The Irish in America [Immigration, History & the Know Nothings]

Dragging out the uglier side of American history from the middle of the century before last is a red herring in the current debate about illegals. While the Irish did suffer discrimination, so did the Germans, a fact not mentioned too often. For example, during World War I, German-Americans were assaulted and in a few cases lynched because their ancestral homeland was at war with our country. Italian, Polish, Jewish, and other Eastern European immigrants suffered from discrimination as well. However, these acts of discrimination were in the private sector. We had no Protestant Ascendancy, high handed landed gentry, or Black Hundreds here. Moreover, these immigrants (other than the Irish and British, who knew the language) learned English, except those in isolated communities. They abided by the immigration laws on the books, and became citizens, in time becoming as American in culture and sentiment as those whose forbears arrived before the War for Independence. They also did not present a burden for the taxpayers, as Federal or state welfare services were nonexistent, and most of the local social services were handled by churches or private charities.

None of these elements are evident in the current wave of immigrants, who show no desire, by and large, to assimilate into American culture or learn English. They are a net burden to the taxpayers, as they are major consumers of public services in relation to the taxes they pay (or not pay).

Not familiar with all of these, but Tweed appears to more accurately be classified as Scotch-Irish than Irish.

As you are no doubt aware, many among both groups object loudly to being lumped together.

A list of leading Scotch-Irish Americans would be even longer than that of leading Irish Americans.

What is going on today is unprecedented in our nation's history. Since 1970, more than 36 million legal and illegal immigrants have settled in the U.S., representing more than one-third of all people ever to come to America's shores. Here are some facts gleaned from Bureau of the Census data that provide an indication of what is really happening:

--The 35.2 million immigrants (legal and illegal) living in the country in March 2005 is the highest number ever recorded -- two and a half times the 13.5 million during the peak of the last great immigration wave in 1910.

--Between January 2000 and March 2005, 7.9 million new immigrants (legal and illegal) settled in the country, making it the highest five-year period of immigration in American history.

--Immigrants account for 12.1 percent of the total population, the highest percentage in eight decades. If current trends continue, within a decade it will surpass the high of 14.7 percent reached in 1910.

Of adult immigrants, 31 percent have not completed high school, three-and-a-half times the rate for natives. Since 1990, immigration has increased the number of such workers by 25 percent, while increasing the supply of all other workers by 6 percent.

--The proportion of immigrant-headed households using at least one major welfare program is 29 percent, compared to 18 percent for native households.

--The poverty rate for immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) is 18.4 percent, 57 percent higher than the 11.7 percent for natives and their children. Immigrants and their minor children account for almost one in four persons living in poverty.

--One-third of immigrants lack health insurance -- two-and-one‑half times the rate for natives. Immigrants and their U.S.‑born children account for almost three-fourths (nine million) of the increase in the uninsured population since 1989.

Prior to 1965, the US was taking around 178,000 legal immigrants annually. In 1965, Congress replaced the national origins system with a preference system designed to unite immigrant families and attract skilled immigrants to the United States. With these changes and some subsequent ones, the result was that most of our legal immigrants now come from Asia and Latin America, and not Europe. Chain migration designed to unite families has also brought in aged parents, children, uncles, etc., many of whom are not contributing to our society and in fact, require more social services. Even with quotas in certain immigration categories, we are now legalizing the status of over one million people annually and millions more are waiting in lines overseas for their turn to come in.

Chain migration has also changed the "mix" of immigrants, making it less diverse. Mexico accounts for 31 percent of all immigrants, with 10.8 million immigrants living in United States, more than the number of immigrants from any other region of the world. Immigrants from Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean account for the majority of immigrants, with 54 percent of the foreign‑born coming from these areas. Of those who arrived 2000 to 2005, 58 percent are from Latin America. This lack of diversity has hindered assimilation and could well result in the Balkanization of the country by language and culture.

We need a rational, sensible immigration policy for many reasons, some of them economic and some of them cultural, i.e., the ability to assimilate these massive numbers into our society . Since 1970, the population of the US has increased by 100 million; since 1990; by 53 million; and since 2000 by 20 million or the equivalent of our six largest cities. The Bureau of the Census projects that we will have 364 million by 2030 and 420 million by 2050 with one-quarter of the population being Hispanic. The annual arrival of 1.5 million legal and illegal immigrants, coupled with 750,000 annual births to immigrant women, is the determinate factor or three-fourths of all U.S. population growth. Hispanics, 1 percent of the population in 1950, are now 14.4 percent. Their total number has soared 25 percent since 2000 alone. These additional people will require infrastructure [roads, water, electricity, gasoline, etc.], and impact our schools, hospitals, social welfare systems, penal system, etc. Couple these increases with an aging US population faced with entitlement programs about to go belly-up in 10 years and you have some serious public policy issues that could threaten the future of this country.

Just as Social Security is the third rail of American politics, so is real immigration reform. No one really talks about decreasing the numbers of legal immigrants or changing the laws to give us a system that acts to benefit this country in terms of supplying us with people who will contribute economically to our national well-being. We are after all a "nation of immigrants" and our politicians and others speak as though we have gone through all of this before. No one is against legal immigration, and some even want to increase the numbers. The real fact is that we are taking in unprecedented numbers of legal immigrants and when you add an additional 500,000 to one million illegal aliens annually, you have a recipe for disaster.Half the children 5 and younger in the United States are now minorities.

The Hispanic Challenge By Samuel P. Huntington

Unless the life chances of children raised by single mothers suddenly improve, the explosive growth of the U.S. Hispanic population over the next couple of decades does not bode well for American social stability. The dimensions of the Hispanic baby boom are startling. The Hispanic birthrate is twice as high as that of the rest of the American population. That high fertility rate Ã‚Â– even more than unbounded levels of immigration Ã‚Â– will fuel the rapid Hispanic population boom in the coming decades. By 2050, the Latino population will have tripled, the Census Bureau projects. One in four Americans will be Hispanic by midcentury, twice the current ratio. It's the fertility surge among unwed Hispanics that should worry policymakers. Hispanic women have the highest unmarried birthrate in the country – over three times that of whites and Asians, and nearly 1 ½ times that of black women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Every 1,000 unmarried Hispanic women bore 92 children in 2003 (the latest year for which data exist), compared with 28 children for unmarried white women, 22 for unmarried Asian women, and 66 for unmarried black women.

Third world America!

http://www.amazon.com/Born-Fighting-Scots-Irish-Shaped-America/dp/0767916883?tag=dogpile-20

Well yes, a list of scotch-irish leaders would be even longer than its sublist of irish leaders.

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The Scottish bus driver was giving a tour of Scotland to a group of tourists. The tour went through the countryside and the driver would point out sights of interest. He drove by this one area and said, “Over there is where the Scottish PULVERIZED the English.” They drove on a little further and the driver pointed to another area along the roadway and said, “This is the place where the Scottish MASSACRED the English.” Not much further down the road the driver told his passengers that on the right was the great battlefield where the Scottish WHIPPED the English.
About that time a man on the bus, with a stiff English accent, said, “My good man, didn’t the English win any battles around here”? “Not when I’m driving the bus” was the response.