The poor are not the "less fortunate." They are instead, the "more irresponsible." They put themselves there, and they drag their children into that status with them. They are the "less prepared," the "less diligent," and the "less able." They weren't unlucky. They did it to themselves. -- Neal Boortz
There was a time when America needed immigrants to work in its factories, to
help build its infrastructure of roads, bridges and tunnels, to go West to
farm its plains, and all the other tasks necessary to nation-building. That era
is over. Now immigration, especially illegal immigration from Mexico, Central
and South America, is the source of major economic and social problems.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has just declared the Mexican
government's "Matricula Consular" card, issued to Mexicans living in the US, to
be an unreliable form of identification, posing a criminal and terrorist threat.
No where is this more evident in California. It is being destroyed by US
immigration policies. A June 2000 report by Californians for Population
Stabilization (CAPS) dramatically confirms this. Based on information from the
California Department of Finance, along with statistics provided by the US
Census Bureau, it reveals that, between 1990 and 2000, one single decade, "virtually
all population growth in California is due to direct immigration and births to
immigrants."
When you combine direct immigration (57%) with births to foreign-born women,
98% of California's rise in population over the passed decade is making life
difficult, stressful, and costly for its citizens. Migration from other States
to California is no longer a factor. During the last decade, California had
the largest population jump in history, fully 13%, adding 4,208,000 people.
That's more than the entire population of Ireland. If this trend were to
continue, the State's population would double in forty years.
By contrast, California's native-born (US) population increased by a scant
2%. This is attributed to the fact that many Californians are moving to other
states. Out of 5,588,653 births between 1990 and 2000, those of native-born
Californians increased by only 90,000, while births to immigrants rose 45%!
The CAPS report concludes that "Mass immigration is the cause of most of
California's most pressing problems: too many people living in poverty, the
shortage of schoolrooms and teachers, the closing of hospitals, and the impact
of overpopulation on biodiversity. For all of the above reasons, California's
present and predicted future size is a wakeup call for the State and the
nation."
To understand California's immigration problem, during the same decade, all
of the northeastern States from Maine to Virginia, combined, gained less than
four million people, i.e., native-born along with both legal and illegal
immigrants. However, it's worth noting that, during the same decade, the
population of illegal immigrants in New Jersey doubled.
I was recently in Los Angeles and even a brief visit demonstrated the
problems this massive influx of immigrants is creating. Highway congestion in
that metropolitan area is a nightmare. California's answer, however, is to build more
highways. The CAPS report estimates that more than three million new vehicles
were added to roadways in the passed decade. Statewide, there is an
increasing water crisis. It is locked into disputes with other States and even
Canada to secure sufficient water for its exploding population.
Education is suffering statewide in California. "The State's university
system, once the envy of the nation, has fallen in quality combined with
increased demands for admission by an ever-growing number of applicants," says the CAPS
report. In the schools, from kindergarten through twelfth grade, enrollments
rose from 4.8 million in 1990-91 to almost 6 million ten years later. By 2000,
"there were more Hispanics than other children enrolled in the State's
schools." California is currently spending $6,837 per student, "so more than $16
billion was spent last year on students whose native language was other than
English."
California has been so mismanaged by its governors and legislature that it is
billions in debt. This most politically correct, politically liberal State
continues to struggle to provide affordable electricity and, as noted, is
desperately trying to provide water. The CAPS report does not address the issue
of crime, integral to the increase in immigration, but it too must be considered.
Soon enough it will begin to export its immigration problems to contiguous
States.
The simple fact is that Mexico has a deliberate policy of flooding California
and the American Southwest with its population. By doing so, it insures those
immigrants will send billions back to Mexico. This is much easier than trying
to solve its own massive economic problems or addressing widespread
corruption underwritten by drug cartels.
California is the template for the problems our virtually non-existent
immigration policies represent. It is a national problem and the solution is
just too obvious, just too politically incorrect. The US has to significantly
restrict immigration or it will undermine all aspects of our economy, our
national security, and the quality of life in this nation.
Alan Caruba is the author of "Warning Signs", published by Merril Press. His
weekly commentaries are posted on the Internet site of The National Anxiety Center.
