Foreign Born in America - 2000 to 2005

Letting my fingers do the walking, I found a few statistics that might be of interest regarding America's Growing Diversity . The first is called US Diversity Map. The second report Florida, California, and Texas to Dominate Future Population Growth, Census Bureau Reports addresses population growth and demographic shifts. Click on the first linked document (see attached table [stateproj7.xls]) which gives the estimated state population growth in 2030. Population 2000 to 2030:

First, the population of US was approximately 281,421,906 in 2000; the 2030 projection is 363,584,435. [An increase of 82.1 million native-born citizens or about the addition of 9 states the size of Virginia.] There is no indication that illegal alien population estimates are included in these projections.

Three largest population increases by state: California, Texas, Florida.

California is expected to increase by 13 million (from 33.8 to 46.5); Texas by 13 million (from 21 to 33.3); New York going from 18.9 million to 19.4 million. Florida going from 16 million to 28.6 million. Virginia going from 7 million to 9.8 million. These population changes, among other things, will alter the House of Representatives and the corresponding Electoral College Votes, with New York increasing by 2 or so and Florida increasing in political clout by nearly twice the representatives and electoral votes as they had in 2000.

General Population Projections: The general population projections for 2030 will go from the 281,421,906 for 2000 to an estimated 363,584,435 for a 30% increase of 82,162,529 citizens (again no indication that illegal aliens are figured into these numbers). Foreign born - 2000 to 2005: The foreign born in the United States in 2000 were approximately 31,107,889 folks to 35,689,842 million in 2005 for an increase of 4,581,953 folks or just under 1 million per year. These numbers cannot include the projected estimates of anywhere from 12 to 20 million illegal aliens in the nation currently. If the foreign born numbers bear out and increase at 30%, then that will be an estimated increase of 10 - 12 million into 2030. The concern is assimilation and the desire or lack of desire to assimulate. At an earlier time in our nation's history, there was a need to assimulate to reach for the American Dream and to gain the mobility that assimulation assured. Increasing Hispanic population by state:

From 2000 to 2005, 31 states including the District of Columbia have lost percentages of the white non-Hispanic population. The numbers in percentages of black citizens has decreased in 16 or 40 states. The Hispanic population has increased in every state with the exception of Vermont (-1.9%) and West Virginia (-13.9%). In some states, the Hispanic population (in five years) has increased by 43.4% (Nevada); 48.3% (Arkansas); 44.6% (Tennessee); 45.4% (Georgia); 45.5% (South Carolina); 42.9% (North Carolina); 40.3% (New Hampsire).

The increases have to be addressed in terms of social services, educational facilities, and others. The assimilation, the learning of English, and the integration into the American culture are vital if we are to retain the cohesion that has made us strong. In Idaho, the Hispanic increase was 24.8%. As I recall, it was announced last week that two new schools in Boise will be Spanish-speaking and funded with tax-payer money. Hopefully, I did not hear that correctly because I have lived under the notion for some years now that our educational goals have been to integrate our classrooms, not segregate them. We are a nation of immigrants (including the native-Americans who more than likely migrated over the Bering Straits). What is a few thousand years among brothers and sisters? The data only suggest that as a nation, we are taking in many foreign-born folks legally who follow the rules and earn citizenship. To them, I say, "Hats off and welcome." The figures though coupled with the myriad of election ballots we print in many different languages suggest that we need more efforts at encouraging assimulation. Ideally, there should be no place in America that an English-speaking teacher could not go to teach. I submit that that is not the case in some regions of America today. Conversely, the folks in those regions cannot be mobile either and thus are limiting themselves in the attaining the American Dream which relies upon mobility. In terms of assimilation, the statistics could arguably point to the need to end the illegal alien migration from Mexico, end dual citizenship (period), and curtail legal immigration as well until we can absorb the influx. Many people migrate to America; glow and bloom in the Discovery of America; immerse themselves in the language; enrich the culture as they make it their own. They love the nation and love being a part of this "grand experiment" making it part of their goal: to keep, to cherish, to perserve. They love the symbols of the nation and have tears come to their eyes when they take the oath of citizenship, not to "take advantage" of the largess of the American people but to become one with the American people, leaving their birthplace behind as they are birthed anew in America. That love comes from assimilation and I would imagine at some sacrifice. The love expressed does not come and cannot grow from separatist rants as we hear from some groups who have a monetary interest in making immigrants separate and keeping them in isolated communities. This planned isolation hurts the immigrants and hurts us all in addition to simply putting the immigrants in environments not so very different from the Third World nations they have fled. To me, America is an ideal. It must somehow be absorbed. We will all be the stronger for the effort. Can we continue to maintain the policy of open-borders? Can we continue to punish the law-abiding in favor of the people who break our laws? Can we really absorb the cost of giving tuition grants to illegal aliens as they will be doing in California? The benefits and the fruits of our labors should first go to the native-born children of legal parents and to the foreign-born who have followed our laws, and honored our sovereignty.