3 ms·

Not disagreeing with your overall claim but it's worth pointing out that not all Hispanics in the US are descendants of immigrants (into the US). New Mexico fo

by mythrwy 10y ago

Not disagreeing with your overall claim but it's worth pointing out that not all Hispanics in the US are descendants of immigrants (into the US). New Mexico for instance still has families with large tracts of land granted by the Spanish Crown before the US even existed.

adventured 10y ago
That's definitely understood. It's a small percentage of the number however. The US was about 81% white in 1980 and 6.4% hispanic. It's now ~63% white, with the hispanic percentage having more than tripled (~14 million to ~70 million in raw numbers (not implying all is first gen immigration obviously); an increase equal to 160% the entire population of Canada). The extreme bulk of that demographic shift is derived from relatively recent immigration (last 40 years), overwhelmingly from Latin America (the remainder mostly from Asia), and overwhelmingly relatively poor immigrants that would be mostly barred from Canada under their merit system (which is why they have so few hispanics, why they didn't participate in the hispanic population boom the US has seen, and also why that's not going to change any time soon). I'm pro immigration, and it's kind of obnoxious to watch Canadians try to stand on a soapbox while ignoring the facts.
- castle-bravo 10y ago
  Canada does allow a limited number of refugees to enter, but for the most part our immigration system isn't altruistic. We don't allow people to enter and stay on the basis of their need to live here, but on our need for their skills. We have to have an expectation that immigrants will earn a reasonable income, or they will become a burden on our already strained social services. If they are unskilled (i.e. poor) or their skills are not in demand in Canada, then we can't afford to allow them to stay here in poverty.

3 ms·

Not disagreeing with your overall claim but it's worth pointing out that not all Hispanics in the US are descendants of immigrants (into the US). New Mexico fo

by mythrwy 10y ago

adventured 10y ago
That's definitely understood. It's a small percentage of the number however. The US was about 81% white in 1980 and 6.4% hispanic. It's now ~63% white, with the hispanic percentage having more than tripled (~14 million to ~70 million in raw numbers (not implying all is first gen immigration obviously); an increase equal to 160% the entire population of Canada). The extreme bulk of that demographic shift is derived from relatively recent immigration (last 40 years), overwhelmingly from Latin America (the remainder mostly from Asia), and overwhelmingly relatively poor immigrants that would be mostly barred from Canada under their merit system (which is why they have so few hispanics, why they didn't participate in the hispanic population boom the US has seen, and also why that's not going to change any time soon). I'm pro immigration, and it's kind of obnoxious to watch Canadians try to stand on a soapbox while ignoring the facts.
- castle-bravo 10y ago
  Canada does allow a limited number of refugees to enter, but for the most part our immigration system isn't altruistic. We don't allow people to enter and stay on the basis of their need to live here, but on our need for their skills. We have to have an expectation that immigrants will earn a reasonable income, or they will become a burden on our already strained social services. If they are unskilled (i.e. poor) or their skills are not in demand in Canada, then we can't afford to allow them to stay here in poverty.