THE RIGHT ANGLE: Immigration questions need new answers - Opinions
You can't turn on a 24-hour news network these days without being bombarded with images and stories regarding the recent illegal immigration problem in America. The proposed solutions to these issues range from completely ridiculous (building a wall on the border) to the completely unacceptable (granting amnesty to all illegal immigrants).
Illegal immigration has been quite the hot-button issue for some time now, and that won't likely change anytime soon. Spartan TV President Denise Jones interviewed me on the issue a few weeks ago, and asked how I felt about some of the proposed solutions to the problem at hand. I explained that the idea of attempting to end illegal crossing of our borders by simply building a wall or fence would be a complete waste of time and money. Does anyone really think this idea will work? I can think of about a thousand places our money would be better spent. On the other hand, I can't fathom anyone thinking that there isn't a problem with the current situation. It makes one wonder why we even have immigration laws at all, if our government is just going to allow people to break them and even organize huge protests against our laws after illegally entering the country.
Unfortunately, it seems there is no easy answer. I pride myself on having a solution to everything (no matter how unrealistic it may be), but when Jones asked me what I felt should be done regarding the issue, I found myself shaking my head and replying, "I have no idea."
Although most stories on illegal immigration deal with states along the border, North Carolina has more than its share of illegals. According to a study published July 26, 2005 by the Pew Hispanic Center, six Southern states had Hispanic populations that were growing at twice the rate of the country's. And not only was North Carolina one of those states, the study pointed out that we actually have the fastest growth in the entire country. The report did not fail to mention that the majority of this population does not speak English, not that this was a surprise to most North Carolinians.
The stereotypical redneck cry-of-outrage is, "They're taking our jobs!" That argument is a constant source of ridicule and parody, from the infamous South Park episode where outer space aliens invade earth, causing American citizens to run around screaming, "They took our jobs!" to the online Maddox cartoon depicting two Mexicans pointing to a white man and proclaiming, "Quick! There's an American! Let's take his job!" To justify this response, the pro-illegal immigration side has attempted to make it common knowledge that illegal immigrants aren't really taking jobs away from Americans.
This interesting little tidbit might not be as true as you all think. Recently, illegal workers have been taking jobs traditionally held by American teenagers. Employers are favoring these illegal workers because they are able to work longer hours than teenagers and they do not have to mold their work schedules around classes or homework. An anonymous commenter on a local blog recently gave a perfect example of this hiring bias by stating, "I hire a hispanic[sic] over a white person whenever given the opportunity� White people think they are above doing actual work� And I don't like to hire black people either because they don't do what you tell them, they get defensive when you use authority to get them to do something."
How can we not think this is a problem? Many teenagers from lower-income families find it necessary to contribute to their family's income through these jobs. With this influx of illegal workers, these same teenagers will be forced to make a choice between staying in school and keeping a job. Is this how we teach our children the importance of education? Take into account that at the same time the illegal immigrant population is growing, so are our college tuition rates. Faced with ridiculous tuition fees and less jobs to choose from, many lower-income teenagers see college as an unattainable dream. And we wonder why the high school dropout rate is so high.
The situation is outrageous, but so are many of the solutions. Many claim that we should grant amnesty, since America is a nation of immigrants. But these people also seem to ignore the differences between legal and illegal immigrants. We can't ignore that this is a problem in today's society. There has to be an answer to this pressing issue, but it's certainly not one that has been presented yet.
I received an amusing response to this article. Two days after it came out, I was walking to my 9am Political Science class, when I was spotted by two African-American female classmates who had already made their feelings about me known during the Angela Davis debacle. In an immature move, they waited until I was about to walk into the building to rudely push themselves in front of my path, pretending not to see me. Rather than stoop to their level, I rolled my eyes and let them get a few steps ahead of me. Annoyed that they had not received a response, they made a point to stop right in front of the stairwell (blocking my own access), and loudly point out a pro-illegal immigration poster which had been hung by the ISO. "Aww, poor little immigrants!" one girl exclaimed. "They're so cute! I wish I could help more of them." She the proceeded to "pet" the Hispanic girl on the poster with her finger while her friend laughed loudly.
It was then that I realized, if my opinions can piss people off so much that they revert back to middle school, I must be doing something right.
Showing posts with label illegal immigration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label illegal immigration. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
No Hablo Espanol: Thanks to a Lack of Concern, English Speakers May Soon Find Themselves in the Minority in
The Right Angle: No Hablo Espanol - Opinions
You could call North Carolina an overachiever, of sorts. A report released on July 26th done by the Pew Hispanic Center reported that six Southern states had Hispanic populations growing at twice the rate of the entire country. Not only was North Carolina one of those six states, it had the dubious honor of being THE state with the fastest growth in the entire country.
The report went on to mention that three out of four immigrants to the South were born in Mexico and that a large majority do not speak English - not that many North Carolinians needed a report to tell them that bit of information.
This report comes conveniently just a few weeks after the Winston Salem Journal published a study showing increased immigrant births across the state. The Journal reported that in Forsyth County alone, immigrant births increased from 3% to 25% of all births in a ten year span. It also estimated that over 14% of all births are to illegal immigrants.
Sure, this is fairly old news. For years people have been complaining about illegal immigrants, but no one really cares enough to do anything. On the contrary, many Americans are actually catering to the Hispanic population. Several businesses run ads in English and Spanish, and even more advertise that they speak Spanish. In many places, you can walk in and simply say, "Hablas Espanol?" and within minutes you'll be greeted in Spanish by someone willing and eager to help you.
Rather than discourage immigrants from illegally entering the country, North Carolina is making itself more hospitable. It is becoming increasingly easier to obtain licenses in this state, and the schools gladly create entire classes geared towards students who speak Spanish. North Carolina citizens are often urged to learn Spanish in order to better help their neighbors. With so many people bending over backward like that, who WOULDN'T want to come to North Carolina?
All this has really done is give the illegals a sense of entitlement. Many illegal Mexicans have no interest in even trying to learn English. A good friend of mine who works in a Greensboro pharmacy estimates that over 90% of all her Hispanic customers do not understand a word of English. Many do not even try to understand what she is asking them, answering her questions of, "May I have your date of birth?" with blank stares and the occasional, "Hablas Espanol?"
I cannot fathom going to live in a foreign country in which I do not speak the majority language, and I would certainly not expect the people in that country to change for me. But these growing numbers show that they're still coming in illegally, still not speaking English, and still taking American jobs.
For years now, those in the political correctness realm have claimed that immigrants are not actually taking American jobs, but taking the jobs Americans don't want. Another study published in the News and Record in the past few weeks shows that this is no longer the case. In recent years, Mexican immigrants have begun taking jobs traditionally held by American teenagers. Employers favor these immigrants over teenage workers because they work longer hours and do not have to mold their schedules around school. So now, we are not only encouraging illegal immigrants to invade our country, but we are encouraging lower-class teenagers to drop out of school.
This is an issue we've dealt with for a long time, but thanks to political correctness, it is not an issue that has any simple answers. We cannot point out that these immigrants need to learn English, because that might be "offensive" to their culture. We cannot question the authenticity of their citizenship because that would be "racial profiling". All we really can do in this situation, apparently, is give them our own hard-earned tax dollars and learn their language.
The last thing we need right now is political correctness. What we really need is a national language to bind us all together and a President who doesn't think amnesty is the answer. With no foreseeable change in the near future, things could get a lot more confusing before they ever get any better. That's if they ever do, of course.
You could call North Carolina an overachiever, of sorts. A report released on July 26th done by the Pew Hispanic Center reported that six Southern states had Hispanic populations growing at twice the rate of the entire country. Not only was North Carolina one of those six states, it had the dubious honor of being THE state with the fastest growth in the entire country.
The report went on to mention that three out of four immigrants to the South were born in Mexico and that a large majority do not speak English - not that many North Carolinians needed a report to tell them that bit of information.
This report comes conveniently just a few weeks after the Winston Salem Journal published a study showing increased immigrant births across the state. The Journal reported that in Forsyth County alone, immigrant births increased from 3% to 25% of all births in a ten year span. It also estimated that over 14% of all births are to illegal immigrants.
Sure, this is fairly old news. For years people have been complaining about illegal immigrants, but no one really cares enough to do anything. On the contrary, many Americans are actually catering to the Hispanic population. Several businesses run ads in English and Spanish, and even more advertise that they speak Spanish. In many places, you can walk in and simply say, "Hablas Espanol?" and within minutes you'll be greeted in Spanish by someone willing and eager to help you.
Rather than discourage immigrants from illegally entering the country, North Carolina is making itself more hospitable. It is becoming increasingly easier to obtain licenses in this state, and the schools gladly create entire classes geared towards students who speak Spanish. North Carolina citizens are often urged to learn Spanish in order to better help their neighbors. With so many people bending over backward like that, who WOULDN'T want to come to North Carolina?
All this has really done is give the illegals a sense of entitlement. Many illegal Mexicans have no interest in even trying to learn English. A good friend of mine who works in a Greensboro pharmacy estimates that over 90% of all her Hispanic customers do not understand a word of English. Many do not even try to understand what she is asking them, answering her questions of, "May I have your date of birth?" with blank stares and the occasional, "Hablas Espanol?"
I cannot fathom going to live in a foreign country in which I do not speak the majority language, and I would certainly not expect the people in that country to change for me. But these growing numbers show that they're still coming in illegally, still not speaking English, and still taking American jobs.
For years now, those in the political correctness realm have claimed that immigrants are not actually taking American jobs, but taking the jobs Americans don't want. Another study published in the News and Record in the past few weeks shows that this is no longer the case. In recent years, Mexican immigrants have begun taking jobs traditionally held by American teenagers. Employers favor these immigrants over teenage workers because they work longer hours and do not have to mold their schedules around school. So now, we are not only encouraging illegal immigrants to invade our country, but we are encouraging lower-class teenagers to drop out of school.
This is an issue we've dealt with for a long time, but thanks to political correctness, it is not an issue that has any simple answers. We cannot point out that these immigrants need to learn English, because that might be "offensive" to their culture. We cannot question the authenticity of their citizenship because that would be "racial profiling". All we really can do in this situation, apparently, is give them our own hard-earned tax dollars and learn their language.
The last thing we need right now is political correctness. What we really need is a national language to bind us all together and a President who doesn't think amnesty is the answer. With no foreseeable change in the near future, things could get a lot more confusing before they ever get any better. That's if they ever do, of course.
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