The Venezualan newspaper, El Universal, (translated by Watching America.com) has a refreshingly non-polemical op-ed on immigration in U.S., concentrating the mind with the statistic,
In 2006 the birth rate [in the U.S.] exceeded that 45 years ago, carrying the fertility rate to 2.1 children per woman, which according to experts, is the magic figure that must be reached to replace the population. A quarter of those babies were born in Hispanic families, whose fertility rate is 40% higher than the national average.
The author puts the current electoral concern with the issue of immigration in historical perspective,
Currently 13% of the population in the United States is immigrants, very close to the 15% in the years before the First World War when the economic recession, tensions and pressures led to the closure of borders. Those clouds are evident again in the agendas of the presidential candidates, especially in such states as Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia, where the foreign population has grown by more than 45% per year, with one million people cross the border legally and about 500 thousand without papers. A storm surge that can be met with new dams as the economy shows fatigue.
To find out what should and shouldn’t be done about, click here. H/T Watching America.com
Robin Koerner is a British-born citizen of the USA, who currently serves as Academic Dean of the John Locke Institute. He holds graduate degrees in both Physics and the Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge (U.K.). He is also the founder of WatchingAmerica.com, an organization of over 100 volunteers that translates and posts in English views about the USA from all over the world.
Robin may be best known for having coined the term “Blue Republican” to refer to liberals and independents who joined the GOP to support Ron Paul’s bid for the presidency in 2012 (and, in so doing, launching the largest coalition that existed for that candidate).
Robin’s current work as a trainer and a consultant, and his book If You Can Keep It , focus on overcoming distrust and bridging ideological division to improve politics and lives. His current project, Humilitarian, promotes humility and civility as a basis for improved political discourse and outcomes.