http://www.investors.com/editorial/edit ... 3352871640

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
View Archive | Printer Version


11 Million Reasons
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY

Posted 8/21/2006

Immigration: Homeland Security now counts nearly 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., and most are still getting in from the Mexican border. As Congress dithers, we ask when they're going to shut the barn door.

Subtracting Homeland Security figures on legal immigration from unsorted U.S. Census and American Community Survey data on all immigrants, the Homeland Security Department came up with an estimated 11 million unaccounted-for people, a 20% increase in illegal immigration since the last census in 2000.

Doesn't sound like much, since 11 million people out of our nation's 300 million is just 3% of the total population.


But this isn't just an empty statistic — it portends major demographic changes all through the U.S., well beyond the traditional border states like California and Texas where illegal immigrants find networks and havens.

It's now a hot issue in places such as Riverside, N.J., which last weekend saw confrontations between legals and illegals over efforts to enforce immigration law, and tiny Hazleton, Pa., which is trying to control illegal immigration networks through the unwieldy tool of zoning laws.

All of this points up a lack of will by the federal government to enforce our immigration laws.

As the data show, the problem's not just getting worse, but way worse, and very fast. It sounds like something Congress should be doing something about, with extreme urgency.

And yet, sadly, Congress has produced nothing but hot air about it. All summer it's held 21 hearings and a Kansas senator this weekend advised his constituents that no action would be taken until after the November election. No border fence, no guest workers and as many as 80,000 illegals may cross into the U.S. in the meantime.

When illegal immigrants are caught in Singapore, they are put on a special island and caned before they are shipped back home.

When they're caught here, they've been, until recently, been given a traffic-citation-like ticket and asked to appear in court.

Of course, they don't. Illegal immigration by its very act is a challenge to legal authority, and affects attitudes toward authority — among both immigrant and nonimmigrant populations.

It's pretty clear that illegal immigrants aren't going to be much help in reporting crimes or assisting in their resolution. This in turn contributes to an atmosphere of lawlessness, as any illegal-immigrant-heavy community can show.

Recent data showing that 19% of all federal prison inmates are illegal immigrants underscore this point.

Meanwhile, the Latin American mass media depict illegal immigration as just part of ordinary life.

Mexican movies such as 1999's "Santitos" show protagonists skipping over the border to Los Angeles as a lark. In "Santitos," the aliens then attend a costumed Mexican wrestling match between characters called "The Angel Of Justice" and "The Border Patrol," with Justice, of course, winning.

This trend seems to be catching on: In Brazil, a prime-time soap opera called "America" features an illegal immigrant named Sol making her way in the U.S. Brazilian illegal immigration is up 70% in the U.S., the second-highest gain after India's 122%, from 2000-05.

But it's mostly a problem with Mexico. Of the 11 million, 5.7 million are Mexican. Of the 408,000 new illegal entrants each year, Mexico accounts for 64% of the total.

As the chart shows, they're mostly headed for traditional magnet states like Texas, Arizona and California. But increasingly, they're going elsewhere — as the 114% gain in illegals in Georgia shows.

Like others, we pay homage to America as a nation of immigrants. But the illegal wave could have dire consequences for American communities unprepared for the added poverty and crime.

These are statistics that politicians in both parties ignore this November at their peril.


Return to top of page




© Investor's Business Daily, Inc. 2000-2006. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction or redistribution is prohibited without prior authorized permission from Investor's Business Daily. For information on reprints, webprints, permissions or back issue orders, go to www.investors.com/terms/reprints.asp.