I want to hear some of your opinions on immigration, especially as it relates to your business.
Today I watched the "gumball immigration" video:
and also read the press release from the U.S. Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program, which charts demographic changes due to birth, death, and migration in the United States.
What do you think?
Are immigrants dangerous to American's health, welfare, natural resources, and state of being? Do we contact our Congress to return to our pre-1965 levels of immigration (about 200,000 people moving to the United States each year?) to protect the rights of the "native" populations?
Or are immigrants the "lifeblood" of the American economy? Will they help power our economic engine and come up with innovations and advancements in technology, energy, environmental protection, and entrepreneurship?
What has been your experience in your hiring practices, in your dealings with suppliers and customers, and in your company policy-making?
A few figures, here for your edification, and posted on the US Census site:
- US minorities have reached 100.7 million.
- About one in three U.S. residents is a minority (from Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon).
- Latinos of any race were the fastest-growing minority group nationwide, reaching 44.2 million.
- The nation's Asian population grew more than 3 percent and in 2006 reached 14.96 million.
- The black population grew at 1.3 percent and in 2006 reached 40 million.
- Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders as a group reached 1 million.
- The total population of the country reached 300 million on October 17, 2006.
The states which are the most diverse are Hawai'i (75% minority population)
New Mexico and California (57% minority population), and Texas (52% minority population).
In today's news, Marcelo Gaete of the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund was quoted by the LA Times as saying "As goes California, so goes the nation."
Furthermore, in terms of politics, Dowell Myers, a USC professor of urban planning and demographics, says that minority voters in California have shown "systematic differences" from whites in their electoral choices, with more support for more generous immigration policies, taxation and public investment in schools.
If you live in Florida, West Virginia, or Pennsylvania, you have the highest percentages of older people (65 and older). If you live in Alaska, Utah, or Georgia, you have the lowest percentages of older people.
Giving you some insight into the next generation, according to the Census report, "states with the highest percentages of preschoolers include Utah (9.7 percent), Texas (8.2 percent) and Arizona (7.8 percent). States with the lowest percentages were Vermont (5.3 percent), Maine (5.3 percent) and New Hampshire (5.6 percent)." Tip: if you're interested in developing mommy-and-me programs and work-at-home business opportunities for women, target contacts in those states!
Finally, some tips for you from my own experience:
1) Learn about the customs and cultures of someone very different from yourself. Learn what they eat, how they dress, how they behave, their history, and their religion. Learn as much as you can.
2) Take a conversational Spanish class or another language besides English.
3) If your customer base is starting to shift to a different mix of people, take some time to understand what your customers want and need.
Immigration reform goals for the CBC
The members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) recognize the need for a comprehensive approach to immigration reform that includes increased security, protection against illegal immigration, immigration policies that have articulated objectives and fair administration of our immigration system. Consistent with this, the CBC adopts the following Statement of Principles.
DIVERSITY AND EQUAL TREATMENT
The CBC supports immigration criteria that will increase the diversity of immigration from countries that have historically been underrepresented, such as countries in the Caribbean and Africa, or treated unequally, such as Haiti.
EARNED ACCESS TO CITIZENSHIP
The CBC supports earned access to lawful permanent resident status for persons currently in the United States that takes the following factors into account:
Unification of immigrant families, which would include uniting immigrants with spouses, children or other close family members who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States;
Proven employment records through temporary and guest worker programs or other temporary residence programs; and
Such reform of earned access to citizenship should also include a path to permanency for the undocumented already here.
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND FAIR WAGES FOR LEGAL WORKERS
The CBC believes that all citizens and legal workers in the United States should be assured education and job training, non-discriminatory employment opportunity and livable wage. The CBC, therefore, supports increased funding for education and job training utilizing fees generated from new immigration provisions and other resources and supports increased funding for enforcement of laws against employment discrimination, wage and hour violations, unfair labor practices and illegal hiring. The CBC also supports holding employers accountable for the legal status of their employees.
BORDER SECURITY
The CBC believes that the federal government has the responsibility to protect, through border security and other means, against immigrants illegally entering the country and/or overstaying their authorized periods of admission. The CBC, therefore, supports funding for border security equipment, border patrol agents, enforcement and other resources as reasonably necessary to accomplish those objectives.
Posted by: Congressional Black Caucus | May 23, 2007 11:48 AM | Permalink to Comment