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  1. #1
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
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    Economy hampers immigration in West Virginia

    http://www.dailymail.com

    Economy hampers immigration

    Kris Wise
    Daily Mail Capitol reporter


    Wednesday August 16, 2006
    Foreign-born residents don't choose West Virginia as their new home because of its weak job market and lack of supportive immigrant-based communities, economists say.

    New data released by the U.S. Census Bureau listed West Virginia as the least diverse state in the country. It is the only state in the country that has shown no increase in minorities or foreign-born residents in the past five years.

    Economists said the state isn't appealing to people looking to find success in the United States.

    "In terms of migration, we tend to attract as many as we lose right now," said George Hammond, an economist with the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at West Virginia University.

    "My feeling is that it has to be connected to the job market because that does drive migration patterns."

    While analysts say there have been some spikes in minority migration in certain West Virginia counties over the past few years, the overall trend is that immigrants and minorities are shying away from the Mountain State.

    According to information released Tuesday by the Census Bureau, only about 1.1 percent of the state is foreign born, exactly the same as in 2000.

    Nationwide, the number of immigrants living in the country -- whether they're legal or not -- has increased to 12.4 percent of the country's total population, up from 11.1 percent in 2000.

    Hammond said one problem the state has is that its population and economy once were based on immigrants from countries that are no longer seeing major outward movement. Most immigrants now settling in the United States are coming from places that historically have generated few migrants to West Virginia.

    "Over the 1990s and this decade, Western European communities aren't contributing many migrants to the U.S. and that's who has traditionally come to West Virginia," Hammond said. "With the number of Asians coming to the U.S., the issue there is we don't have big concentrations of those racial groups, and typically individuals migrating from foreign countries often look to locate where they know someone."

    In the late 1800s and early 1900s, West Virginia was heavily populated with clusters and communities of foreign-born residents drawn to job opportunities in coal, steel and railroads.

    Those settlements have for the most part disintegrated, and at the same time industries have faltered, no longer offering the kind of pay that once was so attractive to immigrants looking for work.

    In June, the state's unemployment rate was about 5.1 percent, slightly above last June's 5 percent rate.

    Dave Calvert, a statistician with the state Bureau of Employment Programs, said there has only been anecdotal evidence that some earning potential in the service sector, construction and in farm-related fields have helped ramp up the Hispanic population in a few counties in recent years.

    In places like Grant and Tucker counties, he said, certain farm industries, like poultry processing, are "very reliant on Hispanic workers, much more so today than they were five years ago."

    That trend, however, is balanced by a lack of migrant movement into other areas of the state.

    "In areas where you do have a lot of influx of people and immigrants, I think they tend to replace native workers at the lower levels, in lower-paying jobs," Calvert said. "I don't think the job market perhaps allows for that as much here. People here aren't that often moving up and leaving open these lower-level jobs for newcomers. They stay put."

    Some states, like South Carolina, saw massive increases in their foreign-born population. There, the number of immigrants has jumped a whopping 47 percent since 2000.

    West Virginia was one of only two states, including Hawaii, where the percentage of white people grew. Everywhere else except West Virginia minorities made up the increasing percentage of the population.

    Here whites account for roughly 95 percent of the total population, which this year amounted to about 1.77 million people.

    The number of Hispanics living in West Virginia totaled just over 10,000, a decrease of more than 2,000 people just since 2003 census data was released.

    Contact writer Kris Wise at kriswise@dailymail.com or 348-1244.
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  2. #2
    Senior Member Richard's Avatar
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    There are those who would attempt to make an argument that illegal immigration helps keeps states from losing population. A ot of the land used as farm in West Virginia is steep eroded and only marginally productive. Were the illegals not here and competing for jobs more of the West Virginians would have moved to surrounding higher growth areas. This would allow those hills to become reforested and recover.
    I support enforcement and see its lack as bad for the 3rd World as well. Remittances are now mostly spent on consumption not production assets. Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  3. #3
    Senior Member moosetracks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Richard
    There are those who would attempt to make an argument that illegal immigration helps keeps states from losing population. A ot of the land used as farm in West Virginia is steep eroded and only marginally productive. Were the illegals not here and competing for jobs more of the West Virginians would have moved to surrounding higher growth areas. This would allow those hills to become reforested and recover.

    Many mining companies in WV and Ky. do reforest afterwards. Mining is one of the biggest economies WV has, and I doubt you would see too many illegals go there. Even though, mine owners are trying to find a way to employ them!

    Seems foreigners flock to very large cities......thank goodness I live in a small town!
    Do not vote for Party this year, vote for America and American workers!

  4. #4
    Senior Member sippy's Avatar
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    "My feeling is that it has to be connected to the job market because that does drive migration patterns."
    Its not a feeling, its a fact. Take away their incentive to come here, and they'll think twice about making that terrible journey.
    "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results is the definition of insanity. " Albert Einstein.

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