Mass Immigration Brings Disunity and Decline

Population alone does not determine national power, but it is an important component, particularly if those human resources are educated and assimilated. It appears that both the numbers and origins of the new immigrants have caused concerns about immigration’s impact on American culture. Data from the 2010 Census showed a soaring Hispanic population, and at 16 percent of the total population, Hispanics have replaced African-Americans as the nation’s largest minority. But while critics fear they will not assimilate, most of the evidence suggests that the latest immigrants are assimilating as least as quickly as their predecessors. – A key to America’s Power, Joseph Nye, CNN, 6/12/15

Fact Check: Nye, a Harvard professor, claims that the rapidly-rising population of the U.S., mainly driven by immigration, will help ensure that we remain a great power. As he notes, “[B]etween 2010 and 2050, the U.S. population will grow by 42 percent to 439 million.” In this situation, however, the U.S. would still be far behind our most likely rival, China, which in 2050 is projected to have a population of almost 1.4 billion people.

Consequently, despite our projected growth, we will have to find an edge other than population to compete with the Chinese. If the projections pan out, they still will have 900,000 million more people than we will. Nye maintains that we will have an edge because immigration will bring us the best and brightest people from around the world.

But the truth of the matter is that our present immigration policy, on average, is not selecting for the best and brightest. Immigrants, on average, are less educated and skilled than native-born Americans. Many are at or below the poverty level, which has prompted Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation to state that our policy is one of “importing poverty.”

Nye is correct to acknowledge that national power depends on education and assimilation. Certainly a large percentage of immigrants who are poor is not conducive to assimilation. Perhaps Nye is unaware of this problem. In any case, he maintains that assimilation is working well and for proof he cites an article stating that many Hispanic immigrants and their children are learning English.

Being able to speak English is certainly an important first step to assimilation, but it just a first step. Many more must follow in terms of acculturation and loyalty before the process is complete. A great number of Hispanics are outstanding citizens, but a great many also, immigrant and native-born, lag in acquiring a full American identity. Quite often it is not their fault because mass immigration is overwhelming our powers of assimilation and making it difficult for individual immigrants to enter the mainstream.

Indicative of this situation are the findings of the Pew Hispanic Center. Among Hispanic immigrants, 58 percent describe themselves as “very different from a typical American.” Only 34 percent said they felt typically American. For all Hispanics, immigrant and native-born, on being a typical American, there was an even split of 47 percent to 47 percent. Thus nearly half of Hispanics identify themselves as significantly separate from mainstream America.

Among Hispanic immigrants, only 6 percent identify themselves as “American” with the rest preferring the nationality of their country of origin, or Hispanic or Latino. Of native-born Hispanics, less than half (46 percent) use “American,” with the rest using the other categories. Of all Hispanics, only 21 percent identify as Americans, Twenty-four percent prefer Hispanic or Latino, and 54 percent with the country of origin.

A study conducted by John Fonte of the Hudson Institute reveals a significant gap in attitudes between native-born citizens and immigrants who have gained U.S. citizenship. Among its findings: By a margin of 85 percent, naïve-born citizens see themselves as Americans, rather than “citizens of the world.” Only 54 percent of naturalized citizens agreed. Sixty-seven percent of natives believe that the Constitution is a higher authority than international law. Only 37 percent of naturalized citizens agreed. Eighty-one percent of the native-born said that schools should focus on American citizenship rather than ethnic pride. Only 50 percent of naturalized citizens agreed. Fonte said that these widely divergent views reveal a “patriotic gap” between the two groups.

These studies simply confirm what many Americans experience and see with their own eyes. The diversity brought by immigration is not “enriching.” More and more, it is divisive, and as the Bible states, a house divided cannot stand. This means a decline in American economic and military power, if we allow present trends to continue. China has its problems, but in 2050 it will still be Chinese. Will America by then still be American?

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