Is the Immigration Wave Ebbing?

Reader Comments
Back to blog

Don't focus only on the uninvited (a.k.a. "illegal," "undocumented") immigrants who may be leaving the U.S. Focus attention, also, on the immigrant scientists & engineers who are returning to their homelands, or who are seeking opportunity elsewhere but outside the U.S.
Immigration has contributed mightily to the lifeblood of "American" scientific and technological pre-eminence, if only because so few talented and hard-working Americans want to be scientists or engineers (also, because of backward American human resource practices). However, America is now in danger of no longer being "the place to be" in science & technology.

Michael Alexander of MA 4:42PM November 28, 2008

It will be interesting to see the most recent Census Bureau numbers. Numerous news reports over the past year or so document that both increased federal and state immigration enforcement (along with a bad economy), has led to many illegal aliens returning home or at least fleeing to states and areas with remaining sanctuary policies. The key questions are what will happen when the economy revives and will President-elect Obama cave to the ethnocentric groups such as La Raza and gut popular enforcement measures and push another wildly unpopular mass legalization scheme (AKA Amnesty). Anyway, even though belated and inconsistent, the enforcement measures undertaken by the Bush administration prove that the illegal immigration crisis can be solved humanely by enforcement of laws/attrition with no need to resort to either mass deportation or "pathway" legalization amnesty schemes.

Steve of CA 5:47PM November 27, 2008

ROFL, Pedro! No, a "gran ensalada" may be procured at any of the terrific Tex-Mex restaurants on the border.
"Salida" is the word you'll find on, e.g., a sign over a door, where in English-speaking countries you'd normally find one saying "exit." I suppose the nearest English cliche to "Gran Salida" would be "Great Exodus."

Charlie of NY 3:08PM November 23, 2008

I'm guessing that 'Gran Salida' doesn't translate to 'Big Salad'.
It's a great departure? - or something like that?

Pedro O'Reillyo 10:40PM November 20, 2008

The reason immigrants jump the border is to find work that pays better than the home grown variety. Our economy has collapsed...the pot'o gold north of the Rio Grande is no longer much larger than the pot in their own back yard - Why hassle with travel?
Jeeze, you needed a study to figure that out?
I beginnin' to wonder about you Barone... Next thing you'll be telling me is that you're buyin' into the global warming hysteria or thinkin' Obama is Lincoln - Then I'll know you've slipped over the edge.

R.L. Schaefer of CA 4:14PM November 20, 2008