Growing Pains
"A Nation in Full" [October 2], published during America's annual observance of Hispanic Heritage Month, heralds the country's imminent arrival of the 300 million demographic milestone that, in fact, was reached months ago. Ironically, the discrepancy is due to the exclusion of nearly 4 million natural-born U.S. citizens living on American soil in Puerto Rico. The fault lies less with U.S. News than with the U.S. Census Bureau's arbitrary policy of excluding the population it tallies in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories every 10 years from the national totals. Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory for 108 years, and its people have been citizens since 1917. While resident aliens in the 50 states are included in the national census data, U.S. citizens in a U.S. territory are not! Had the article's title been "A Nation in Full Disclosure," perhaps it would accurately have revealed that "We the People" actually will exceed 304 million in October.
KENNETH D. MCCLINTOCK
President
Senate of Puerto Rico
San Juan
As the offspring of immigrants (my father came over from Hungary in 1912, my mother in 1922), I appreciate the desire of immigrants to come to America. But we must realize that America is not the land of opportunity it once was. Our resources are not infinite. Too often immigrant families are much larger than the average American family, putting a heavy burden on our schools, health systems, housing, and highways. As the article pointed out, in a little more than 10 years our Social Security program will pay out more money in benefits than it takes in from taxes. What then?
TOM R. KOVACH
Park Rapids, Minn.
Some will call it an American population increase, while others will strictly consider the milestone number a casualty of the illegal immigration epidemic. Latino organizations are flexing considerable and muscular political influence. The two diametrical forces have engaged in media as well as political combat. Spanish-language media energize the Latino constituency, while documentaries like Cochise County, USA: Cries From the Border rally, agitate, and infuriate social conservatives. Reflecting the national cultural and political divisions, one Census Bureau employee opined that the bureau would most likely let the milestone pass without fanfare, wishing nothing more than that the population ticker silently hit the magical number before national attention turns elsewhere. But, as your cover story reports, there is nothing silent about the 300 million mark in population. National attention will remain on the number and the changes it represents.
WAYNE TRUJILLO
Lakewood, Colo.
As a resident who just read about Goshen, Ind., and nearby Fort Wayne in "A Nation in Full," I found it interesting that Mayor Allan Kauffman cited the Ku Klux Klan's nonacceptance of a fence on the Mexican border. This implied we have residents marching up and down the streets in sheets and hoods. What we have is an increase in violence and shootings among Hispanic gangs, something unheard of less than five years ago. We are tired of dealing with people who appear to only want our goods and services and seem to have no desire to integrate into our community. Other immigrant groups in this area have made this transition. Why should Hispanics be held to a different standard simply because we need their labor?
CHRIS NETERER
Goshen, Ind.
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