The same things are said today of Puerto Ricans and Mexicans that were once said of the Irish, Italians, Germans and Jews: "They'll never adjust; they can't learn the language; they won't be absorbed."
—John F. Kennedy, A Nation of Immigrants
In a series of articles published in late 2003, S. Lynne Walker chronicled the reopening of a large meat-packing company in Beardstown, Illinois, a town of 7,000 people ("Beardstown: Reflection of a Changing America," State Journal-Register, November 9–November 12, 2003). The revived industry brought not only jobs for local residents but an influx of immigrants, mostly from Me…
New York was already a bustling seaport of 33,000 people by 1789 when George Washington was sworn in as president of the new republic on the balcony of the city's Federal Hall. Although the Dutch first settled the site in 1624, they were soon joined by the British and an influx of people from many other nations. New York quickly became a favored port of arrival. The Statue of Liberty was in…
According to the New York Times (Sam Roberts, "More Africans Enter U.S. Than in Days of Slavery," February 21, 2005), more people of African descent arrived in the United States voluntarily from 1990 to 2000 than the total who came as slaves prior to 1807 when the country outlawed the slave trade. In 1800 about 20% of the 5 million people in the United States were black compared to 1…
In a statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at an October 6, 2004, hearing entitled "Addressing the New Reality of Current Visa Policy on International Students and Researchers," Allan E. Goodman, President and CEO of the Institute of International Education, spelled out the cultural and economic benefits to the United States of welcoming foreign students to college …
The influx of illegal aliens into the state of California in the 1980s has inspired controversy, particularly regarding California's role in the problem. Many commentators have rejected the assertion that California is the helpless victim of illegal aliens and the federal government. They argue that some policies promoted in the 1980s actively TABLE 7.14 Contribution to U.S. economy by…
In a study of immigration's impact on the nation's schools, Michael E. Fix and Jeffrey S. Passel noted that as of 2000 one out of every five K–12 students was the child of immigrants and of these about 25% were themselves foreign-born (U.S. Immigration: Trends and Implications for Schools, Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, January 2003). Fix and Passel estimated that 5% of …
A survey conducted in 2003 by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Kaiser Family Foundation explored attitudes of Hispanic adults, or Latinos, toward schools and education. The study, National Survey of Latinos: Education (Washington, DC, January 2004), paid particular attention to differences between recent immigrants and those who had been in the United States for a generation or more. When asked to …
In November 1994 increasing concern about the effects of a large number of illegal aliens culminated in California voters approving Proposition 187 by a margin of 59% to 41%. The ballot initiative prohibited illegal aliens and their children from receiving any welfare services, education, or emergency health care. It further required local law-enforcement authorities, educators, medical profession…
The results of the 2000 census added to the continuing debate on the effects of immigration on population growth and wages. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, fed the debate over immigration levels. According to the U.S. Census Bureau report Population Change and Distribution: 1990–2000 (Washington, DC, April 2001), the U.S. population grew by more than 13%, from 248.7 million in …
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