Thread: Iowa concern over illegal immigration

Iowa concern over illegal immigration
Andrew Ward

Sioux City, Iowa, does not at first glance appear to have a big stake in the intensifying US debate over illegal immigration.

Located nearly 1,000 miles north of the Mexican border on a stretch of the Missouri River where Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota meet, it looks much like any other medium-sized town in the rural, white-dominated US heartland.

Across the river from downtown, however, neighbouring South Sioux City has a different feel. Dotted along its main street are several Mexican supermarkets and restaurants, with Spanish-language signage on the storefronts.

Nearly a quarter of South Sioux City’s 12,000-strong population is Hispanic, after an influx of immigrants to work in local meat-packing plants.

The changing racial make-up of the Sioux City area helps explain why immigration has become one of the most fiercely contested campaign issues ahead of January’s Iowa caucuses, which mark the start of the 2008 presidential nomination process.

Sioux City is one of numerous communities across Iowa and surrounding Midwest states that have experienced a surge in Hispanic immigrants - many of whom entered the country illegally.

The number of Hispanics living in Iowa grew by 37 per cent between 2000 and 2005 to 115,000, or 4 per cent of the population, according to the Iowa Division of Latino Affairs.

While the numbers are small compared with other parts of the US, the influx has had an unsettling impact on Iowa because the state is among the most racially homogenous in the US.

Iowa’s experience shows how the fast-growing US Hispanic population, once concentrated in the south-western border states, is dispersing across the country in search of new economic opportunities.

As the Hispanic presence becomes more widely felt, Republican presidential candidates are finding fertile territory for their hardline policies against illegal immigration.

When Fred Thompson, one of the Republican hopefuls, held a campaign rally in Sioux City this week, the loudest applause was reserved for his promise to build a fence along the border with Mexico.

“How long has it been since we put a man on the moon? Yet we cannot secure our own border,â€

[quote]We are the people filling jobs, opening businesses, creating wealth and having children.â€

They need to stop making the excuse that this country will fall apart without illegals. What if Mexico was like Canada. Would we fall apart because the cheap labor wasn't sitting on our border? Of course not. Where there is a direct need for these people, they should be given visas or a green card for temporary work. Abolish the 14th amendment so they can't use the anchor baby excuse. Work here,go home when done as is the case for many, like the Filipinos. They work here as nurses,lvn's etc., then return home when there visa expires. This isn't brain surgery just our idiotic government making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Norma De Lao, president of Siouxland Unidad Latina, a local Hispanic community group, warns

If her family has been here since the 1920's, why is she the pres of unidad latina? Where's the assimilation for her? She separates herself and her 'people'. If she's American, why is she aiding and abetting illegal invaders who are injuring this country? And Americans don't care much for her type of warning in case she thinks we are all shook up about it!