Thread: DE: 1/2 of Latinos don't speak English (most illegal aliens)

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs ... /808220334



Education key for Del. Latinos

Needs assessment shows English classes, higher learning should be more accessible to Hispanics in state

By SUMMER HARLOW
The News Journal

More than half of Delaware's Latino residents speak little or no English, according to a new needs assessment of the state's Hispanic population.

The report to the Governor's Consortium on Hispanic Affairs, released Thursday, pinpoints education -- including making English classes more accessible to immigrants and higher education more affordable -- as the key area Hispanics feel needs most improvement.

Of the state's 56,152 Latino residents, an estimated 41 percent are living here illegally, compounding the education, income, transportation and health care barriers noted in the report.

Yet even those living here legally can struggle to find services.

Wilmington resident Reyna Bernal, a 42-year-old Mexican immigrant studying for her citizenship exam, found help at the Latin American Community Center's Adult Education Center, where she is learning English.

She sounded out the words as she haltingly read the lyrics to "The Star Spangled Banner," tripping slightly over the words "twilight" and "still."

"Good job, but remember, it's 'still,' not 'es-still,' " instructor Sarah DiAngelo reminded Bernal's English as a Second Language class.

"I'm learning English to be able to help my children in school," said the Wilmington mother of four, ages 7 to 14. "But also because if you don't know English here, you're ignored. You can't communicate with the hospitals or teachers in the schools, and you can't drive. It's limiting."

Funded by the Arsht-Cannon Fund at the Delaware Community Foundation, the governor's office and the Delaware Department of Education, the $110,000 study conducted by international research firm Bendixen and Associates relied on interviews, focus groups and telephone surveys conducted in all three counties from August 2007 to March of this year.

Delaware, where the Hispanic population rocketed more than 50 percent between 2000 and 2007, is one of the nation's first states to conduct such a statewide study.

"With this fast-growing population we really need to do more than what we're doing today," Gov. Ruth Ann Minner said Thursday. "With this information we are now armed to go to the counties, state, and local organizations to make sure we're doing the right thing."

Seeking a better life

Adrienne Arsht, responsible for directing her late parents' endowment toward Delaware projects, has pledged an initial $250,000 toward meeting some of the needs identified in the report.

"Everybody comes here with the hope of a better life, and those of us with better lives have a responsibility to make those dreams come true, like others did for our families," said Arsht, the granddaughter of a Russian immigrant. "We're all children of immigrants, and we need to remember where we came from."

A Miami resident, Arsht said she has seen firsthand how Hispanics can excel when they're given opportunities and the resources they need.

"Delaware is the First State," said Arsht, a native Delawarean. "I think Delaware needs to be the first state in the nation in how we deal with diversity and how we capitalize on our diversity."

Most of the state's Latinos, 47 percent, were born in Mexico. About 15 percent were born in Central America, 14 percent in Puerto Rico, and 12 percent in the United States.

The report also found nearly half of the state's Hispanics do not have a driver's license (10 percent acknowledged driving without a license), 45 percent do not have health insurance, 55 percent don't have a bank account, and just a third are homeowners. About 63 percent earn $30,000 a year or less.

"Most don't earn enough to meet their family's basic needs, and that's especially true for those who don't speak English," said Zaida Guajardo, consortium member and executive director of La Esperanza, an immigrant advocacy organization in Georgetown. "Their employment opportunities are limited."

Delaware has no job training for Spanish speakers, but 81 percent of the Hispanic population said they likely would attend such programs, according to the report.

There also aren't enough English as a second language classes flexible enough to meet the needs of immigrants working two jobs in industries in which their schedules change on a weekly, if not daily, basis, the report found, suggesting that perhaps transportation needs to be provided.

Miriam Burt, manager of adult ESL projects at the Washington-based Center for Applied Linguistics, said that in the past 10 years, as more immigrants have moved outside traditional destinations such as California and Texas, states have been struggling to provide services, especially English instruction.

"Everyone benefits if immigrants learn English, as they're contributing more in taxes and are more successful, so everyone needs to look at this as their responsibility," she said.

Expecting immigrants to learn English just by living here is not reasonable, Burt said.

"It's not something you automatically pick up, which is why it's so critical to have these programs," she said.

Sandra Gomez, a 24-year-old U.S. resident from Mexico who is living in Wilmington, said it's difficult for many immigrants to find the time to practice English.

"I'm trying to learn, but it's hard," said Gomez, who is pregnant with her first child. "If you can't speak English, you can't communicate with others, or find a good job. If you can't speak English, you're discriminated against."

Discrimination felt

While some of the English-speaking Latinos said they felt they had been discriminated against, it was the Spanish speakers who had encountered more discrimination, the report said.

With 46 percent of Hispanics citing discrimination as a major problem, it was viewed as the second most important issue facing Delaware's Latinos.

Still, three-fourths said they have a good or excellent quality of life in Delaware, and most plan on staying in the First State.

The bulk of the state's Latinos, about 66 percent, live in New Castle County, followed by Sussex County with 26 percent and Kent County with about 8 percent.

Christine Cannon, a retiring University of Delaware nursing professor and consortium member, said one of the next steps is to further analyze the data in the report to get a better picture of the Latino population in each county.

"Sussex has the fastest growing population; they're the youngest, with the lowest incomes, so the problems there are intensified," she said. "The population there is vastly different than in New Castle."

Not a 'needy' community

While the report is a needs assessment, Maria Matos, consortium member and executive director of the Latin American Community Center, said she hopes the public doesn't view the Hispanic community as "needy."

"We need an assessment like this so we can know how our resources can be used in a more effective way," she said. "But I also hope that people realize there are a lot of good things Latinos bring to this state."

For example, two-thirds are employed, and 77 percent of Hispanic citizens are registered to vote, compared with just 68 percent of the general population.

"Yes, the challenges are great, the barriers are enormous and the hill is steep, but Hispanics are resilient," Matos said, adding that "a state that promotes English proficiency while embracing multiculturalism can only prosper."

The report to the Governor's Consortium on Hispanic Affairs, released Thursday, pinpoints education -- including making English classes more accessible to immigrants and higher education more affordable -- as the key area Hispanics feel needs most improvement.

Of the state's 56,152 Latino residents, an estimated 41 percent are living here illegally, compounding the education, income, transportation and health care barriers noted in the report.

We ALL want higher education to be more affordable, it's not solely a hispanic issue.

The 41% of illegal aliens are NOT contributing any money to educate their children and they should not be having ANY children since they can't support them on their salaries! They should ALL be gone from the US asap. I still say children born of illegal alien parents are themselves illegal aliens and should receive not ONE dime of our tax dollars.

Of the state's 56,152 Latino residents, an estimated 41 percent are living here illegally, compounding the education, income, transportation and health care barriers noted in the report.

How many of these illegal aliens have had a school education? Speaking Spanish and being able to read and write Spanish are two different matters. Being able to read and write facilitates learning English.

Olga Franco--the illegal alien involved in the fatal Cottonwood, MN school bus crash-- had just one year of schooling in her native country.

The counter arguments to the position of the Open Border editorialist that are in the thread above are off. In fact there is a difference between a not household paying taxes and paying enough taxes to cover benefits. The illegals aliens are paying they come no where near the cost to the wider society. They are also drawing benefits while living within our country without our consent. They are holding jobs that should be filled with unemployed American citizens and legal immigrants.