Barton2

BRUCE BARTON

Can we Protect Arizona Now? Or is it too late?

"We have an aging white America. They are not making babies. They are dying. The explosion is in our population. I love it. They are
s------g in their pants with fear. I love it!!"
Professor Angel Gutierrez, University of Texas.

Rhetoric or fact? Is this the ranting of just another radical university professor; or is there a not so hidden truth behind the hate? And, as Texas shares the same Mexican border as does Arizona, what future lurks behind the words of Professor Gutierrez? I wish you to focus on his words, "... They are not making babies ...The explosion is in our population ... "

Now the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the country, in less than a decade America will be home to the largest Mexican population outside of Mexico in the world.

By the year 2010, the Hispanic population of the U.S. will exceed that of the entire population of Argentina. The present Hispanic population of the U.S. is estimated to be something over 38 million with two-thirds being from Mexico. It is figured (by the U.S. Census and other sources of demographic statistics) that upwards of 65 percent of the present Hispanic population of the U.S. (those who have arrived in the past decade) are in this country illegally.

A simple math calculation pegs that figure at about 24 million -- not including what are referred to as "anchor babies." That means that 8.5 percent of our entire population consists of Hispanics (the majority from Mexico) -- here illegally.

Okay, what about that 8-9 million figure we hear so frequently in the media? This figure is based on the U.S. Border Patrol's (USBP) catch and release policy. Here's how it works: The USBP officially claims that for each border intruder they apprehend, there are officially three others that get over the border into the U.S. Field
agents along the border and those who actually watch the border put the number much higher. About 1 in 10 are apprehended and returned to Mexico. Again a simple math calculation of the annual apprehensions for the past 10 years or so, using a multiplier of 3-8 yields a much higher figure than that which is officially bantered about by open border advocates. But why would anyone want to understate the true magnitude of the problem?

Let's review some facts.

In 1994, California paid for 74,987 deliveries to illegal alien mothers, at a total cost of $215.2 million (an average of $2,842 per delivery). Illegal alien mothers accounted for 36 percent of all Medi-Cal-funded births in California that year.

That was in 1994 and where is the California budget today? More importantly, what does that suggest for Arizona -- now facing a $1 billion budget deficient? The Republican leadership of the Arizona Legislature has promised to investigate the present costs of illegal immigration imposed on the state, but has yet to do so.

In 1993, the Urban Institute estimated that the cost of educating the then 800,000 school children of parents here illegally among the seven states with the highest concentration of undocumented migrant population to be $3.1 billion, (this did not take into account the special
educational needs of such children, including bilingual education). That would be $443 million per state. Remember, that was in 1993. The problem has risen like compound interest on a bad loan for the past 10 years.

"No child left behind." Remember those words? The following are reported from the Annie E. Casey Foundation (Kids Count Databook Online), an advocacy group whose purpose is to enhance the lives of children living in poverty. I draw your attention to the figures for 1990 and contrast them with those of 2000, keeping in mind that the massive influx of illegal aliens into Arizona. (All figures shown are for 2000 unless otherwise noted).

Social Statistics AZ - 1990 AZ - 2000 U.S.

Children without
health insurance 18 %
12%

Children in
neighborhoods
with a high poverty
rate 33%
23%

Children in
neighborhoods
with a high rate of
high school drop
-outs 42%
50th rank
nationally

25%

Rate of teen deaths
by accident,
homicide, and
suicide* 75%
65%
(37th rank nationally) 50%

Teen birth rate
(births per 1,000
females ages 15
-17) 48%
41%
(48th rank nationally) 27%

Percent of teens
who are high
school drop-outs 17%
(50th rank nationally)

9%

Percent of teens not
attending school
and not working 12%
(46th rank nationally)

8%

* deaths per 100,000 teens ages 15-19 (1990)

Overall, Arizona ranks 45th nationally in these children's statistics.

Is it a question of more money? Or is the problem driven by other demographic factors? Again, the facts tell a story:

Almost two-thirds of adult Mexican immigrants have not completed high school, compared to fewer than one in 10 natives (all native born ethnic groups). Mexican immigrants now account for 22 percent of all high school dropouts in the labor force nationally. The figures in the table above confirm this statistic for Arizona.

Though most natives are more skilled and thus do not face significant job competition from Mexican immigrants, research indicates that the more than 10 million native born (nationally) who lack a high school diploma do face significant job competition from Mexican immigrants. What does this portend for Arizona's burgeoning prison population, now in excess of 30,000 and costing more than $600 million annually?

What about Arizona's future prospects for attracting high tech future employers? Nationally, by increasing the supply of unskilled labor, Mexican immigration in the 1990s reduced the wages of workers without a high school education by an average of 5 percent in all occupations (and the reduction is higher in what are now termed Brown Collar Occupations). The workers affected are already the lowest-paid, a large share of the working poor and those trying to move from welfare to work. Arizona is already among one of the lowest states in family income. This figure alone speaks to the future labor force of the state in terms of competing for quality employment opportunities and tax revenues.

Nationally, an estimated 34 percent of households headed by legal Mexican immigrants and 25 percent headed by illegal Mexican immigrants are recipients of at least one major welfare program. That figure contrasts with 15 percent of native born households.

Mexican immigrants who have lived in the United States for more than 20 years, almost all of whom are legal residents, have double the welfare use rate of natives.

The lower educational attainment of Mexican immigrants appears to persist across generational lines. The high school dropout rates of native-born Mexican immigrants (both second and third generation) are two-and-a-half times that of other native born population groups.

So who pays the freight? Large corporations, as well as smaller businesses, welcome the influx of cheap labor. Political parties openly court this new population. Labor unions see future increases in membership, and Mexico welcomes the $14 billion each year these ''Heroes of
the Reconquista'' send home to Mexico. In fact, the money now sent home to Mexico by illegal immigrants exceeds all other sources of foreign currency in that country.

Is it truly "racist" -- as some in the media protest -- to look hard at these facts? In fact, as you are reading this column, there are hundreds of figures of poverty moving northward across the Arizona deserts in Yuma County, Santa Cruz County and Cochise County. Somewhere, hard currency is being exchanged with shady criminal characters to guide these "new slaves" of the 21st Century north. Their first stop: Arizona.

Lacking any relief from the federal government, Californians tried to do something about the problem a couple years ago. Their solution was Proposition 187. When it was approved by over six million voters, one black-robed member of the judiciary appointed by Gray Davis, voted
against it and stamped it unconstitutional. We now know the rest of the story. Is that to be Arizona's future?

I'll leave you with a final quote.

"Remember, 187 [proposition to deny taxpayer funds for services to non-citizens] was the last gasp of white America in California."
-- Art Torres, Chairman of the California Democratic Party

The author wishes to acknowledge and thank the following sources: The Annie E. Casy Foundation www.aecf.org/
The Center for Immigration Studies www.cis.org/articles/2001/mexico/release.html

Bruce Barton's background includes experience in economic development, energy policy, politics and higher education. He previously served as the Business Department chair of the American Samoa Community College in Pago Pago. A resident of Safford, Bruce and his wife Brenda, (a fifth-generation Arizonan) hold a passion for the land and the heritage which is America. See Bruce's website at: www.azbartons.org. He can be contacted at: borders-n-immigration@azbartons.org.

Bruce Barton's Archives

An Unanswered Letter from a 'Bush Ape'

Election ‘04: The Phantom Menace?

Bush to Give Away America's Birthright? What Will be the Unintended Consequences of Immigration?

Reflections on Homeland Security & the Border

A 'European Union' Model for the Americas or a New Homeland Called Aztlan?