Thread: Immigration in the heartland is heart of debate

Immigration in the heartland is heart of debate
DAVE MONTGOMERY

PERRY, Iowa — In 1990, this docile prairie town in central Iowa had 47 Hispanics. But after 15 years of steady migration from Mexico and Central America, Latinos now account for more than a quarter of Perry’s 8,000 residents, coexisting with the descendants of the white European immigrants who settled the farm-belt community in the 19th century.

The demographic upheaval in Perry and other towns in Iowa, hundreds of miles from the Mexican border, illustrates the extent of immigration into America’s heartland.

Since 1990, the number of Hispanics in Iowa has increased from 32,647, or 1.2 percent of the state’s population, to 112,987, or 3.8 percent of the current population of 2.9 million. Some demographers expect the number to triple again in just over 20 years, increasing to 335,000 by 2030.

The trend has pushed illegal immigration into the forefront of presidential politics — at least among Republicans — as Iowa prepares for its first-in-the-nation caucuses Jan. 3.

The topic reverberates through town hall meetings and Republican debates, with candidates scrambling to outdo one another in getting tough on illegal immigrants as they compete for fed-up voters who constitute a broad and vocal chunk of the GOP political base.

A top issue

About 19 percent of Iowa Republicans ranked immigration as the most important issue of the presidential election, according to a McClatchy-MSNBC poll this month. That compares with 11 percent of Republicans and 4 percent of Democrats nationally, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

“The immigration issue, just like security, is right at the top of the list,â€

Eddie Diaz, director of the Community Action Agency in Perry, said that there undoubtedly are illegal immigrants in the town, but that the exact number is impossible to determine. But, legal or illegal, he said, they share common goals: finding work, buying homes and pursuing “all the other issues in life.â€

They are 3.8% of the current population but 40% os school enrollment is Latino ? Wow ! Lots of kids !

It's part of their family values, have American kids so Middle class Americans can support them, this is if you believe in the interpetation of the 14th amendment....I don't.