Thread: Immigration, Traffic Top Houston Concerns

Immigration, Traffic Top Houston Concerns

POSTED: 5:53 pm CDT April 23, 2008
UPDATED: 6:26 pm CDT April 23, 2008


HOUSTON -- The opinions of Houstonians are changing, with more people concerned about illegal immigration, traffic and the growth of the Bayou City, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday.

Rice University's Dr. Stephen Klineberg conducted the "2008 Houston Area Survey On Crime, Traffic, Land Use, Ethnic Relations, Immigration and Houston's Future."

He presented it to the Greater Houston Partnership's luncheon.

In the annual survey, some Houstonians said they consider undocumented immigrants a problem because of the strain they put on public services, such as hospitals and schools and lead to an increase in crime.

"That's why the rhetoric that you hear about immigration matters so much because the general public isn't quite clear on what we should think about immigration," Klineberg said.

For the past 28 years, Casa Juan Diego has helped immigrants, some of them illegal, build a new life in Houston.

Director Mark Zwick was alarmed that some residents have developed increasingly negative attitudes about immigration.

"I see people who want to work hard, help their families and live in dignity. I don't see immigrants who are criminals," Zwick said.

Immigration was not the only concern.

With more than 1 million people expected to move to the Houston area over the next two decades, some worry about traffic and the quality of life.

For the first time in years, traffic was viewed as a bigger problem than crime.

Recent battles over high-density development caused some to say that Houston needs to improve its image and control growth.

"We have got to turn Houston into a far more aesthetically and environmentally appealing place," Klineberg said.

But despite the negatives, a lot of people said they still viewed Houston as a land of opportunity.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/15972479/detail.html

Well Dr. Klineberg has found out what we think and reacted to it by implying that he disagrees and that he is smarter than the population and that he and those like him should be doing all the thinking for us. Then there is Mark Zwick who is assisting the illegal aliens to come here and break our laws. He is right in one regard if he is helping the illegal aliens settle in Houston they are not more criminal than he is.