Most popular radio station in Portland is now Spanish (Americans, road)

[Random_Walk]

Well, insofar as tech is concerned, they already figured that down: H1-B visas allow folks like Intel to import all the engineers they want (and pay 'em a lot less), and IMHO is a far bigger overall scam than any illegal immigration can produce.

As far as English? Nearly every kid in my local church is perfectly fluent and literate in English, since that's pretty much the only way to get a job once you're done with school. The adults are by and large the same, though some struggle with it (but are supported by the kids, so...)

[ramedud]

Originally Posted by The Cactus Leaguer

But... I will also take the bait. I am in favor of more LEGAL immigration, generally to match the needs of the job market (in particular, don't leave Intel, physician groups, and the research labs hanging). I am completely against illegal immigration. I like hispanic culture, but I like other cultures too - we're a melting pot, deal with it. I think people should learn to speak English when they come here. It often takes a generation for that assimilation to occur, just like it did for many other non-English speaking immigrants in the past. I am concerned about terrorism, both homegrown and imported... vigilance and security (especially near the borders) is good, shaking down grandma at the airport is bad.

You and many others want the same thing, but first we need to secure our southern border and we both know how that goes... regardless of political affiliation.

In that last sentence, how you went from Mexican immigrants to terrorists beats me. I would be more concerned about the illicit drug trade more than that. It kills more people annually than any single terrorist attack in history... or do Mexicans not count as people? From the cartel wars south of the border, the innocents murdered over gang turf wars right here in the US (and Portland), the folks who OD from the drugs to the people who murder because they were high.

Then again it isn't the drugs that kill people, it's the people who use them- just like guns. In fact the majority of the guns used by Mexican cartels are smuggled through the US! Some of these guns are purchased by women in Texas with no criminal records, which are then transferred to smugglers. There is a huge market for illicit drugs in the US, and the Mexican cartels feed that demand. The Justice Department estimates earnings from illicit drug sales range from $13.6 billion to $48.4 billion annually. That's the same as a GDP of a small country, no wonder they're making a killing.

An apathetic and corrupt Mexican government turns a blind eye to illegal activity and openly accepts bribes. In light of this it isn't very surprising people are fleeing in droves to the US for decades on end, legal or otherwise... wouldn't you? Where these immigrants come from the law is so twisted and skewed, the words "legal" and "illegal" have little bearing. As you can see it's a very complicated problem we Americans choose to openly ignore. It's time to tune out of Fox News and tune in to reality...

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by ramedud

............ It's time to tune out of Fox News and tune in to reality...

To paraphrase the great H.L. Mencken*: Liberalism: the haunting fear that someone, somewhere is watching Fox News.

*The Adventures of Roberta X: "Puritanism: the haunting fear that someone, somewhere is having a good time."

[ramedud]

...and enjoying it. LOL

[The Cactus Leaguer]

Originally Posted by ramedud

You and many others want the same thing, but first we need to secure our southern border and we both know how that goes... regardless of political affiliation.

In that last sentence, how you went from Mexican immigrants to terrorists beats me.

Immigration-->border security-->terrorism.

I would be more concerned about the illicit drug trade more than that.

Different issue

It kills more people annually than any single terrorist attack in history... or do Mexicans not count as people?

Huh?

From the cartel wars south of the border, the innocents murdered over gang turf wars right here in the US (and Portland), the folks who OD from the drugs to the people who murder because they were high.

Then again it isn't the drugs that kill people, it's the people who use them- just like guns. In fact the majority of the guns used by Mexican cartels are smuggled through the US! Some of these guns are purchased by women in Texas with no criminal records, which are then transferred to smugglers. There is a huge market for illicit drugs in the US, and the Mexican cartels feed that demand. The Justice Department estimates earnings from illicit drug sales range from $13.6 billion to $48.4 billion annually. That's the same as a GDP of a small country, no wonder they're making a killing.

An apathetic and corrupt Mexican government turns a blind eye to illegal activity and openly accepts bribes. In light of this it isn't very surprising people are fleeing in droves to the US for decades on end, legal or otherwise... wouldn't you? Where these immigrants come from the law is so twisted and skewed, the words "legal" and "illegal" have little bearing. As you can see it's a very complicated problem

Agree, very sad, and very complex issue. I don't think this the primary driver of illegal immigration (or the high ratings for "El Rey") though.

we Americans choose to openly ignore.

Ummm, OK? (I'm certainly not ignoring it, but OK)

It's time to tune out of Fox News and tune in to reality...

CNN never mentions terrorism? (again, I only brought it up in the context of border security)

[ibil08]

An increase in competition for scarce entry level jobs.

An increase in crime.

An increase in gang activity.

An increase in welfare use.

An increase in the use of social service programs.

An increase in out of wedlock births.

An increase in school dropout rates.

A decrease in school standardized test scores.

Interesting, although the person that originally posted the above comment is referring to the effects of a high concentration of Hispanics in an area. I have to wonder why Northern Idaho has the same effects when the concentration of Hispanics is almost none existent!

[trailtramp]

Originally Posted by karlsch

I don't know how it would impact Portland, but here are some of the things that have occurred in other cities that have had a huge influx of Hispanics:

An increase in competition for scarce entry level jobs.

An increase in crime.

An increase in gang activity.

An increase in welfare use.

An increase in the use of social service programs.

An increase in out of wedlock births.

An increase in school dropout rates.

A decrease in school standardized test scores.

Come to New Mexico, Albuquerque, where the above comments are quite literally dead on the money. Would be sad if Portland becomes like NM or SoCal.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by karlsch

I don't know how it would impact Portland, but here are some of the things that have occurred in other cities that have had a huge influx of Hispanics:

An increase in competition for scarce entry level jobs.

An increase in crime.

An increase in gang activity.

An increase in welfare use.

An increase in the use of social service programs.

An increase in out of wedlock births.

An increase in school dropout rates.

A decrease in school standardized test scores.

I think everyone incumbent group has said this about every new immigrant group that has ever immigrated to America in large numbers since there was an America. Somehow, we all managed to survive.

[gog8rs]

Originally Posted by Random_Walk

Well, insofar as tech is concerned, they already figured that down: H1-B visas allow folks like Intel to import all the engineers they want (and pay 'em a lot less), and IMHO is a far bigger overall scam than any illegal immigration can produce.

FYI, many of Intel's groups are not open to non-US citizens due to IP concerns, and they pay above average wages for the industry. But yes, pretty much all of the major tech companies, especially the second tier ones, rely heavily on H1-Bs instead of paying good wages. I interviewed at a group at Qualcomm that was 100% Indian. It seems pretty unlikely to me that Indians would be 100% of the top qualified people for these run-of-the-mill engineering jobs...

As to this thread, if the Spanish radio options are limited but the English options are diverse, it's not hard to see how a single station catering to very small part of the population could become the top one. This can be easily seen by the fact that the top baby male name in the UK is some variant of "Mohammad" despite Muslims being around 5% of the population.

[gonpostal]

Originally Posted by Minervah

I think everyone incumbent group has said this about every new immigrant group that has ever immigrated to America in large numbers since there was an America. Somehow, we all managed to survive.

I hear Native Americans saying it all the time.