide care in rural America, where not many Americans want to practice. I also recognize many opportunities in my native country India today, and am open to moving back anytime.
America was built by immigrants. Economies are powered by buying power of the population. Economies retract without a dynamic population. Maybe the real problem is a suppression and lack of wage growth, and not immigration. America wants to sell its products to the world, because there's a market out there. That market exists because of the people and their buying power. Also, dont underestimate the taxes and immigration fees being poured into the system by these immigrants that goes into supporting Social security and other benefits.
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@HL So much for the Hispanic era. It’s over before it began. Who were the geniuses that told me the demographics were unalterable and that I better get used to Hispanics taking over politics? That’s right, it was the editorial board of the NYTimes.
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@emdee
You just defined colonialism. A market for products and a pipeline of cheap labor. Of course today the cheap labor is everywhere one looks. A race to the bottom in morals and economics. But you seem pleased so I congratulate you. I disagree that America was “built by immigrants” since its founders were almost unanimously British settlers and African slaves.
It's no surprise that immigrants are going to think, live, and vote in alliance with the people that welcome them the most. (duh)
Having said that, there is no great American way of life that is solely being taken away because of immigration - that is a fallacy that the extreme right (republicans) likes to propagate.
There are a whole host of factors that are changing the perceptions and ways of life:
1) Simple free trade has opened up the world to the United States and vice versa - it creates jobs and businesses, and takes them away which upends whole towns
2) Simple human rights for all - no longer is it rich old white men (present temporary set backs aside) that dictate the laws, the culture and the family
3) Technology and the internet - we are a global community now that has access to one another (and information) at the touch of a button - there are no more ''sleepy communities''
So, as long as there are people that incite fear against ''other'' there is going to be backlash against the wrong culprits. That is a given.
What is also a given are the sands of time ...
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@FunkyIrishman, what is given are the sands of time, and that the world will never return to simplicity without an extreme amount of death. Since the beginning of World War II, the population of the world has increased more than threefold, and the number of nations has increased twofold. You can count that any way you want, good, bad, or indifferent, but that change, in and of itself, brings a change in complexity and it is also a given.
So simple, "logical", simplistic arguments are generally wrong. Actually, they are wrong "almost surely" (with probability 1).
Free trade is wonderful except when it isn't.
It isn't "rich old white men" who dictate anymore, but someone still dictates, and human rights, out in the real world, are anything but simple.
Technology and the internet are global, but far short of a "global community", lacking many evolved and agreed on structures that real communities include. Facebook was instrumental in the recent conflict in Myanmar -- 10,000 dead, and Google rushed to claim the "Arab Spring" but has been strangely silent now that it has killed 400,000 Syrians, and subjected Egypt to dictatorship.
There are no simple solutions to anything in a world of 7 billion that is dying of its own pollution. It isn't as simple as "fear of the other." It's mixed with fear of impending doom and fear of no place to go. And as global warming comes "out of the noise" and population burgeons without bounds, it will get much worse. That's a given, too.
2
Hmm. How many were admitted through chain migration? I know of a prominent family who were admitted through the VIP Chain Migration line....
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@Dan
That prominent family has a member residing in the white house now?
@Sanjay You are correct.
Rather than immediately jumping into the political implications of the immigration data, shouldn't the article spend a bit more time describing the Census bureau data? How about a graph with the percent of foreign born each over the past century? There may be more to the data that we should know about
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@Maan Hashem You can explore the data yourself at American Fact Finder, just type in a city, state or zip code. It's fascinating if you like data as I do.
"41% from Asia-just 39% from Latin America." The shift is significant but Latin Americans are still a large proportion of new arrivals. The more important dynamic is how educated each group is and how well they assimilate.
4
Finally some objective numbers on the current immigration situation in the US! Note to the DNC: "the highest level of foreign born" combined with record number of job losses in the highest paying sector for non-college graduates (manufacturing) & ever increasing income inequality is INEVITABLY going to create societal anxiety and instability in any country. This can't be denied. It appears this current high was created by the 1965 immigration emphasis on uniting the families. This was an improvement over "ethnic quotas" but 53 years later it's time to pass new reforms. Hard-line Republicans demand to deport the ~11 millin undocumented foreign-born have caused this delay (e.g Jeff Sessions.) We need Immigration laws that work for all Americans not solely business interests, religious institutions and the foreign-born. YES - there will be hard choices here. The sad truth is we can't be a benevolent nation to ALL our citizens if we allow everyone who comes into the country benefits. Money is finite. New reforms will put this divisive issue to rest and unite us as country. No more emotional pleas and cruel harshness. Nothing is stronger than a UNITED States of America.
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@Celtique Goddess
Where I live in AZ the native born population is mostly living on reservations.
1
Oh No! More fodder for Trump Inc. to develop new strategies around creation of fear mongering. Now there will be talk of Asian gangs and walls to counter the great wall of China.
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@Plato
Well, in California there are Asian gangs in LA and Orange Counties, the East Bay, and parts of the Central Valley.
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@EGD and elsewhere you have Irish gangs and Cuban gangs and Italian gangs. What’s the point? Are there more gang members per capita among the poor of some immigrant communities versus others? And white collar criminals wreak more financial damage on the Mr and Mrs America than all of them. Why isn’t there a big war on them?
"The passage of a more liberal immigration law in 1965"
This is an outgrowth of the Civil Rights Movement. The vast majority of Asians are in the US thanks to a struggle spearheaded by Black Americans. Despite this they readily embrace anti-Black racism. Most Hispanics identify as white and have the highest rates of marriage to (non-Hispanic) whites. This is why the hand wringing about coming demographic changes is nonsense. The definition of "white" will expand in the future just as it has in past and these groups will happily embrace their new position.
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Most Hispanics are white!
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@Ricardo de la O. And so are Iranians, Syrians, Lebanese, Afghanis, and most Indians (who are the Aryans?) and North Africans, if you go by racial relatedness rather than the accident of skin color. There is no such thing as a “white” “race.” There are some people of Indo-European and Semitic genetic heritage who have less skin pigmentation than others. Is this pigment that white fetishists are so hung up on any index of any kind of quality? This kind of talk was discredited by the 1930s, except in some societies. And we saw the results of that.
"Hispanics" are white, we are direct descendants of Spaniards (last I heard Spain in a country IN Europe!). For example, Cubans, many are Hispanic, and also many are Afro-Cuban, etc. Many Latinos from South America, especially the migrant workers that slavery in our nation's fields and harvest our produce are Native Americans from the various tribes in South America, some are a blend of the Spaniards that invaded their lands. Do not make assumptions, assumptions are often wrong!
Comments here make me sad. So much anger, xenophobia and hubris. When the wild winds of a hurricane blow through, do they discriminate who gets blown away? When the earth shakes beneath our feet, are only non-natives to have their houses crumble down on their heads?!
I read so much ahistorical hysteria herein, which ignores the simple fact that people of all stripes and sizes come here seeking a better life. Some do so in a dastardly fashion, but many “real Americans” rip off others on a daily basis, as we read each day in the NYT and as it starts from the top.
Come to Washington State: Seattle, a Native American name among many others (Sammamish, Issaquah, Snohomish...) is home to Amazon, whose employees come from all over the world. This place originally belonged to Native Americans, though they are mindful that they really share this land with all other creatures. We’re all guests here. In the meantime, if you want your house painted, your floors installed, your package delivered, your nails done, your housing built, your gardens maintained, your internet to work, your new iPhone, your prescription filled and your cuisine prepared....immigrants are here to help you.
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@Auntie Social. Legal immigrants?
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When Asian immigrants significantly outnumber those from Latin America, watch as Asians suddenly become Enemy Number One for immigration opponents. They can say they're only concerned about low-skilled labor, or about illegal crossings, and so on, but they'll complain about high-skilled legal immigration too. Racism always moves its goalposts.
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Immigration challenges the native group. Hence unskilled immigration troubles unskilled natives. IT immigration troubles IT natives. Only group which is never challenged are the ones which are closed shop like Doctors or even Lawyers.
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US has a shortage on doctors, current doctors with medical degrees from foreign countries are 247000 more than one-quarter of all doctors.
5
Have you been to a hospital lately? A clinic? Emergency room? Foreigners comprise a large proportion of doctors in this country. Even at places like Mayo and Cleveland clinic
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@YJ True, because medical school is so expensive here and free elsewhere!
So I guess is it will now be Asians in the crosshairs of the racist GOP.
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@SterlingOr the candidates du jour for victimhood by the Democratic Party.
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@Sterling Yup, the next target as they are mostly brown-skinned thus offending the nativists and Fox "News".
@Sterling
There is no ‘racist GOP.’
There are, however, many on the conservative side of the aisle — and that includes some Democrats — who reject the enabling of illegal immigration (and the resulting criminality including identity theft and Social Security fraud) by the Left and Democrat Party elites.
Legal immigration is welcomed; criminality and open borders, as always, are not.
1
No doubt, this immigration data will ratchet up the "keep them out" exclusionary efforts of the Miller/Nielsen/Kelly anti-immigrant troika. Perhaps a new border wall encompassing the entirety of the U.S. border, east, west, north and south? And let the foreign born horde presently residing in and mooching off America pay for this latest Trumpian project! MAGA.
@John Grillo. Not anti immigration, anti illegal aliens
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This Administration is decidedly "yes" anti-immigration. It has been slashing the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country also, to record low levels, as an "equal opportunity" denier of U.S. entry.
I've gone thru years of this hell of immigration process to even qualify for a Green card while paying full taxes without getting anything in return.Here's my response to the snarky 'native' born, you don't get to lecture me for what I've earned with hard work that you've got just by a chance of luck.
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On point. 100% agree with you.
Snarky? What is hard work for one may not be hard work for others. We'd like you to succeed but please don't demand we pay or be displaced by you.
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I wouldn’t presume to “lecture” you. But I will thank you for your perseverance and hard work.
You’re what makes America great.
Absurd. Factor in the millions of Latinos here illegally and they far outnumber any other ethnicity.
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@Jacob handelsman You misread the story. Try again.
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@Jacob handelsman the word you're looking for is undocumented and, anyway, you're wrong.
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@Jacob handelsman you should take a walk around NYC sometimes
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Some of the greatest economics boom periods, the 1920s, 1950s, all actually followed on large immigration waves. All that new capital, labor, and know how flowing into the economy, I don't understand why people wouldn't want to maintain that.
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Americans' birthrates aren't high enough to sustain growth.
We actually need more, not less, legal immigration.
Interesting factoid. Here are the five loudest mouths in the country looking to curtail immigration:
Rush Limbaugh: No children.
Pat Buchanan: No children.
Ann Coulter: No children.
Laura Ingraham: No children (by birth).
Stephen Miller: No children.
What do they expect?
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@Paul '52. Growth to what? A country that looks like China or India? The only way forward, to a sustainable future, is falling populations and an economy that is in balance with our numbers and the environment, none of which is happening now.
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Thank goodness!
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@Paul '52, Endless population growth is not tenable. Nor is it environmentally a positive. We have enough people right now, we really do.
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I wish the Times and other publications would do better about presenting quantifiable data and historical information.
There are 325 million people in the U.S. today.
280 million (86.3%) are native born Americans.
44.5 million (13.7%) are foreign born, some of whom are children, may be American citizens, on their way to becoming American citizens, and most of whom have assimilated to American ways of life because it is their choice to live here, and many who enrich their American communities.
This sort of information would then help some commenters, like DRS, to not feel "awful" or that "these (foreign-born) people as overwhelming [his] country's, political preferences and way of life . . . ."
Publishing data like this is serious business and should be written as such, to give a clear picture rather than a cloudy one. Percentages are only as good as the numbers on which they're based. Actual numbers as in "13.7% of 325 million, or 44 million". The Times purports to educate the citizenry with these types of articles, I say do so responsibly.
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@jthis is so important. Those unconnected with numeracy enjoy too much of the public square. We are bombarded with trite silliness that assumes racism and concludes racism, begging us never to reflect on any deeper questions. Would it be interesting to know the % of college educated in each group. Yes, but maybe inconvenient in a land where education separates and combines the population. Not as inconvenient I expect as a dogged clinging to refusing to acknowledge population growth and the long standing degradation of the environment shout correlation.
@j Thank you. Perspective is needed. Every highest number will always be exceeded because population grows.
Four centuries ago the more educated civilized Europeans eyed a land inhabited by quarreling, violent, less educated natives, and saw opportunity.
Not much has changed in 400 years. Today, Asians see the same.
As the globe under China's leadership sees integration of Europe, Asia, Africa into one contiguous land-based market linked with super-fast trains moving people and goods, America risks become a distant island inaccessible by land, dependent on snail-paced sea lanes.
The aim of Xi's Belt and Road Initiative is world peace and Dialogue of Civilizations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNKTbMx8PFk
BRI spans 3 continents, 5 civilizations, upto 7 billion souls.
America's well educated newcomers will form a vital links with the emerging world order. But the key question is whether they will stay around if for them American Dream stays only a dream. There are greener pastures elsewhere eagerly waiting for them.
America must renew itself or else. The American Left Liberal Elite (LLE) sitting comfortably in their Ivory Towers has to be sensitive to the uneducated, unskilled, white Trump Nation that increases by the hour as the School System continually adds youth that can neither read nor count, unfit for the new knowledge based economy of Globalization.
The solution is Education. Too bad, the LLE dumped Bernie Sanders. If the West continually keeps on killing its Socrates even 2,400 years later, there is no hope.
Will America renew itself and join the world?
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@Syed Abbas, China's One Belt One Road policy seeks three objectives -- client states, money, and a rewrite of history with China at the center. I'm surprised that the koolaid is so drinkable in Toronto.
If you need proof, look at Sri Lanka, which just ceded territory to the Chinese to pay its debts.
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@ondelette
So the Natives ceded Manhattan for trinkets. Will you damn the Pilgrims for that, or praise them for making a good deal?
If Sri Lanka can not manage money, they should cede to those better qualified. When 100 years ago England and France did not cede to Germany and Russia, they killed 120,000,000 of their own (1 in 4) in 1914-45. Today, if America does not cede to China, are you prepared to be wiped out?
Every dog has his day. That is the law of nature. Get used to it.
1
This is totally logical. If you look at the places where the worst things are occurring (war, disease, famine, etc.), then it is logical anyone living there would want to leave. It is a simple solution to a terrible problem.
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@Easy Goer right, because of all that war, disease and famine in China, India, Korea, etc.
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@Tom
It is hard to discern whether your comment is bad sarcasm or genuine concern for the horrible suffering due to the enormous socioeconomic problems existing in these nations.
@Easy Goer, do you mean like India and China?
Far as I know, the wars, epidemics, and famines are elsewhere. Sometimes attention to facts gives a richer picture than assigning logic to a task too early.
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This is no shock to me.
My child is the only non-Asian student in her elementary classroom.
I have no problem with people of different race or origin. However, people do need to share some common principles. Respect for others, belief in common good, environmental stewardship, and contributing to the community all help.
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@T Ideally your suggestion would work. However, with the nativism movement that is driven by Team Trump, many immigrants are possibly marginalized, shunned or belittled.
Given that, why attempt to be a good citizen?
@T - Anyone who has to start a sentence with "I'm not racist, but......" or "I have no problem with people of different races or origins, but......" clearly has problems with people of different racial origins!
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@T
Pretty sure the immigrants already have those qualities. It's us that need to develop them.
1
Immigrants...exactly what made us GREAT.
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@johnw Yet our myopic "president" fails to recognize this, unless it is family.
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@Dan. We all want legal immigrants
The most significant benefit to these levels of immigration is that it keeps wages down thus improving corporate profits. Can you imagine what child and elder care would cost without millions of immigrants. Restaurant would have to significantly increase prices if they had to pay native born Americans a living wage. The list go on and on. Cheap doctors staffing minute clinic's; code slaves at our big tech companies. The only real concern is that Trump and his racist followers might actually have the votes to cut off this gravy train.
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If you're worried about Trump and the GOP cutting off the corporate gravy chain, you've been asleep for the last 80 years
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@Mkm OK, I guess you skipped right over the part about the higher levels of education among the largest group of new immigrants.
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This is a good trend. Too bad Mr. Trump doesn't realize it.
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You can contribute this to the various visa programs, which have imported researchers, engineers, information technology, etc. professionals from mostly India. They bring along their spouse, on other visa programs. Then, they have large families, which become US citizens, by birth.
During the mass migrations of the late 19th and 20th centuries, most who immigrated here, came fro a better life, and took jobs in manufacturing, mining, farming, etc. The same goes for the Latino migrations. The Asian migrations, are different, as they are invited to take higher paying, professional jobs, but at a lower pay then their US citizen counterparts.
If anyone, who has looked for a job, in IT, some Asians help push the hiring process to hire more Asians over the US Citizen counterparts.
In this forum, one time, I was told that they think Americans are lazy, and not technically equipped, to perform IT jobs, indicating that Asians can do much better. There is some truth to this, as most Asian parents compel their children to excel in school. They must get t op grades, and must end up in the best schools.
What does that mean for American workers? Well, just getting by in grade school, and college, may lock you out of a good paying job or getting into places like Harvard. Some fields, may be completely locked out to non-Asian US citizens. How non-Asian US citizens react could prove interesting. As they could elect someone even worse than Trump.
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@Nick Metrowsky
It doesn't matter. As China becomes the world's largest economy, it will suck back a lot of well qualified Chinese-Americans. They will start successful companies in China. The same goes for Indians.
The reason for Asian poverty was 200 years of colonialism. That is being reversed now.
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@Nick Metrowsky - Well Nick, maybe American workers would be able to fill more of these jobs if we were willing to spend as much money on education as we do on prisons and building bombs.
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@Nick Metrowsky
While other points are argued over hundreds of times I take objection to "Then, they have large families, which become US citizens, by birth. "
My general observation is highly educated Asians atleast Indians are very serious about family planning and rarely have more than 1 or 2 children while I have seeen many examples of native born people having 3 or more children.
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Beto O'Rourke perfectly summed up the situation during his recent interview with Stephen Colbert: being born in El Paso, a southern border city with lots of immigrants, he reminded us of the fact that El Paso has a record low crime rate, compare to US averages, and that one of the reasons why it's so great to live in El Paso is precisely because of the great diversity, as that allows you to start seeing our common humanity much better than when you're living among people who share certain superficial things such as food or color of skin or the way they pray.
It's remembering our common humanity that creates more peaceful and harmonious societies, not trying to create artificial divisions based on superficial traits and characteristics and then imagining that people who look different must BE fundamentally different and even dangerous.
What is dangerous is violence. And studies show that immigrants are LESS violent than local populations.
THAT is context necessary to interpret this - very interesting - new study.
Not all the fake news out there trying to make people believe that not all humans are made equal.
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@Ana Luisa: untrue....the Texas border towns are hellholes of crime & corruption.
Beto is a huge phony, including his fake "nickname".
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@Ana Luisa, The children of immigrants sure aren't all non-violent pacifists. Have you ever been to a border town? They are H-holes. Really awful and very dangerous.
4
America is supposed to be a Melting Pot - remember that? The most important aspect of the melting phenomenon - that which will keep us One America embracing all of our immigrants - is language. It is imperative that the immigrants learn English, and, importantly for many, learn American English pronunciation. A common language is one of the most important features of a unified country. Now we have American schools that teach the entire school day in another language. Not good for our country, not good.
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@Judy
"A common language is one of the most important features of a unified country"
It really isn't. The United States itself was almost destroyed by a civil war in which both sides spoke the same language. A country is made strong not by insisting that everyone be the same, but by embracing the fact that everyone is different and brings different strengths to the table.
And there have always been immigrant communities in which large numbers of people didn't speak English: German and Italian and Yiddish communities and so on. Somehow the republic has survived and thrived on the contributions from these groups.
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@Judy Which American pronunciation? Broadcaster English? Minnesotan? Nu Yawker? Bostonian? Millennial Vocal Fry?
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@Judy I grew up in diverse small town, eastern MA in the ‘50s. Some of my friends’ very oldest relatives still weren’t fluent in English. Their younger generations, who were born into the English speaking school system were, of course, just fine in it.
Lessons in Spanish, etc? Bilingual ed? What chance is there that kids of a certain age who arrive here without English will, in large numbers and apace, pick up the new academic demands in an new language? We’re dealing with people, not the heroes of movies and books.
Depending on whether one includes mixed race Asians, the US is presently somewhere between 5.4 and 6.8% Asian as defined by the US Census. This is still a very small minority of US citizens. To put this in perspective there is roughly ten White citizens to every Asian (again, these are US Census demographic definitions).
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In today's world, as I read this article, I kept thinking = my goodness ! What if somebody tells Trump about the findings ! I had visions of overweight ICE agents racing around in armored Hummers breaking down the doors of homes all over the United States. The Horror.
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@John Taylor. Why overweight?
The majority of America's population was foreign-born from inception.The first US census was taken in 1790 from the population in the 13 colonies and several"territories." One could argue that then, most, if not all, of those counted, were foreign-born. Roughly 84% were likely born in Europe (based on the enumeration categories "free white males, free white females and others"), while the remaining 26% were identified (by Europeans?) as "slaves."
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@REASON
No, substantial numbers of people were born in the Colonies, they had been settled for over 100 years. Even slaves had been born here. The children of indentured servants were born here. History did not start in 1776.
11
All but Alexander Hamilton were Native born.
That we know of today. (Famous)
2
What can you mean about slavery born in the US? Most definitely not.
The reason Asians immigrating have college degrees is because those are mainly the only people that are immigrating from Asian countries. If Asia was as close to US as Mexico and other Latin countries you would see a tremendous influx of non college degree immigrants.
Non college degree Asians simply can’t afford to come to US and look for manual labor work. They just can’t cross the border either.
33
@Eraven
Asian immigrants with lesser skills are well employed by American corporations in their own country.
I am one of these Asians who came in 1959 to Minneapolis for graduate studies and stayed over, had two children, both American born and college graduates. It is true the nmber of Indians started growing after 1965 when the immigration law changed, but the real boost took place due to the 2K computer crises that required securing COBOL based computer systems, COBOL was out in th US colleges but still taught in India (I don't know about China). And all the Indians, including me who came here also sponsored our families. Yes, we Indians are very family oriented. My parents came and passed away in the US. My sister came with her family, and so on. And This brought in the the related businesses like restaurants and grocery stores. Interestingly, the checkers in the Indian stores are Indians with college degrees and shelf stockers are hspanics with college degrees. I never see any African Americans in these stores. I believe there also a latent racism among us Indians that we have brought with us from the Indian caste system. And there are some who support trumps who believe in Reagans "welfare queen",
79
Yes change is difficult for some people to accept, but the welcome statistics about recent immigration in this article should hearten all Americans. We have ALWAYS been a nation of immigrants. I would guess that of the 120 commenters to this article so far, most are the descendants of immigrants who came after 1880. Look back in your own family. Are you proud of the contributions your family members have made over the last few generations? Did they learn trades, or go to college (often first in the family), or serve in the military, or open a business, or participate in their community?
Yes the demographics in America are shifting, but that is the way it has always been. American success has been built on the contributions at all levels of society by immigrants from all nations. Like one of the earlier commenters, I too grew up in a homogeneous white neighborhood in Queens, a neighborhood which is now enriched by the newer residents from many Asian and Latin American nations. My high school is still one of the best in the city because students work hard to better their and their families' lives.
Personally, I embrace this development. We will continue to evolve as a nation but in my opinion for the better. To say nothing of the great ethnic restaurants!
18
@Barbara. Read the article. We have not been a nation of immigrants. The number of immigrants we have now, is the highest in history as an absolute number.
5
Another tough dose of reality for America's White Spite Trump community that refuses to educate itself while clinging to white supremacy and cultured stupidity.
"In those low-concentration states, foreign-born populations tended to be more educated than the native-born. In Ohio, for example, 43% of the foreign-born population is college educated, compared with just 27% of American-born Ohioans.
The same can be true in states with large immigrant populations. About 15% of the population of Maryland last year was foreign-born. Of those people, 42 % had college degrees, compared with 39% of American-born Marylanders."
As always, the thing that will save America from itself is common sense, ideas, education and humanity from other countries.
Our 'native-born' Americans are a massive drain on the national IQ and American ideals.
D for diversity; R for racism.
November 6 2018
73
@Socrates - that fact about college degrees shows where the USCB census should be going as argued powerfully by Kenneth Prewitt, former Director, in his "What Is Your Race?"
Where is that? A census with hard SES data - in my view also including health data as in Sweden - and a census ending in time, the soft data, races and ethnicities that nobody could define if they had to place an individual with certainty in one of those boxes.
Larry L.
3
I do not understand why the common sense of enviromental health has not come into play, "what came first the chicken or the egg". Climate change IS overcrowding YOUR hen house.
2
I actually know undocumented all "Americans", some as educated as rocket scientists, living for 25, 30 even 40 years and are precluded with a blanket bureaucratic red tape from ever documenting themselves. While the ridiculous chain migration allows all new immigrants, with no English, even with no education qualifies for convenient family sponorship, and become Us citizen in as little as 3 years after arrival here. Where is the sanity in this kind of system?
7
@J. According to the left, the fact that they aren't white is all that counts. If you celebrated the fact that these immigrants were diluting black or Hispanic majority communities you'd be called out as a racist, but it's white people so it ok.
5
J,
It sounds like what you are talking about applies to the hordes of Europeans who pored in for all these centuries. They were surely not doctors and engineers who came to America, though some were and still are. So what is the difference? Today they are non-white AND even that because Europeans are having a population decline and they’re Europe with social democracy better. Why would they want to go baker or paying for healthcare when it is free there? Why would Europeans want to move to a place with weaker education, no mass transit, lower quality of living and dirty air?
@Al. Wha....? Have you even been reading any of these comments? What do you mean by a “white person”? Is there any objective, scientifically supportable definition? All I can think of is that Northern Europeans, who tend to have less skin pigment, have more Neanderthal DNA. Is that the determining factor?
“U.S. Has Highest Share of Foreign-Born Since 1910”
It appears that the Democrat/Koch Brothers/Chamber of Commerce Republicans alliance has gained the upper hand on immigration.
The borders remain functionally open. Illegal immigrants are mostly free from prosecution and repatriation.
Who are the losers? President Trump and the half of the country that voted for him, especially because of this issue. Anyone who believes in enforcing U.S. immigration laws.
The political and business establishment has spoken, just as they did during the Gilded Age, and for the same reasons. Massive immigration will continue legally or illegally, regardless of the pesky voters. Simply put, on this issue, democracy is proving to be sham.
10
Why is it wrong to have immigrants that are useful contributors to society compared to the opioid addicts who won’t even educate themselves or move to better place for work? Asians are the highest achievers and why don’t you want them here? The only reason America is still innovating is cause of smart immigrants from all over the world not cause of lazy , entitled “ Americans”.
2
@John. The left is not interested in democracy or the law when it comes to opening the borders. It just matters that we become a third world country.
4
13.7 % is low. In Sweden it's 19.3%
4
@Talesofgenji
And in most regards (healthcare, education, "happiness index", ... ) Sweden today is better off than the US ...
4
@Talesofgenji - I thought yours was too high so I visited Statistical Central Bureau and here are the data
on 31 December 2017 copied from SCB Excel file.
10 120 242 1 877 050 18,5
Total Born outside Sweden percent
But maybe you were able to add for first 8 months of 2018
I will correct my comment also
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
@Talesofgenji
Most of that 19.3 percent is from other parts of Europe.
3
Wouldn't it be nice if this writer included in his analysis, the contribution of "these immigrants" to the US economy and whether without this contribution the US will be the most economically prosperous country in the world? That should provide a more balanced view.
7
@Bo. We certainly would not have won so many Nobel Prizes or created Hollywood.
Republicans favorite period in our history - when there was no immigration or when we had ethnic quotas. Merely removing these noxious mistakes makes it liberal?
4
All Public Housing in Boston once held for Hispanics is now occupied by elderly Chinese who also have food stamps, free medical care and all other possible benefits. Nobody can understand how they are coming in; however, it does appear to be legal migration.
14
@Philip W. Chinese birth tourism is booming as well. Have a kid here, they are a citizen and can bring everybody over at age 18. There are real downsides to having little to no control over ones borders and immigration, no matter what the left says.
13
I read someplace that the continent that brings us the highest composition of college graduate was Africa.
4
@Paul, Which is a brain drain to Africa.
1
Depends on country. Ranges from 60% of Nigerians to 10% of Somalians.
So interesting. Recent immigrants were more likely to have voted for Clinton? I guess that's because they haven't the long-term knowledge of the Clintons. Hmmm.
8
@Margo We do - but unfortunately many of you chose to ignore Trump's history of racism, sexism, penchant for declaring bankruptcy, inability to follow a train of thought, desire to only have yes-men and women around....
11
No, they are BETTER educated that’s why.
And Democrats in General not just Hilary, if this was 2011 article would have said Obama, or Bernie if he won Primary.
1
Asian is a pretty big category, which includes people who are very different. I think that breaking it down would still give Mexicans an edge.
A lot of people seeking to escape poverty and danger are from Central America, so create a category of immigrants from Latin America and see how that compares to Asians.
Or don't bother. Accept that we will be having migration from other countries and those who come to live in the US will change it. That's a good thing in the long run if we can avoid the demagoguery that exploits hate and fear.
7
Perhaps the "problem" is not that Asian immigrants are too well educated, but rather than those in the United States are not going to college often enough. Higher education is out of reach of many Americans. That hurts all of us. For instance, a medical student can expect to accumulate half a million in school debt. The result---new doctors gravitate towards higher paying specialties so that they can pay off those loans. We are now facing a primary care crisis. If not for well educated Asians, the crisis would be even worse.
32
@McCamy Taylor it's not just well-educated Asians. It's also Africans. During the controversy on the travel band last year we learn that there were doctors from Sudan who work in parts of the country that lack primary care physicians were caught up in the travel band while out of the country. Some of the most educated immigrants are from Africa but somehow the article left them out.
6
The people who will be most disappointed are President Trump and Jeff Sessions. Here in Texas close to the border he never realized how important these new immigrants are. And after all, unless you are Native Americans, we all are immigrants or decendents of immigrants.
10
Fascinating how the focus on native-born vs foreign-born is totally irrelevant outside the US’s birth right to citizenship, where citizen/non-citizen or ethnicity is the prevailing metric.
3
I’m sorry, but this is awful. Had demographics remained constant from Reagan’s era, Romney would have trounced Obama. As a conservative, I see these people as overwhelming my, and the country’s, political preferences, and way of life, and in favoring Democrats doing great harm to the country. It’s nothing less than a slow and methodical invasion. RIP America.
62
Why stop at the Reagan era? Let’s go back to the Jefferson era! /sarcasm
The demographics of this country have been changing since we were founded. The issue is that we think it’s ok when it was our families who immigrated. Just not ok when it’s the ones after us.
8
@DRS When you speak about the country's political preferences, please consider some actual data:
https://news.gallup.com/poll/235793/record-high-americans-say-immigratio...
http://www.people-press.org/2018/06/28/shifting-public-views-on-legal-im...
As it turns out, most Americans disagree with you -- and these days, it isn't even close.
10
@DRS
65% of the American people disagree.
It's the constant lying, not respecting America's most important institutions, constantly proposing policies that aren't fact or science-based and merely benefit the wealthiest Americans rather than the middle class, combined with the unabated cultivation of racism and fear, that is seriously damaging what has always been America's greatness, as enshrined in the Constitution.
And that is what today Republicans are doing to this country.
I'm quite sure that it's NOT what America's conservative voters want them to do, but as you tend to believe all their "alternative facts" propaganda, you aren't even aware of what your own elected officials are doing to America today.
That's also why it's not only immigrants but also America's best educated citizens who vote for Democrats today (and as this study shows, in many places immigrants are actually themselves better educated than local people). It's not that they are smarter or inherently better people than conservatives, it's just that they were lucky enough to have learned how to fact-check.
Finally, I hope you know that on social issues for instance, what conservatives want is much closer to what fundamentalist Muslims want than what liberals support ... ?
So what exactly is it that you think immigrants support, when it comes to politics, and that conservatives in general would disagree with ... ?
24
This report has many takeaways, but the most important one is: We need to fix our education system. So many immigrants (myself included) come here after benefiting from free college education in their countries of birth, while US-born Americans have trouble getting that kind of education here. This puts US-born Americans at a disadvantage compared to abroad-born Americans. I personally have benefited from this disparity, but I know that we need to fix it for our children.
129
I concur, American Education system is busted and needs to be fixed. We have an advanced science high school where I live and I watch the kids board in the morning. They are all Asian no whites no blacks.
I am not turning this in to a race thing, it is a responsibility thing. We Americans have focused more on crazy majors and less on good old math and science and guess what we have less scientists. Let’s all wake up and take a lesson from the Asian Americans. Back to the class room.
15
@mhg your education is not free. It is an expense to the country where you came from. Even though it is free in that country, what is the percentage of college graduates in that country? Similarly, even if the education is free in this country at the expense of tax payer, it doesn’t guarantee that there will be more going to college. All it does is reduce college debt. I am all for it. I went to college here by paying all college expenses by working in automobile assembly plants in summers and other small jobs during academic year. Because I paid college expenses through hard earned money, I made sure I get my money’s worth, that helped me to go through elite graduate schools. The primary driving force whether kids go to college or not are parents and kids themselves.
5
@mhg
Why have adequate spending to educate one's own citizens when you can steal ones another country has paid to educate?
Why be a modern, decent society when it's cheaper to operate like a criminal organisation or a Ponzi scheme?
3
We have way too many legal immigrants and a ton too many illegals. Illegals steal jobs on the low end AND on the high end. Many of the H-1Bs who come here to steal tech jobs stay. We have as many as 4,000,000-6,000,000 visa overstays - in 2016, there were 700,000 who overstayed their visas. In 2006, Congress passed a law mandating a biometric ID system, which has not been inplemented. We need it desperately. The high-end visa overstays are from many countries - Ireland, China, India, Japan, Germany, Britain, Canada - a ton are Canadian. We need to find, fine, and deport these people on their own dime.
33
I can't think of a more nonsensical phrase in the American vernacular than "steal job." Who "owns" a job before it is "stolen?" Companies hire better trained, more determined, and less entitled immigrants through the legal mechanism of an H1, which any H1 worker knows is like indentured servitude where you risk deportation if you try to switch jobs.
The native born American populace has grown lazier, brattier, and less determined to seek necessary training for a modern services based economy. Entitled comments about "stolen" jobs by more qualified candidates are just Exhibit A. Thank God our country is being infused with new vitality from immigrants whose pursuit of the American dream comes with the work ethic we used to value as a country.
53
@GeorgePTyrebyter
We also have a record low unemployment rate, and a shortage of workers in service level and skilled jobs. Seems like no one is stealing anyone's job right now.
13
@GeorgePTyrebyter
In real life, thanks to Obama's fact-based economy decisions the US is at full employment today, and more than 100,000 job offers fail to find candidates.
And studies show that with a stagnation population growth and increasing demographic of seniors, soon the US will find itself in the exact same situation as Europe half a century ago, and vitally need MORE immigrants to keep the economy growing, rather than somehow having too much of them.
The only way to have a serious immigration policy is to have a fact-based immigration policy.
All that the GOP does is making up stories to scare people and then promising to solve those fake crises ... and then of course, once they control DC, they don't do anything, NOT even what do is needed to increase southern border security and what any bipartisan comprehensive immigration bill written by Congress until now contains.
The only way to increase border security and tackle the illegal immigration problem is to massively vote the GOP out, so that Democrats can finally get bipartisan immigration reform done.
Unfortunately, like on so many other issues, the GOP is no longer the party of "law and order", they only stand for fake news, lack of moral character and DC chaos anymore.
19
Unfortunately, the resentment against Asians because of their education, occupation of high end jobs, their color and culture is growing. Bannon is face of it. Trump is an opportunist and taking advantage by stroking those resentments to stay in power. The collateral damage is growth of social divisions, and doesn’t bode well to the country. The present old generation need to pass, to mean an American is not necessarily a white. This country attracted the best and brightest in the past and present, hopefully in the future.
12
@Kodali Here in Texas, whites only comprise 43% of the population. So we are true minorities.
2
@Kodali Agree. So far, Asians have been able to stay below the radar screen as Trump and his supporters focus on Latinos and Muslims. Eventually, as Asians began to play more prominent and visible roles in the US, resentment will grow from the Trump base. Recall "Manazar" and the Japanese Internment Camps during WWII. Sadly, it could happen again.
1
@George Foo. Japanese internment camps came from FDR and democrats
This Brookings data matches well with the data presented last year by Nathan Grawe, who did a groundbreaking projection of the college population in 2025 and beyond.
In Mr. Grawe’s book he shows how America’s future population is substantially more Asian and Latinx, not only due to immigration but to higher birth rates than white and black people. The population rise of the south, and the decline in the north and Midwest, will be striking.
8
@Cousy Asians have high birthrates? What ethnic group? My peer group who are ethnic Chinese typically have no more than two kids, with many having one or none. We are in our late 30s/early 40s, so Xennials. Millennials are more likely to be childfree.
The one fact most ignore is, Asians largely are very prosperous, if they came as "economic migrants".
Also, they are fiscally conservative, tend to save and invest, buy large homes, luxury cars, and yes, traditionally vote GOP. They tend to favor a mainstream GOP like Bush, Kasich, Huntsman etc. Bernie types are seen as too radical for these folks, who in their home countries have seen welfare measures, and poverty alleviating models, as free money used by politicians to feather their own nests.
11
@Gyns D
I'd like to point out that there can be a generational difference in Asians voting GOP or Democratic. The children of immigrants who are born and raised in the US will support the progressive party.
1
@Gyns D Maybe this could help the GOP actually become "grand" again. I don't know about the US, but I'm up in Canada and it's only very recently that the Asian population has really become active in politics. Like in the past decade.
@Gyns D I agree but as the GOP turns away from Bush, Kasich, Huntsman, etc., conservative Asians will walk away from the GOP.
You have to look at birth rates of native European people especially to understand how this has happened. In our country the tech jobs will continue to be filled by Asians and Eastern Europeans. That is what they emphasize over there.
6
America is doing many things right when it comes to immigration, drawing almost all of its immigrants from civilized regions like Latin America and Asia. And yet so many people rightly feel that it is too much and that the country is being overrun.
Meanwhile, we in Europe are getting mostly people who cannot even read and write and come from societies that are at least 500 years behind in cultural development.
19
There are a number of Americans who would make the same comments about our immigrant population not being “civilized” as you make about Europe’s. Myopic stereotypes like this abound everywhere.
I believe there was an article in Sunday’s NYT edition discussing the difficulty skilled immigrants (like doctors) have in Germany getting positions that use their skills. Might be worth looking up.
5
@Victoria R When I was at the ER room at The Metropolitan Hospital in NYC I had the misfortune of a young Indian doctor who literally spent only 20 seconds to talk to me, spent all his night looking in his computer, and sent me home with no diagnosis and a huge bill. Zero bed manners too. When I complained, he brought two shrinks and the bill got even higher. Count your blessings!
1
@European in NY
Sorry for your experience but based on it don't paint all immigrant doctors with a broad brush. I had excellent care from a very fine liver surgeon from Turkey
and have a wonderful Indian dermatologist and a great Indian gastro doctor.
The USA has grown by 125 million people since the immigration law was changed in 1965. This growth has occurred primarily due to the increase in immigration. The quality of life and environment in the USA has seriously declined over those years. Note that the largest groups of immigrants are now from India and China -- countries that have already destroyed their environments due to excessive numbers of people -- we are going down the same path.
32
Not sure about the deterioration in the environment across all of America. Here in North Texas the changes are strikingly positive - new housing developments, improved schools, roads, bridges, highways, recreation areas, and companies relocating in droves. The diversity of retail/food and education options have seen dramatic improvements over the past 10 years compared to what I saw in Kansas when I first arrived in the USA way back in 1975.
7
Sure, it was all those dastardly immigrants. Had nothing to do with Reagan demonizing the government and shifting the tax burden to the middle class and poor...
1
America is self destructing the environment by removing all regulations and letting infrastructure rot while giving tax cut after tax cuts for the wealthy leaving no money educate poorly educated people such as you or for healthcare or infrastructure. But the military and rich are sacred cows and they get whatever they want. That is the root cause of American destruction not high achieving immigrants.
2
"The foreign-born population in the United States has reached its highest share since 1910, according to government data "
Donald Trump and his gang are not going to like this news. What is upsetting to them is not that these immigrants are foreign-born but most of them are going to be Asians, Africans, and Latinos.
Trump wants fewer immigrants from "shit hoe countries". Back in the 19th century, Norwegians began coming to the United States in droves, Trump wishes we had more immigrants from Norway, that is not going to happen anymore. Thanks go to the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 that changed the way quotas were allocated by ending the National Origins Formula. Now America is "browning" that makes some Americans anxious and nervous but majority Americans would welcome this news as long as these immigrants are educated, hard working and assimilate into American culture, that is the key.
6
@Padman no more Norwegian immigrants because Norway is a great place to live. There are no more starving peasants as there were in the 1880s. Now we who found refuge here and prospered have the opportunity to help this era’s desperate and downtrodden get a leg up ... unless you want to let the population decline, and the standard of living with it.
1
Not surprising when you see increasing numbers of Asian-Americans in school and in business -- and generally excelling in both. These people are perhaps our best hope for ridding ourselves of the idiocy of Trump.
20
Wow, this is one fascinating article for two personal reasons.
I learn that in 2017 13% of people living in America were so-called foreign born. In Sweden, at present, 10% of us are foreign born. NY Times readers routinely reply to my comments by telling me that my comments on human difference are worthless since they tell me I live in a country where everybody is "white". By the way, in Sweden unlike my 19th century America, people are not put in race boxes.
The second reason is that I expect this article will draw highly recommended reader comments of the sort that I read yesterday at the article written by two people who worked in the Obama administraton in which they sharply criticized Trump limits on immigration.
Reader-recommended comments left me stunned. The less accurate the information and the stronger the "end all immigration" statements the greater the number of reader recommends. I noted in one comment that those comments could have been written by all in Sweden who voted for the Sweden Democrat Party, whose leader Jimmie Åkesson stated clearly that Sweden must shut the doors to anyone who is not already an Ethnic Nordic.
Two of the 6 comments showing KB (9 rec) and Peter (5) already state simply restrict, strict quotas but so far in simple sentences. I await the deluge.
Will be following comments here all day.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
14
@Larry Lundgren correction more than 10%
@Talesofgenji - comment states 19+ percent, which I thought was so I visited Sweden's Statistical Central Bureau (SCB) and here are the data
on 31 December 2017 copied from SCB Excel file.
10 120 242 1 877 050 18,5
Total Born outside Sweden percent
Talesof should have given a source and so should have as concerns my 10%. Now I cite the best source. Perhaps Talesof added all who have arrived in 2018 but they would not be citizens yet. Even so that would give all of you an idea of just how many have come here in 2018 in comparison with the US for which Syrians, for example were so few that they must vanish from site after arrival.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Ever read Little Women? In it, Beth dies after a lengthy illness from contracting a disease she got visiting recent immigrants living in squalor.
They were German.
People are always "different" when they get here. They bring along "yucky" ways of dressing, eating, talking and most pointedly "relating". Those perceived differences are then mined, exploited, minted and cemented.
Don't believe me?
From the NYT:
“Certain kinds of criminality are inherent in the Italian race. In the popular mind, crimes of personal violence, robbery, blackmail and extortion are peculiar to the people of Italy.”
The Italian race.
Irish were thought of as Pope followers--ignorant and ill suited for democracy.
Plus that red hair!
Even Puerto Ricans and Dominicans have found their place--despite being hispanic. After decades here, they are more likely to be accepted than people who "look Mexican" or "Guatemalan". Which truth be told, they do look different.
Want to know why?
Because Mexicans and Guatemalans tend to have more indigenous DNA--which, egads--means they are the original inhabiters of these lands. But let's not let that inconvenience our narrative.
Six years ago a large swath of Indians moved to town. I heard the rumblings about the moms not getting involved etc. Instead, they've brought in much needed warmth into the community and they are very involved.
We need to get over ourselves. Our white skins, our birthrights don't make us special: they just make us lucky.
107
@GWE
To clarify, by "Indians" I mean people coming here from the country of India. I hope I used the right terminology.
5
@GWE
I would agree with comment, excluding the section about People of Puerto Rico been foreigners, as these people of various ethnic groups are natural born USA nationals.
1
@GWE Well written ! History repeats itself, over and over again. And, humanity learns nothing.
2
"Income inequality among Asian-Americans nearly doubled from 1970 to 2016."
You can't insert this statement without explaining what you're talking about or why you're reporting this.
This bit of information is out of sync - and out of context - with every other piece of data in this article.
It is jarring - as in, "what?"
16
Agree! I was stunned that I had to scroll several paragraphs before I could actually find the foreign born percentage for 2017.
1
America is getting more civilized, good. Even better, immigrants are raising the overall intellectual level. No wonder the rural white who don't value education are getting scared for their future.
21
The demographic shift in the immigration profile that places Asia above Latin America and better educated than the earlier with family relations might be due to the changing economic profile of Asian countries and their growing links and contribution to the new age tech industry of the US. This trend of increasing Asian flow to the US was further reinforced by globalisation that had facilitated a relatively free flow of skilled people and the capital across the world blurring boundary lines. Alas but all this is going to be reversed under the growing anti-globalisation populist impulse, and more so under the racist and xenophobic anti-immigration stance adopted by Trump.
8
We should remember that the tech boom in the US created a “brain drain” - the influx highly educated immigrants from Asia (and I include India here), and all over the world.
This was simply a matter of supply and demand. The quality of education in the maths and sciences in the US has slipped markedly over the years as the GOP continually hacks away at public education, the result being that our own country couldn’t supply sufficiently educated candidates to fill the high demand for coders, engineers and scientists.
This is not a leftist conspiracy. It’s economics (if you “believe in” science).
Uneducated people of any race or background can’t fill these jobs, so no one is “stealing” them. We’re enjoying prosperity now that these immigrants helped create because our own citizens could not.
6
True "globalism" shouldn't need to advance this sort of migration, should it?
Wouldn't true "globalism" even things out so people don't need to migrate?
3
At Margo,
Be happy that we continue to get the better educated who innovate here, start companies here, pay taxes here, provide their service here RATHER than contributing to China creating competition to our own google and GE. Even after all this do you know 25 years ago almost all top 500 global companies were American, European or Japanese. Today 1/3 are Asian companies that compete directly with USA.
We are a country with 5% of world population STILL enjoying 25% of global wealth. We are eating other peoples lunch. It used to be as high as 40% when the pie was much smaller. Today the lie is much larger because Asia got richer. Our companies can no longer grow if they sell only to 5% of the market. India and China alone are 1/3 of global market. And ofcourse eventually global order will shift to Asia as it has always been throughout human history but for the days of plundered Native American resources and slave labor that built America. Any wonder the Asians couldn’t compete against the newly plundered recourses and slave labor? Now that there are no more new land resources and slave labor is no longer passé the order is shifting to Asia. Why are you surprised?
2
So much for trump doing anything about immigration. I guess those rallys he goes to must be more important. In Minneapolis one hears English with a Russian accent every where. So much so that o heard one person refer to it as moscoapolis. Earlier this week I was driving through a neighborhood in the inner city, and someone had a yard sign that said” no more Russians” they could also be coming from Ukraine as one doctor I saw recently, said she was from. How about the reform trump promised? I suspect your article is just scratching the surface of the problem. Buying up real estate then staying along with families.
4
@Speeder Gillis The Soviet Union managed to spread Russian language and culture throughout and in many of its satellites and client states as well, so there are people today from many different countries who speak Russian. For example, just last night my family and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner - featuring plot and shashlik, among other delights - at an Uzbek restaurant that is walking distance from our home. It's obviously a family-run place, and they were very happy and proud to share their food and culture with us. Things like that enrich our lives, and I'm thankful that they feel welcome in my city.
5
Although I have nothing against immigration, I am an immigrant myself, I feel that with this huge numbers the quality of immigrants was lowered. 15 years ago I went to the ER room of a hospital in Manhattan and I was serviced truly like in the ER movie. Last year when I ended up there I felt as if I were a ward in Somalia. Not only nobody was white, but the quality of care for patients was dismal, some Chinese nurses spoke utterly unintelligent English and did not understand a word I said, and everyone was strolling about as if they were talking a siesta, inconvenienced by my cry for help. I left after 9 hours of nightmare, with a 9K bill, and NO diagnosis. By comparison, the ER service in my native Eastern Europe is stellar, although when I left my native country I thought it was lousy. I went there for a check and my diagnosis was found right away and I was billed 50 dollars.
42
@European in NY, that sounds like a commentary on the deterioration of the ER system and its failure to keep up with the demands on it, not a lowering of the quality of immigrants.
3
@European in NY
I have found that people living outside of their home countries tend to idealize the countries that they no longer live in, whether they came from a rich or poor country.
The deterioration of ER services can be attributed to many variables: liability insurance to pay for ridiculous claims, health insurance and what they reimburse hospitals for, population density (NYC has a higher population than many Nordic and Eastern European countries).
Sometimes in the ER, one can spend 2-4 hours when going in with flu-like symptoms. In the ER in a place like NYC, your "emergency" probably was not at the top of urgent list. Since you walked out of the ER in 9 hours, your emergency wasn't that urgent.
3
@European in NY
Well explained... The hospital unions are very strong; the personnel very well paid. If you are on Medicare, the problem should be reported to authorities. All taxpayers are being billed for this mess.
Growing up in the 60’s on Long Island there were lots of older Italians and Irish and a few Chinese. I had difficulty understanding them but never felt threatened. I recall thinking as a child that it seemed odd that immigrants from Caribbeans sacrificed pidgins until my older brother pointed out sacrificing lambs is not all that different.
In high school working as an orderly in the Radiology Department of Mercy Hospital it appeared all of the interns were Korean and it was also difficult to understand them.
My math teacher was a Hungarian and also difficult to understand at times.
These days in San Diego there are lots of people of many hard working races and minimal conflict. The majority of the conflict is poorly educated rants about how this country would be better if it was mono cultural. As though there was this mythic time when all was white and well. I am not too clear on who’s history they seem to recall. A quick read of “A Peoples History of The United States” Zinn, and “The Color Of Law “ Rothstein might clear up whose culture is violent and down right nasty and who’s is more peaceful and accepting. Defending that actual history is not all that different than defending how in the good old days men could abuse women at work and all was well.
We obviously need ICE, but if we have lost compassion and the “E Pluribus Unum” our culture is already changed and not for the better.In an effort to make our history palatable and too sweet we have rewritten it.
28
Generally good restaurants emerge shortly after new immigrants. I am grateful.
3
Asia, with 60% of the world's population, still accounts for only 41% of immigrants to the United States. Sounds like the trend is merely shifting to reflect the actual makeup of the world's population.
15
Why should that be? Simple overpopulation should not be a driver in establishing immigrant diversity.
3
As a foreign born American I can assure fellow Americans that we are here to help grow and make this country stronger. We left our homes to be Americans and not to be called Asian or Mexican or middle eastern.
I understand that the author wants to stir the pot of racial divide but in reality native born Americans have always helped newcomers thrive and have given a warm welcome.
Thank you Americans for helping us become Americans we all can make this country powerful just like the Europeans did in the 1900.
We need to unite and shun the divisive forces like media and politicians. God bless you all. Thank you for everything.
37
This is why democrats are worried about elections in a midterm election that should be a slamdunk of massive victories for the democratic party. In many cases it is too close to call.
These are immigrants coming from countries where their overpopulated countries cannot sustain such growth. America cannot sustain such population growth either. It seems American citizens understand that but both parties seem to conveniently ignore this fact.
It is worse with democrats because they ignore how it affects their base of inner city black Americans and lower working class white Americans. It is no secret that the Trump administration cracking down on illegal immigration and work visas has resulted in more jobs for both groups.
Democrats need to stop with the nonsense of abolishing ice, republicans need to stop supporting cheap subwage workers and both parties need to listen to American citizens. Either that or see Trump get reelected. In the end, pocketbook issues always win.
39
It is interesting that the photograph highlights a Korean language newspaper. America has been most welcoming to immigrants from throughout the world. But consider the Korean attitude towards refugees highlighted in this article from yesterday.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/world/asia/south-korea-jeju-yemen-ref...
My hometown of Vancouver has rapidly incorporated Chinese immigrants into the city within the last 30 years. The Asian population now outnumbers the native born and there are whole swaths of the city where no English or French is spoken and there are no apologies for not having signs in either language. As a result, the city I once loved has lost its soul. It is more like Hong Kong (in fact nicknamed Hongcouver), than the laid back western city I once loved. As Europe is finding out, the more successful countries have a relatively homogenous population, with shared values. That's why Japan and Scandinavia have low crime rates and relative equality. So, the question will be for the future, can the US adequately integrate the immigrants (legal and illegal) to form a homogenous society or will we turn into the EU model, with competing interests and an inability to get anything accomplished? Oh wait, that is already happening. And the fight everywhere is about migration. Even the Swedes are finding out that unfettered immigration can break one of the greatest social contracts.
32
@thewriterstuff: lefty liberalism is destroying both of our nations.
I wonder how long it will take for passivev Canadians to rebel?
3
America used to be the land of opportunity where laborers could come and work hard and make enough to send their kids to college so their kids could become capitalists.
Now America only serves the capitalists. I can see why those with lots of money want to get in on the action; but, why would any working class people want to come to America just to get left behind. They can do that anywhere.
5
America still offers the American dream. The American dream takes effort, hard work. flexibility and sacrifice. Everyone doesn't get a trophy for just participating. Immigrants don't get left behind because they weren't raised in the land of everyone expects a trophy for just showing up.
2
The article intentionally misleads the readership. And another stab at President Trump.
The article says, “For many years, Mexico was the single largest contributor of immigrants. But since 2010, the number of immigrants arriving from Mexico has declined, while those from China and India have surged.”
There are no tunnels connecting China or India to New York or Los Angeles. No Indians or Chinese line up in front of Home Depot for work either. Those from India and China are 99.99% legal! They have lined up in their respective embassies, gone through a vetting process, bought a plane ticket and entered the US legally.
That is not the case from South of the Border. There are an estimated 20 million illegal aliens from Mexico and other countries from the south living in the US. Hardly anyone comes from or through Mexico legally to the US. There lies the difference.
President Trump has focused on the ILLEGAL immigration. That is why a wall is necessary.
Please do not confuse the issue.
44
Actually while they may enter on visas the largest population of unauthorized immigrants are visa overstays or violators, close to 630 thousand vs 170 thousand for illegal land entry. If you wanted to actually impact illegal immigration you would not be building a pointless wall.
16
@Appu Nair The argument that Trump only opposes illegal immigration was more credible before this:
https://bit.ly/2uCt8mY
And:
https://bit.ly/2wcYy3j
https://nbcnews.to/2KytoZz
https://nbcnews.to/2Of2IPM
https://usat.ly/2MCvsFW
https://bit.ly/2QlleYq
https://bit.ly/2Nd3zV9
It's an easy lie for Trump to tell people who oppose virtually all immigration but don't want to seem heartless. But it's still a lie, and over time, it's being exposed as one.
6
@bob tichell I would include visa overstays in the definition of illegal immigration. I don't see why not. For the most part, people who overstay visas are doing it deliberately, and it is illegal.
The title should have been U.S. has the highest share from the most populated continent, Asia-born since 1910, A large proportion of Asians immigrating to the USA were merit based. There were of course refugees from Vietnam who fled human rights abuses, heavy bombardment and brutal wars. Whether the Asians immigrated to the USA on merit or as refugees, these immigrants have on the whole been generally law abiding and grateful to call America their new home and contribute to America's advancement.
Whether immigrants came from Asia or other continents, legal immigration .whether with extreme vetting or vetting on compassionate grounds should continue to be melting pot of a changed demographics but without changing the essential American spirit, culture and beliefs.
10
I just started my Master's in Computer Science at NYU. One lecture I am in has about 100 students. Of that, about 5 are "white" 40 are American born/naturalized Asians and the rest are Asian immigrants. White America shouldn't be surprised that they are losing out on jobs when the demographics at top schools for high paying programs look like this. I'm no expert but I think it may just come down to an issue of wanting it or and willing to put in the work. I guess crying and electing Trump is the best way to handle it though.
66
@V
Obviously, making higher education finally affordable for American citizens, rather than attacking science and "elites" 24/7, will be much more efficient in order to get more Americans into our top universities ...
You cannot on the on the one hand elect a president and political party that undermines science and education each and every day, and then on the other hand be astonished that the adults in foreign countries where science and education are highly valued get easier into the world's top universities (which still happen to be American) than people born and raised in the USA ...
13
@V that is because Indians and Chinese take advantage of their home bachelor's degree which is cheap and take the risk of the 1.5 - 2 year masters degree by taking huge loans. American students are already bust taking loans for their basic degree and can't take more. They skip the masters. US universities have also keenly propogated masters aimed at China and India and are collecting good revenue from them.
4
The demographics of one course can be interpreted many ways.
You assumed lack of interest, I disagree.
You mentioned an expensive University.
You must know that admissions tend to favor applicants paying full tuition - like foreign students. Then there is the effort of trying to get access to programs and work as a student to pay for their education.
The OPT program expanded by Obama made it much easier for foreign students be employed by the schools while working in their degrees - and it is cheaper for the schools because they don't have to pay the same employment taxes - a Democrat-led way for institutions to discriminate against US STEM students.
The OPT simply program allows for easier access by foreign students.
This explains why you would see such low participation rates by Americans in our advanced programs. It has nothing to with lack of interest by American students.
There is a lot driving the demographics in a university STEM class.
4
As an intellectual conservative, I think we need to now build a wall on the coast of California high enough to stop the planes coming from Asia. This is literally the best idea I can come up with.
17
@Kevin
Only if the Asians will pay for it.
3
My daughters went Bronx Sci that was full of children of immigrants (50% who received free lunch). And 100% went to college. Immigrants instill vigor and a renewed work ethic in this country.
Welcome and become American.
248
@Boarat of NYC My daughter went to Stuyvesant, and had much the same experience. It was great for her to be surrounded by hard-working, smart kids. She ended up with a very diverse friend group, and a very open and accepting viewpoint. Though we are white, I think it would have been disastrous if we had sent her (as we could have done) to a white-dominated upper-middle-class private school, where she would have acquired the same sense of entitlement that you can see on display in many of the comments to this article.
16
@Boarat of NYC "Immigrants instill vigor and a renewed work ethic in this country. " Those that don't believe this because of the color of their skin or because of their belief structure are pathetic.
We have seen the massive benefits of immigration waves since our country was born.
2
@Boarat of NYC
" Immigrants instill vigor and a renewed work ethic in this country."
It's just as empty overgeneralization as the mis-quoted Trump's utterance "they are rapists and murderers."
There's a number of common sense smart immigration policies as those of Switzerland, Australia, Canada that are strictly merit-based and ensure the host countries' competiveness and benefits over the interests of migrants.
The one and only reason we don't adopt those policies is the left's transgression, who pursue their quest for dominance at the expense of the dominance of USA.
1
"For years newcomers tended to be from Latin America, but a Brookings Institution analysis of that data shows that 41 percent of the people who said they arrived since 2010 came from Asia."
It take a long to time to dispel stereotypes. You can cite these stats until you're blue in the face but the party of Trump will continue to paint a portrait of hoards of illegal Mexicans "invading" the United States to steal jobs from ordinary hard-working Americans.
Never have I witnessed in my lifetime an administration with such a poor grasp of current facts and figures.
But facts and figures are what policy makers use to develop programs. I'm not sure how long it will take post-Trump for a majority of Americans to revert to their views that immigration is a force for good in America.
President Trump likes to scream, "without borders we don't have a country." To which I reply, on the basis of our history and development as a nation, "without immigrants, we don't have a country" either.
54
I just spent a few weeks on vacation in Ottawa and Montreal. Based on who we saw on the streets, visiting museums, etc., of both cities, the USA, despite these statistics, isn't as diverse as Canada.
17
@Max Brockmeier, nor is the USA as welcoming of that diversity as Canada.
4
@Max Brockmeier When is the last time you went to Queens, or taken the subway in nyc?
10
@alexgri: Yesterday.
Another convenient truth left out of this article is that many of those so called college educated immigrants are frauds. There is a huge industry overseas where they pay to have bogus credentials drawn up with people willing to lie and claim they are valid. It is an increasing problem from colleges to companies where the foreign born applicants are found to be incompetent and way over their heads. Credential fraud has exploded right along with the foreign population.
61
@Hellen
Any evidence to back up such a "fake news era" rumors ... ?
As to an "explosion" of Americans who are foreign-born: 13% may be higher than what we had for decades, but that still remains a very small minority, compared to the overall population. So why would we call this an "explosion" ... ?
6
I know people who hire all kinds of foreign workers, skilled and unskilled and report them to be competent and motivated. If there is fraud, it shows up pretty fast and that person will be fired.
6
@Hellen Anyone with any experience in an American company knows that a college degree, at most, gets you in the door somewhere. After that, you have to prove your mettle. Those who can, will rise. Those who have only a sheepskin, and no skills, will fail and, as Kuhlsue said, be fired.
4
Not all immigrants are equal. Anecdotally, those who immigrated to the US based on family connections are not as entrepreneurial or driven for creating opportunities as the ones who came to the US legally on their own, and studied/worked hard to become successful in their endeavors. By the way, why should people who have family connections be preferred over those who are smart, skilled and driven when it comes to obtaining legal residency?
181
@KB
1. Because having family around when you want to work hard is an ENORMOUS advantage, as anyone with family might know.
2. Where are the studies showing that people who worked so hard that they got to stay here somehow would be the only ones in their families with strong work ethics, whereas parents who raised them would have no moral character at all ... ? That's quite a weird assumption, no?
7
@KB
I don't know, but ask Trump, whose wife is an immigrant and now her parents are here, too!
1
You're making a gross generalization - based on what real data exactly? It's generalizations like these that create ill will between people for no good reason. Fake info!
1 of 2
The way this article is written makes me think it is only counting and analyzing legal immigrants. It’s still a very big number; and of course points out that LBJ was lying or poorly advised when he passed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which he said would change neither the share of the country made up of immigrants (then 4%, IIRC), nor the composition of immigrant groups contributing. I’m a big fan of legal immigration and the constant positive tension between assimilation of the arriving groups and their ability to expand what makes up mainstream American culture via nudging the consensus with their contributions. I think both things are needed for successful immigration.
At the current state, in which Americans born elsewhere make up something like 4x the 1965 share, I think it is worth examining whether assimilation is still working, and whether the receiving culture is still being receptive to changes the new groups contribute. If you add in the 11 or 12 million illegal immigrants, who face greater hurdles to assimilating, the odds against things working easily get even longer.
25
Ethnic changes can bring problems. Whites lost interest in Flushing in the 1980s and it was only a matter of time before other groups took their place. We no longer have the empty storefronts of that era, but there is now excessive signage, often not in English, and a general shabbiness. It would seem that Chinatowns tend to look the same regardless of the city.
I have lived in my co-op for over 40 years. The few whites remaining on the board were voted off or made to feel unwelcome. The board is now completely Asian and is preoccupied with saving money by cutting back on building maintenance. The boiler was not serviced this summer prior to the heating season. Over half of my neighbors do not speak sufficient English to have a conversation. I have mused about relocating, but it seems affordable areas with transportation are all in transition as well. I had to flee the burning South Bronx in the 1970s and it seems I have been destined to live as a minority.
77
@David
Our masters care not a wit for Americans, as in citizens. Hopefully, Trump will have a significant effect. Otherwise, we'll have to employ more effective means to oust our masters.
6
@David
In most communities the quality, size and upkeep of signage is determined by the city government's 'Sign Ordinance'. Is that not the case in Flushing?
1
@David: I moved from Flushing to a different state in 1989. Husband and I went back and visited Flushing in 1999. We were shocked to see Roosevelt Ave., Main St. and some of Northern Blvd. having signage in Korean (and Chinese, I think) but no English. As a granddaughter of four legal immigrants from Europe, I favor legal immigration. But I do not favor entire neighborhoods making Anglos feel uncomfortable due to the lack of signs in English and lack of spoken English. In the state where I now reside many signs are in Spanish. Did you know federal tax return forms are printed in Spanish, too? And ballots for elections? I have nothing against any immigrant group but for the love of Pete, learn English as all four of my grandparents did.
7
The pro-immigration lobby will say the origin of migrants does not matter, but history shows American freedom and democracy sprung from European migration. Migrants be they European, Asian or Middle Eastern bring their values with them, they may change, but they will also impact the destination. Will the change be for the better or the worse... the argument in Europe is far from settled in the positive.
41
@Dac: history also shows that slavery sprung from European migration.
7
@Dac Yes European migration also lead to the subjugation of so many countries in Asia and Africa. What good qualities and values did the English impart with their "dogs and Indians not allowed" policies in colonial India?
1
This wave of immigration is part of the reason the country is so divided. Studies have shown that people trust people like themselves more than others. For example, they are more likely to support high welfare payments if it is for people like themselves (think Sweden before immigration surged there). Immigration is good and necessary for the U.S. But we may want to slow it down for awhile as people get used to each other's cultures and religions and different ways of life. Otherwise a decent portion of our population will become reactionary and support candidates like Trump.
167
@Phyllis North
"Will become reactionary"? What does this mean? Is its opposite open borders? People with guns aren't big fans of open borders.
1
@Phyllis North
I couldn't disagree more.
Yes, people TEND to trust people who look/pray like them SPONTANEOUSLY a little more than those who are different.
But look at where most racism can be found: it's in remote, rural areas, precisely those regions where people don't meet a lot of people who seem to be different and might, as a consequence, forget about our common humanity ... not in big cities, where living together on a daily basis very quickly makes you feel and understand that indeed, we humans all share the most important things in life, such as wanting to have a job, food on the table, a shelter, and trying to be happy as much as possible.
Religions have precisely been invented in order to weekly train people in remembering our common humanity, EVEN when on a more superficial level we eat or dress or pray differently.
So in those remote areas where racism is high, all that is needed is for church leaders to step up and start doing a better job.
As to Sweden: your argument doesn't make any sense. Sweden has always had a large number of immigrants. That's why there a SIX official languages (one of them being Yiddish, by the way).
Conclusion: studies show that the hypothesis that people are less violent or more willing to share when they're living among people whom they see as "just like me" is right, but defining "just like me" by language, color of skin or religion clearly only happens in social environments where moral character is no longer cultivated..
4
You obviously live somewhere out of the mainstream of American society. You are a pocket person, living in a pocket of white, traditional people. I lived in Los Angeles, 1/3 Hispanic, 1/3 Asian. The Hispanic people seemed to be very family oriented, at Target with babies, children and grandparents. The Asians seemed to be very prosperous, filling the upscale malls with bags and bags of purchases. The Hispanic people lined up for church on Sundays, the beautiful, large buildings that are empty and closed in other parts of the country. Visit Queens, NYC, the most diverse piece of real estate in the world, and visit the stores and restaurants. Vermont is no longer America, as most people experience it. And the country is better off for it.
10
My dad's parents came here with him from Ireland in 1902. They were escaping the harsh rule of the British. My mom's parents came here with her in 1917, also escaping from the the Brits. My father's dad had gone to school in Ireland and quickly opened a restaurant which he ran until he died in 1933. Both of his sons went to college, my dad to Columbia. My mother's father had never gone to school. He was a ditch digger all his life, but he bought a three story house on 22nd street in Brooklyn (an Irish/Italian neighborhood at the time) where he and my grandma raised their ten children (four others had died in childhood). My mother, the oldest child, was the top student in elementary school, but had to go to work at the age of 13 to help support the family. My father tried to run the restaurant after his dad died, but the US was in the midst of the depression, and the restaurant closed. He left Columbia and found a job. He never talked about it.
WW2 reared its ugly head and the boys went to fight, my father and uncles included. Uncle George (my mother's favorite brother) was killed going to fight Hitler, but the other boys survived. My father and uncles never talked about the war. All of their children, including me, graduated from college. I served two tours in the Peace Corps, my cousin Gerard became a general, and his brother, Mike, is a lawyer.
Now the Chinese and Hispanics are coming. I get a chance to practice my Chinese and Spanish. I love immigrants!
286
@W. Michael O'Shea, God Bless you and all the Irish. My wife and I saw the and experienced the friendliness and progressive aspect of Irish, when we where there during Memorial day weekend. It was also the week, when Ireland voted to be a Pro-choice nation, defying the Vatican and church by a huge majority, The world can civility from the Irish.
5
@W. Michael O'Shea
Mr. O’Shea: thank you for everything including your words.
5
Thank you for your immigrant story. We need to teach this to our children. We European Americans didn't just spring up from the ground. We have much in common with these new immigrants.
3
Trump and his bigoted supporters are terrified by this shift, frightened of the strong work ethic and dedication to learning that immigrants bring with them when they come to our country. The last year that I lived in the US (in Rhode Island), 8 of the ten top highschool graduates in Providence were first generation arrivals from Asia. It is not the "laziness" of new Americans that truly concerns them, it is their own.
187
@James Mazzarella
Exactly. So many American-born are too lazy to compete on a global stage.
Not clear if these statistics include illegal immigrants form Central America and Mexico. Does not say how much family-based immigration contributed to the change. The real issue this article avoids (political correctness?) is non-European cultures and values that are taking root in this country and shaping the politics. Foreign born or US born is not the issue.
US needs to rethink its immigration policy for the 21st century. Low skilled immigrants will become a huge problem, especially if they are illegal immigrants, when robotics starts replacing low skilled workers. But republicans and democrats do nothing. Trump ceased the opportunity and made a mess. Republicans have power but don’t do anything and democrats want to abolish ICE! The country is going through major changes with no one but tweeting Trump at the wheel.
35
What is so great about so called European values. Asians are the highest performing group and they are the strivers who start companies, become CEOs, doctors, engineers and model citizens. Asians provide so much more value to the country than native born Americans who are lazy, whiny, spoiled and don’t finish college. So Asian values should be great right?
There is nothing special about any culture. Those who are educated and come from poorer back grounds will strive, be it European or Asian or Hispanic. Having said that, there should be a balance between family based and skill based immigration. Right now it is skewed towards family based which should be corrected to make it skill based.
8
Such contempt for Americans, why immigrate?
3
@Citizen oh yes, America has suffered so much from non-European influences, like the scourge of jazz music and that horrible Chinese food, and (Heaven forfend) raw fish. Europe suffered before us, adopting paper and gunpowder, noodles and silk, jewels and stringed instruments, spices and algebra. We would be so much better off without these alien invasion.
58
Where an American is born is not the issue. The concern I have is, how does any American view the implications of citizenship? Does any American work to build community, or does he/she simply make use of opportunities given by the system, and then act to isolate themselves in enclaves of private schools and walled communities and vote to disassemble the public school system and social safety net.
So the question is, regardless of where a person was born; does the person believe (identify with) in the ideal of America?
353
@Awake
As an immigrant myself the answer is this:
Anyone who packs up their belongings, kisses their family goodbye, gives up the privilege of language and cultural fluency to move to a country that doesn’t value you is doing so precisely because they believe in the American way. Most immigrants, my parents included, came here with the belief that the most important things in life are the freedom to make a living and the importance of political stability. Implied but rarely articulated, is a second belief: that your sacrifice as an immigrant will most render results not with you, but with your children.
Knowing what I know, I would rather spend time with ten motivated immigrants than one entitled American. Not because I have disdain for the American so much as because I share those traits with the immigrants.
.... and fwiw my challenge now is instilling that hunger in my own American children: Kids who have swam fluidly in the system since birth. Their lives are the yieldings of all of the fruits planted for them by their grandparents, when the emigrated here 40 years ago.
6
@Awake You just described a lot of Americans who already live here.
3
Ask your foreign born US citizen neighbors. Their answers may surprise you. Most naturalized citizens believe strongly in the American idea.
2
Remember over population? Pollution, over population, poverty, class division, and the culture wars will eventually destroy America. I encourage all my children to leave for Canada. It's over for the USA. Thank the politicians and corporations for destroying a beautiful idea.
38
@MSB
Read Factfulness! It will educate you on why you're wrong about the world and the "over population."
Listening to politicians communicating in a charged emotional rhetoric, leaves you void of facts and logic!
Now that is what destroys the spirit of America.
7
@MSB
Remember how Canada, or rather Trudeau, was boasting about how they would take these people if America didn't? You don't hear that anymore because Canada learned a harsh lesson. Another thing you rarely hear about is how Canada not only keeps many refugees in detention camps but also quickly deports them way faster than the United States. Canada also denies many legal immigrants.
16
@MSB: What would your idea of a beautiful idea be? All white Europeans?
10
This is all good news.
First, the US needs to avoid a Japan-like situation where the population has been stagnant and aging and there's no immigration; this has affected the Japanese economy significantly. In order to continue to grow, the US economy needs more consumers and taxpayers.
Second, immigrant populations work hard and emphasize education and advancement. Even if the new immigrants don't have advanced education and skills, by the second generation (given the availability of higher education in their areas), most have acquired the skills to compete and survive in our advanced economy.
Granted, there's geographic inequality and the immigrants tend to live in blue states where there are more opportunities.
But let natural selection leave the red states in the 19th century--let their populations stagnate and decline.
49
@ikelucy
Japan is fine and will come out ahead. It is a myth that we need all these people. These people are fleeing their countries because they believed the myth that population growth was good. This isn't the 1800s and they are fleeing massive overpopulation.
11
@ikelucy We have same situation with aging population in Europe. But we have all kinds of immigraton. Europe needs more and more labor force even in the near future.
2
@Hellen Yeah. Except that Japan has had a 20 year long recession. The U.S. is near full employment and employers are starving for workers. And last time I checked, Korea and China had minimal population growth.
This article is written in such a way that some native born Americans, especially those of Western European descent are going to go into a panic. The author makes no mention of two other shifts that is causing the seeming spike in the proportion of foreign born Americans. First, American born Americans are choosing to have smaller families. Second, expat American communities all over the globe are booming. And by “expat” I really mean immigrant communities. Many American born Americans are living abroad or having smaller families. Both of which are private choices they are free to make.
20
Two things stand out in this report:
First, the diversity in America is increasing, and while most would see it as a net positive for the country, Trump and his base will not. And he'll issue a call to restrict immigration from countries that look less and less like himself and his supporters.
Second, Mexico is not a big source of new immigrants arriving in America. This ought to make building the wall irrelevant, but in reality Trump will obfuscate these data and redouble his call to build the wall.
The bottom line is that the racial and ethnic profile of America is undergoing a sea change, and that troubles a lot of people, especially those in Trump's base. The next two or three election cycles will be interesting to watch.
106
@chickenlover
He will never build his wall. It was all mere rhetoric, as he himself already admitted during his very first phone call with the Mexican president, upon entering the White House.
The Democrats ALREADY agreed to vote for a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill that would not only seriously increase border security, as all previous similar bills already did (but that Republicans blocked nevertheless ...), but even included full funding for Trump's wall (the measure that his OWN Sec. of Defense, a four-star general, publicly declared NOT to be the best way to keep us safe ...).
That was in the spring.
Guess WHO refused to support it, at the very last minute?
Trump.
Today, Trump is the only reason why the wall is not being built yet.
And why isn't he starting to build his wall (let alone succeed in making Mexico pay for it - he now even proposes that Mexico RECEIVES US taxpayer money (millions of dollars) in order to "accept" illegal immigrants that he wants to deport, whereas Obama simply deported them, period)?
Because he knows that his voter base wants a certain kind of tweets/rhetoric, and those are easier to write without than with a wall ...
1
@chickenlover
Trump and his base of old white men and their wives are afraid of becoming irrelevant. That's why they oppose immigration of "brown" people. Legal or not.
1
@chickenlover. Sorry to throw water on your hypothesis but I'm not a Trump supporter and don't support third world country immigration. And I am college educated.
3
We have the highest share of people not born here, including the First Lady of the United States and her two parents.
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@Victor. ...and her older unmarried artist sister who lives in her own home on the East Side of NYC....how great that she is an unknown artist but can still afford her expensive home on her own. How many women in NYC can make that claim. Q how did she afford that? Also the parents have a floor in Trump Tower as well as a suburban home...how great for a retired textile mill worker and a traveling car salesman who was the local Communist Party official back in their small home town in Slovenia.....how did they afford all this? Have any of them ever contributed to our economy or done productive work in the USA? My parents immigrated here and they worked hard all of their lives.....this seems skewed......I thought that Communists were not seen as immigration worthy, especially a party official. My father was an engineer in the aerospace industry and he would have been blocked if there was any hint of being a Communist.
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@Victor. Yep, and her husband and their son-in-law has brutally exploited ignorant prejudice to divide us into warring camps, one drunk on lies and xenophobic hatred and the other desperate to restore functional national government and civic civility.
We’re going to be overrun with doctors, computer experts, and good restaurants.
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@Peter Silverman
We are going to be overrun with bad doctors with bogus credentials, a healthcare system that will increasingly be out of reach for all but the rich just as it is in the countries they flee, an increasing number of tech workers who lied about their backgrounds who have no idea what they are doing and an increasing number of restaurants with health violations that result in sickening patrons. Enjoy.
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@Hellen You need to get out of your basement, away from your computer, and see the real world, which is filled with hard working immigrants that the U.S. desperately needs (we have a retiring baby boom and near full employment). As for your claim that immigrants all have bogus credentials, you are just making that up. Did you know that most start-ups are founded by immigrants? That almost half of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children? https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2017/12/04/almost-half-of-fort...
@NYC299
I was born, raised and still live in a large cit filled with immigrants. I am well aware of what is going on and the excuses made for immigrants committing crimes that would have an American thrown in jail for years.
Also those companies you tout are just the rich plutocrats of foreign countries trying to hide their wealth and often involved in discrimination in hiring. They contribute to the inequality of wealth distribution which is why they have such extreme poverty in the countries they come from. In fact they often use the poverty in pockets of American cities to get special visas and grants based on their supposed investments in poor American communities. When in fact they then invest in the wealthy areas.
The GOP is run by business people, at least at the donor base. Business people tend to be shortsighted and focus on the bottom line, confident that they will be able to scramble and react to changes in the future- as long as profits are high in the next quarter. They also tend to focus only on the success of their businesses, and have little interest in the welfare of their fellow citizens.
Lenient immigration ALWAYS serves the needs of big business. That it tends to also improve our overall economy is a lucky coincidence.
What is amusing is how the GOP is forced to twist itself like a pretzel while trying to please working class white voters at the same time as being assured full global access to labor. I'm interested in whether the increase in Asian immigrants is in any way affected by their influence.
Democrats have an opportunity, if only they articulate a clear vision of a country that welcomes immigrants but also looks after ALL the citizens already here. That has to mean higher taxation on the investment class to provide more services and opportunity for low-skill workers.
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@alan haigh: Don't kid yourself. Both parties are run and funded by the upper 1%. Actually, I have read that the average wealth of Democrats in Congress is higher than that of Republicans. That is not the issue, however. The question to keep in mind is which group of plutocats (actng in their own interest) are most apt to sponsor programs that by fall-out are most apt to help those who most need help.
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@alan haigh...Whom do you think runs the Democratic Party? Let's see. Who donated to Hillary's campaign? Buffett, Gates, Bezo, Soros, Steyer, Bloomberg - you know, the top of the Forbes List. SilVal, Hollyweed, the Hamptons Horde, the Martha's Mafia, the Masters of the Universe. Not to mention Google - remember when their CEO gloated about the advanced IT support of Hillary? Democrats have articulated a clear vision - NEVER TRUMP. How's that for diversity, inclusion, civility and democrazy?
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@alan haigh
"Business people tend to be shortsighted..."
As opposed to... construction workers? farmers? bus drivers? lawyers? personal assitants?
Makes me think that Alan Haigh is not a Silicon Valley type...
I agree, though, that access to cheap labor is in our vital interests. This is why we badly need a smart law, making it as easy to bring temporary labor in as to blow them out once the job is done.
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George Bush said it best: "Our identity as a nation, unlike other nations, is not determined by geography or ethnicity, by soil or blood. ... This means that people from every race, religion, ethnicity can be full and equally American."
America is the most powerful nation in the world today not because it has the most number of people, but because it has the best and the brightest, gathered from around the world.
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@RK: Nice thought, but actually we have dropped to about 6th place in standard of living and average family income in this world, our high school aged students now rank far down the world list in scholastic achievement, and we have a chronic trade imbalance because we now must import far more than we are able to export. "Twern't that way in my earlier years, but that is how things are now, according to the current officially published data. We do need some tidying up.
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@RK Yawn. This "best & brightest" stuff is nausiating. Look at any of the international quality of life indices and the USA is well down the list. Face that reality as we might start to resolve some of our very many problems.
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@RK
it's not the only country that gets the best and the brightest.
and, undoubtedly, many have decided to try other countries since the monster in chief became potus.
also, the usa is well down the list for per capita inhabitants born in other countries.
Australia, nz, Canada are just some of the developed countries with more...
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Having been born, raised and still live in an Ocean resort town I have watched my town change dramatically over the years. We have had a constant flood of "immigrants" from NY,NJ,PA and MD move here with no discernible skills other than money to buy property as a retirement home in a low property tax state. The changes have been both difficult (expensive property,traffic and different attitudes) and wonderful(stores, restaurants and brew pubs). It is hard to believe I am reading comments in the NYT that show this fear of immigrants when we are all imposing ourselves on others in different ways. Embracing people for the value they can bring and being strong enough to accept some differences in attitudes or culture can be part of our own growth. It is so strange to read these comments about immigrants that sound so similar to the local comments about tourists that retire to the beaches(shore for many of the readers:)
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Concerns about “foreign” immigrants assimilating into mainstream American society are as old as the country itself: unless you are directly descended from a Caucasian, Protestant, property owning, English-speaking male of Anglo-Saxon heritage, your ancestors were once considered as suspect of successfully assimilating into the American mainstream as Hispanics, Asians and Muslims are viewed today.
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@DCJ
"as Hispanics, Asians and Muslims are viewed today."
This is as untrue as it gets.
Asians are rightly viewed as successfully assimilating. Muslims less so, and Hispanics even less (mostly due to their great numbers, cohesive communities, and enabling local policies).
A common sense approach - encourage Asian and discourage Hispanic (to a lesser degree Muslim) immigration.
Best assimilating, by far, are Europeans, let's incentivize them.
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Frey from Brookings, "We tend to think of immigrants as low skilled workers from Latin America." Really?!!? Then you've bought in, hook, line and sinker to Trump's narrative on what an immigrant is. Apparently those at Brookings who are truly supposed to be fair and balanced don't recognize that those of us who are "woke" recognize a spade as a spade and an immigrant as an immigrant no matter the color of their skin, the degrees they've collected. Furthermore, those immigrants from Latin America tend to have just as many skills as the average American in the heartland states, if not more. Frey might rethink his comments and hopefully his whole frame.
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Insanity. For what purpose or problem is high levels of immigration trying to solve? We can ramp this down without fear of being accused of racism. I think we’re plenty diverse enough at this point.
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@Ed I don’t agree. I’d like to see more foreign born Americans. I think they are good for America.
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@Ed:..and I think the basic purpose or problem immigration is trying to solve is providing workers for industries that American-born people won’t take jobs in.
Now you are afraid of Asian immigrants who are highest achievers and Hispanic immigrants who do the work lazy native born Americans addicted to opioid and welfare won’t do.
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Truth is immigration and global warming are the main factors altering the world in the upcoming at least 100 years. The end of white men rule is a shining result of the change. Let’s see what happens with culture - the biggest and most valuable US commodity. “Crazy rich asians”, BTS, a wave of foreign directors making American movies, first generation of singers/actors from South the likes of Camila Cabello, Ariana Grande. It is inevitable that the world reinvents itself after a somewhat bumpy but relatively steady post 2nd world war new order. The storm has just started.
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@Jkesil
" “Crazy rich asians”, BTS, a wave of foreign directors making American movies, first generation of singers/actors from South the likes of Camila Cabello, Ariana Grande."
A triumph of mediocrity.
Thousands of Latin directors but nobody of the Spaniard Almodovar's stature.
Bollywood, Hong-Kong, China, and Taiwan taken together have produced no one to compare to, say, Kurosawa, Bergman, Fellini, Malick, Lynch, or Tarantino.
And Adele is born and bread English, as Pavarotti, Carreras, Domingo were Italian, and Netrebko Russian.
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Our own non college educated workers are having a heck of a time adapting to automation, globalisation, closing of factories, etc
What allow millions of unskilled illegal immigrants to cross our southern border and put even more pressure on these folks, often cheating as well by getting paid in cash?
We need Indian engineers, Nigerian doctors, Chinese computer scientists!
Increase highly skilled immigration and seal the southern border!
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@Luciano, Don’t be absurd. There are doctors, engineers, and computer scientists in Latin America too. Most of them, like people everywhere, prefer to stay in the country where they were raised. They have deep roots there and adapting to a different culture is not easy. But some are interested in living and working in the US. Seal our southern border? That’s as nonsensical as a solar powered flashlight or a parachute that opens upon impact.
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@V. Vazquez "There are doctors, engineers, and computer scientists in Latin America too"
But they don't come across our southern border illegally? The people who come across are uneducated, poor and low skilled
@Luciano
you say "The people who come across are uneducated, poor and low skilled"
and they are competing for jobs with native born us citizens who are "uneducated, poor and low skilled."
the difference between these two groups is that the first group is willing to work at any job to take care of themselves and their family.
If you take the smartest 30% of the people from India and China, that's more than the entire US population, each. The same can be said for the bottom 30%.
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When I was naturalized and sworn in in 2004, in Manhattan, in a room with about 800 people, about 790 were from third world countries, India, Bangladesh, Africa, and less than ten were white, from Eastern Europe. The new citizens looked in the great majority destitute and uneducated, many were old and in wheel chairs, I was among the very few who spoke EN fluently although citizenship is granted after years spent in the US. We have been importing slums, for years, and many Americans would be surprised if they traveled abroad and see how much the USA has fallen behind.
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@alexgri, you think the US has fallen behind because we are naturalizing the destitute, the old, and the infirm? I think it’s because we lack universal health care, free preschool, parental leave, and because we imprison a greater proportion of our population than any other industrialized nation on Earth.
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yet the data shows that immigrants commit fewer crimes, are more educated and more ambitious than the American born population. there was an article in the times stating that they also started a significant portion of our major tech companies, and file patents at a higher rate than American born people. it's amazing how much better these poor immigrants are compared to the American born people. I'll tell you what. the global South is on the rise. when it gets it's dominance, simply don't go. let's build these walls already and keep the thieving, colonizing West out of it.
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Also, our economic system is set up to reward the rich. Our lack of progress is born on the back of the declining middle class. We need to vote so to take back our country.
Around that same time period 1910, we saw an influx of people from around the world. A short time later we saw a world war. This is a very good time to elect circumspect, and thoughtful leaders.
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@Covert. Wait a minute. The immigrants came here. The war started in Europe, partly from the same conditions that impelled so many Europeans to leave. What is the lesson you want to draw?
@Covert
Many of the Americans who fought in that war were recent immigrants, including of German stock, who fought against Germany.
Many commenters are reacting with varying degrees of shock or dismay at the numbers of immigrants, or the qualities they have, or the supposed competition they bring for jobs. But I was struck much harder by the story told by the percentages of these immigrants who have college educations as compared to "native born" Americans. Of course, there are many factors that influence this, including the rising cost of tuition, but in general, we do a terrible job of educating our citizenry. The recent Times article about the working poor really illustrates this. Rather than lashing out about immigrants and saying we need strict quotas, etc., we should concentrate on the real problem: lack of education and opportunity for Americans. We're a nation of immigrants, and immigration has always been a net positive, despite all the vicious fear mongering we've been subjected to in recent years.
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@Rob could it be that higher education is either free or very cheap abroad? I received my entire education from kindergatden to PhD for free, in Europe.
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@alexgri - perhaps, but we do such a lousy job educating our populace BEFORE college (in free public schools) that many are unequipped for college and masters degrees anyway. That's the first problem. The cost of college is something else entirely.
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@alexgri But, in order to get that free PhD, you had to earn it. You had to be academically prepared. Not in the US. I cannot stand when people claim that college is free in Europe without adding, if you are academically prepared. At least 30% of the new freshman would never be admitted in Europe as they cannot read or solve math problems. Also, in Europe, those that are not academic, do not even attend HS, they attend non-academic classes for work once they are of age.
This article indirectly points to endemic deficits in data-gathering and mathematical understanding.
Although Trump administration immigration policies have been poorly-conceived, unfairly implemented, clumsily executed, and justified by misleading fearmongering, basic math should tell us that -despite a decade of flat or declining net immigration- the US remains on a long term track towards record levels of foreign-born residents.
By most historical precedence and objective analysis, this trend amounts to a net plus for the US overall. Nevertheless, it is a great demographic change never enshrined in explicit policy, clearly acknowledged by officialdom, or well-studied by pollsters. As a result, despite his misrepresentations, Trump can capitalize on associated uneasiness.
Mathematically, despite long term slowing of US immigration, the growth rate of foreigners exceeds the growth rate of native-born. Hence continuing growth in the STOCK of foreign-born relative to the total population.
About 30% of US population growth comes from net immigration, over time boosting the foreign born share of US population stock (11% in 2000, 13% today, 15% in 1910). Until the 30% and 13% converge (or the latter surpasses the former) America's foreign-born % will rise. Until politicians acknowledge this, help slow it or at least better explain and justify it, xenophobia will unnecessarily have a more open door than informed and fair-minded Americans should feel comfortable with.
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My experience has been that immigrants have greatly enriched commerce, the availability of essential workers, the arts, my neighborhood and my circle of friends. I see them fill roles as handymen, clerks and surgeons. My running club has been a magnet for teammates from every corner of the globe. The has made the fabric of our society all the more vibrant.
Johnson’s leadership in passing the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965 was no accident. As he recognized, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 destroyed the Democratic Party in the South as segregationist punished the Party by turning Republican. It was his hope that immigrants would recognize that Democrats has made possible their entry to the USA and reward the Party with their votes in the years to come.
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@Bradford Neil...In the meantime, LBJ ginned up the Tolkin Gulf Resolution to create lots of refugees in SE Asia who would thank the Democrats for bombing their countries. What a visionary.
Isn't the advent of automation supposed to make many jobs obsolete? Surely the increasing immigration rates will only be beneficial in the short term, then.
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@Michael - automation may make SOME jobs obsolete but the process in the long run creates jobs, if nothing else jobs to fix and keep the "automation" working. Yes, it takes education to make that happen. No longer can one with a strong back but no education shovel coal and make a living wage, as in 1900.
Times change, but the US needs immigration. Often those immigrants are the ones creating new jobs in areas that previously didnt exist.
Both the richness and the strength of this country has been its welcoming of immigrants from around the globe who arrive with determination, courage, drive, and creativity. It is who we are. Personally I see hope in these numbers as an increasingly diverse population will eventually (as more become citizens & voters) have less tolerance for the xenophobic, isolationist world view of the current administration & its supporters.
As to percent increases - they tell us far less than raw numbers. If an area has one immigrant and gets a second it has had a 100% increase in the immigrant population - a number to outrage and/or frighten folks who think as Trump does, but hardly a flood.
Ironically, Trump's push to block the most desperate (there is no education or IQ test to be a refugee) and to focus on educated folks may ultimately mean that his supporters find themselves working for or under the foreign born in decades to come.
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@Anne-Marie Hislop Do you understand the relationship between population density and climate change resulting from deforestation, increased use of limited resources, and elimination of open land that supports the diverse environment? The population has doubled in my lifetime; time to REALLY slow it down. There is a delicate balance between the environment and the population it's required to support. Just ask those from China and India why they are leaving. It's not because the love the US.
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@Anne-Marie Hislop
"Ironically, Trump's push to block the most desperate (there is no education or IQ test to be a refugee) and to focus on educated folks may ultimately mean that his supporters find themselves working for or under the foreign born in decades to come."
You just parrot the old and tired fallacy. People tried to compare IQs of republican and democrat voters. When well-controlled samples were compared... yeah, you guess right - no difference!
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Being we are at full employment, we need the workers to keep our economy going and growing. We have more jobs than Americans. We have been at full employment for years. I don't think many Americans realize this. Instead of seeing it as a threat, maybe we should start learning how social security, medicare, medicaid, military, roads and hospitals, etc. are funded. We need a larger tax base and that comes from workers.
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@kay the unemployment data does not count the many millions of people who are outside the workforce and no longer receive benefits. In 2016 there were 100 millions!
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@kay
Full employment with almost 40% of the population out of the labor market and tens of millions working at minimum wage is not good for any nation. We would be crazy to stick to business as usual.
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It is absolutely insane to say every US Citizen has adequate employment. Full employment meaning jobs that pay enough to support life is a dream for half Our population. Just look at the debt levels.
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If smart machines are likely to usurp many jobs in future rendering increasing large groups of native born population unemployed, shouldn't we, as a country, try to restrict immigration to people with absolutely essential skills?
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@KB "shouldn't we, as a country, try to restrict immigration to people with absolutely essential skills?"
Sure, if we want to enforce mediocrity to insure short term, higher percentage employment. Business is better served by a wider range of candidates for any given job, not just to keep wages low, but equally, to keep competence high and improving productivity (which makes our imports more competitive).
Determining the best immigration policy should not be based on hunches and and demagoguery (either from the left or the right). We should have a non-partisan government group objectively evaluating the best approach for our economy as a whole.
The problem is we also need a similar group to determine the best way to make sure that as many Americans as possible benefit from that improved economy.
The investment class always benefits financially from more lenient immigration, and, so far, the professional class seems unhurt by it.
Low skill labor probably does suffer because of a limited supply of good paying jobs in this sector, but there is no reason the government can't compensate for this. Unfortunately the GOP doesn't care and the Dems just don't come through consistently for this group.
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@alan haigh My point is that employment wise we all will be heavily impacted negatively by automation with underlying machine learning / artificial intelligence. This includes many in the professional class. Capital will have an upper hand over labor, including over many of those with college education. It is a frightening scenario. Indiscriminate immigration will create additional issues for our society that is not equipped in dealing with a likely dystopian employment future.
@KB I absolutely agree that for the first time in history technology may be eliminating jobs faster than replacing them.
I just don't think that tightening immigration is necessarily the cure- this is a global problem and it's time for human beings to surrender their mythological tribal border mentality, even if it takes another 50 years to create a new shared myth that serves our species better.
I think the new tech age may make an international unionist movement possible for the first time. Americans are just people no better or worse than the Chinese or Mexicans. We all deserve equal protection from our globalist masters- the investment class.
Technology can be used to make a few people filthy rich or to lift all human beings while making the rich a bit less filthy. Capitalistic socialism or social capitalism. Unfettered plutocratic capitalism is unsustainable, no matter what the Bros. Koch believe- history proves it so.
The native American Indian corralled into reservations are the only true Americans. All others are immigrants or their descendants. While the invasion of America by immigrants started in 1620, the more recent immigrants should have the same privileges.
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@irdac Not true. The first Americans were the settlers who came to nothing and build a civilization. About half of the US population are descendants of these settlers and of the slaves who did not immigrate because US was a fancy destination, like today. The rest, about half of the country are from immigrants.
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@alexgri
There WAS a civilization here before.
@alexgri, the first Americans were Native Americans. They came across the Bering Strait approximately 40,000 years ago. The first European settlers, the Vikings, were turned back by these people and their colony was not successful here. The second European settlers did not find “nothing,” as you say. They found the worlds oldest democracy, the Iraquios Confederacy, the Cherokee Nation, and other peoples and nations large and small. They brought diseases with them that precipitated the worst genocide the world will ever see. Then they exploited rivalries and ancient grudges to further push native communities to the breaking point. Do your homework.
Time for strict quotas. America is not the general assembly of the UN.
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@Peter
I wonder if the Native Americans felt the same way.
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@Peter it sort of is.
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@mlb4ever
And the Greeks, Italians, Gauls, Iberians, Basques, Irish, Polish, Ukraine, etc. etc.
The point you are trying to make is moot at best and ahistorical at worst.
The Native Americans, Aztecs, Incas, Scots were allies with the French and Spanish and British for a reason. They were always at war with other tribes and their own.
The changing face of America.
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