WASHINGTON, May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – Lower immigration levels, population aging, and declining fertility rates are driving a decline in U.S. population growth, according to a new Population Reference Bureau (PRB) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

Between 2010 and 2011, the U.S. population increased by 0.7 percent, after averaging 0.9 percent growth each year from 2000 through 2010, reported Mark Mather, PRB associate vice president for Domestic Programs.  We added just 2.3 million people from 2010 to 2011, compared with 2.9 million from 2005 to 2006, just five years earlier.

The current decline is a “significant departure” from recent trends but “it’s too soon to tell whether it will continue or is a short-term result of the recession,” he said.

The U.S. population is currently projected to reach “majority-minority” status (the point at which less than 50 percent of the population is non-Hispanic white) in 2042. But a sustained drop in immigration levels and fertility rates would slow the pace of minority population growth.

Drop in Immigration: Between 2010 and 2011, net migration was estimated at around 700,000, down from 1.4 million per year in 2000 and 2001. This decline contributes to slower growth in the Latino and Asian American populations, and has been linked to job losses in occupations often filled by recent immigrants, as well as stricter immigration law enforcement.

Population Aging:  Between 2010 and 2011, the number of children declined by 190,000, while the number of elderly increased by 917,000; just a decade ago we added more children than elderly. Also down sharply is growth in the number of working-age adults, including those in prime childbearing ages. With more baby boomers retiring and fewer people of reproductive age, births could decline further, and the United States could start to resemble elderly-heavy, slow-growth European countries, Mather noted.

Declining Fertility Rates: There were an estimated 4 million births between 2010 and 2011, down from 4.2 million at the recent peak of U.S. population growth between 2005 and 2006. The total fertility rate (TFR) stood at an average of 2.0 lifetime births per woman in 2009—down from 2.1 a few years ago—but preliminary data from the National Center for Health Statistics suggest that the TFR could drop below 2 births per woman in 2010. Births among Latina women, a group with historically high fertility rates, could drop below 2.5 per woman in the near future.

The Population Reference Bureau informs people around the world about population, health, and the environment, and empowers them to use that information to advance the well-being of current and future generations.

Contact: Mark Mather, 202-939-5433; mmather@prb.org

SOURCE Population Reference Bureau

Source: PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1cpTb)

[Photo by William Heinrich]

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) announced today that President Barack Obama will address the nation’s Latino leadership at the organization’s 29th Annual Conference on Friday, June 22, in Orlando, Florida.

“We’re pleased that the President of the United States will be joining our nation’s Latino leadership at this historic event,” said Sylvia R. Garcia, NALEO President.  “With the changing demographics and the growing Latino population, this conference is an opportunity for the President to address key elected officials and leaders regarding the Administration’s efforts to address the unique issues and challenges facing the Latino community today.”

The address will occur during a three-day convention of nearly 1,000 Latino public officials working at all levels of government in communities across the nation.  Conference participants will join political and policy leaders for panel discussions on education, health, financial empowerment, broadband adoption and the growing clout of Latino voters in American politics.

“Our Hispanic officials represent millions of Americans across the country,” said Juan C. Zapata, NALEO Educational Fund Chairman.  “With so much at stake this year, the NALEO membership is eager to hear from the President about his priorities and the actions his administration has taken on behalf of Hispanics and all Americans.”

For information about the conference and registration, please visit the NALEO conference website at: http://www.naleo.org/annualconference.

What:
NALEO 29th Annual Conference

Who:
NALEO, the leadership organization of the nation’s more than 6,000 Latino elected and appointed officials.

When:
June 21 – 23, 2012

Friday, June 22
Fantasia Ballroom G and H

1:00 – 2:00 PM
Address by the President of the United States
President Barack H. Obama

Where:
Disney’s Contemporary Resort
4600 North World Drive
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

MEDIA REGISTRATION:

Advance registration is required.  To register, please contact Amanda Bosquez at abosquez@naleo.org or by phone at (202) 546-2536 Ext. 12.

Please be advised that members of the press MUST present credentials (including a photo ID) at the time of registration on-site in order to receive event materials and press passes.

About NALEO
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials is the leadership organization of the nation’s more than 6,000 Latino elected and appointed officials.

Contact: Amanda Bosquez, abosquez@naleo.org
(202) 546-2536, ext. 12

 SOURCE National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)

Source: PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1cqY4)

[Photo By The White House]

By Susana Hayward Soler, News Taco

There was jubilation Monday at the headquarters of the Dominican Liberation Party, where hundreds of supporters gathered to celebrate the apparent victory of economist Danilo Medina in the presidential elections held Sunday in the Caribbean nation.

It wasn’t so happy for supporters of opponent Hipolito Mejia, a former president running with the Dominican Revolutionary Party, who said he would challenge the claim, alleging fraud, and would present proof of voting irregularities this week.

With almost 100 percent of votes counted, Medina had just over 51 percent of the vote to Mejia’s 47 percent. The candidates needed more than 50 percent of ballots cast to avoid a runoff.

Representatives of the Organization of American States who observed the vote told The Associated Press there were some irregularities but they weren’t enough to alter the outcome.

Medina, 60, was the candidate of the ruling party to succeed President Leonel Fernández, who couldn’t seek a third term under the constitution. The party’s victory came following a multi-billion dollar spending spree that built new hospitals, roads and a subway system in the country, which shares the island of Hispaniola with its poorer neighbor, Haiti.

With 10 million people, the Dominican Republic has a long history of turbulent politics but it has the second-largest economy, fueled by tourism and sugar production, in the Caribbean after Puerto Rico.

(Photo by Inform.Tele.Antillas)

Education is the Latino Issue, not Immigration (Fox News Latino):  In this election season, both Republicans and Democrats continue to reach out to Latinos by focusing on immigration, the supposed priority issue for Latino voters. Candidates translate their key messages into Spanish, thinking that we like to hear our native language when we communicate with politicians.

Democrat Gutierrez Would Back Rubio’s Version of DREAM Act (Fox News Latino): Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, the Illinois Democrat who has been a leading force in Congress in support of the DREAM Act, told Fox News Latino that he would support a pared-down GOP version –opposed by many in his party– if it will keep undocumented youth from being deported.

Facebook Goes Public, Updates Its Status Thanks to Its Latino Fans (Hispanically Speaking):  Well it’s official the ‘Libro de la Cara’ or Facebook is officially a publicly traded stock and all grown up due in part to the millions of Latinos living on it, Latin America loving it and Brazilians obsessing about it.

Hate Groups Grow as Racial Tipping Point Changes Demographics (ABC News):  The number of radical hate groups and militias has exploded in recent years in reaction to the changing makeup of America, and new census figures showing the majority of babies born in 2011 were non-white could fuel those simmering tensions, experts who track hate groups warned.

America’s Non-White Majority Won’t Remake the GOP Anytime Soon (Huffington Post):  The ethnic remake of America is already having a huge impact on land use, housing, social services, schools, and industries in countless small and medium sized towns, and rural areas that since the country’s birth have been exclusively or predominantly white. The GOP knows that. And the brutal reality for the party is that more minorities in America’s population will continue to translate into bigger numbers for the Democrats at the polls.

Appeals Court Upholds Key Voting-Rights Law (The Wall Street Journal): An appeals court upheld a federal voting-rights law that requires some local governments to seek Washington’s approval before changing election procedures, rejecting a challenge by an Alabama county.

Marriage policy used in appeals for Latinos (The Boston Globe):  President Obama’s shift to support gay marriage is energizing young Hispanic voters who have been working side-by-side with gay activists in their push for immigration reform. The alliance has been growing nationwide and helping dispel what many say is an outdated notion that Hispanics are less tolerant of gays than the general public.

Young illegal immigrants coming out of the shadows (The Salt Lake Tribune/Associated Press):  From California to New York, children of families who live here illegally are “coming out” — marching behind banners that say “undocumented and unafraid,” staging sit-ins in federal offices, and getting arrested outside federal immigration courts and detention centers, even in Maricopa County, Ariz., home of the sworn enemy of illegal immigrants, Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Will Population Shifts Alter Immigration Debate? (NPR):  As the migration surge ebbed, the political debate over illegal immigration actually intensified. Several states have drafted or passed legislation modeled after Arizona’s, enacted in 2010, causing a political firestorm and a wave of legal challenges. Controversy over the laws has entered the presidential election. Do these trends mean America no longer needs to corral illegal immigration?

Obama campaign working to counter new voter ID laws (The Washington Post):  President Obama’s reelection campaign launched a national drive Friday to counter new restrictive voter-access laws, which advisers said threaten his electoral chances in November.

Pell Grants plug pulled for thousands of students (San Jose Mercury News):  Among those who will lose Pell Grants in the summer are at least 65,000 new college students without high school diplomas and 63,000 who have spent more than six years in college. Changes in income requirements will reduce or eliminate grants for nearly 300,000 others.

Hispanics, Broadband and the Digital Textbook Revolution (Huffington Post):  The Obama administration’s FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski and Secretary of Education, Arnie Duncan recently announced the goal of having every US student using tablets and digital textbooks in school within five years. This coming transformation challenges the entire education system – from kindergarten to college – to identify policies and pedagogy to maximize this resource and align policy to increase education attainment.

Dominican Republic’s Presidential Election Comes Down to Fear vs Frustration (Fox News Latino):  After eight years under President Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Liberation Party, or PLD, Dominicans will decide whether they are ready to give former President Hipólito Mejía, a gaffe-prone populist, another chance in office. Mejía’s four-year presidential term ended in disaster, with a banking crisis that sunk the economy and caused so much misery and scarcity that tens of thousands of people fled the country and voters cast him out of office.

AUSTIN, Texas – A treasure trove for true-crime fans is being touted as near-proof that the state of Texas executed an innocent man. Available online starting today: police photos, court files, taped witness interviews, 911 recordings, and a novel-syle report about a Corpus Christi murder in 1983.

The website comprises the largest single public collection of information about a criminal case, according to the Columbia Law School professor and his students who posted the results of their 18-month study, published in the University’s Human Rights Law Review.

Kristin Houle, executive director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, predicts the report will give pause to even the most steadfast supporters of capital punishment.

“There not only is substantial evidence that the state of Texas executed the wrong person, but also that law enforcement knowingly turned a blind eye to the real perpetrator.”

The website - “TheWrongCarlos.net” - portrays the arrest and conviction of Carlos DeLuna as a case of mistaken identity. He always maintained that another “Carlos” who looked strikingly similar was responsible for the convenience-store murder of single mother Wanda Lopez.

One of the many examples of source material on the site is a recorded interview with Eddie Garza, a seasoned Corpus Christi police detective who was highly critical of the DeLuna investigation.

“There was too much evidence that could have been obtained that was never even touched. If I was sitting in a jury I could not convict.”

The report concludes that if it weren’t for a sloppy, rushed investigation, and a shoddy defense, prosecutors would likely have realized that all evidence pointed to another, notoriously violent, man, who was arrested for similar assaults on women before the Lopez murder, and even after DeLuna’s conviction.

Houle says while everything seemed to go wrong for DeLuna, his case was not an anomaly. Death-penalty mistakes, she insists, are all too common.

“Twelve people have been exonerated and released from Texas’ death row, and there are numerous cases where new evidence has called into question whether people who have already been put to death were indeed wrongfully convicted.”

She says today’s launch of “TheWrongCarlos.net” is particularly timely, as executions, and support for the death penalty, have been declining in Texas and nationally. She attributes changing attitudes to more and more people realizing that wrongful executions are not only possible, they’ve probably already happened.

The report is at: www.thewrongcarlos.net.

[Photo courtesy 3.law.columbia.edu]

WASHINGTON — An immigration system that is complicated and filled with outdated policies needs fixing, the general consensus says; but there is still no consensus on how.

“A patchwork of harsh laws in various states cannot result in anything resembling a coherent or effective immigration policy,” said Cecilia Muñoz, director of the Domestic Policy Council at the White House, during a forum organized by the Brookings Institution’s Hamilton Project.

Giovanni Peri, professor of economics at University of California, Davis, might have a solution.

At the forum, attended by academia, as well as the advocacy and business sectors, Peri presented a proposal with a market-based approach that would auction off work visas to employers.

IMMIGRATION AS AN ECONOMIC ISSUE

Currently, there’s a high demand for educated workers who contribute to innovation and entrepreneurship, but the current visa system has arbitrary quotas, inefficient allocation and no clear path to a permanent visa, critics say.

Former Treasury Secretary and Hamilton Project Advisory Council member Robert E. Rubin welcomes the crowd at The Hamilton Project event “U.S. Immigration Policy: The Border Between Reform and the Economy.” (Photo/ Paul Morigi/Hamilton Project)

“It’s an administrative nightmare,” said Marschall Smith, senior vice president of Legal Affairs and General Counsel for the 3M company, whose products include safety equipment, oral care devices, industrial adhesives and office supplies such as the well-known Post-it notes.

Smith says his company is being forced to send jobs overseas. “We simply can’t get the people we need to do the work,” he said.

There’s also a high demand for less-educated workers who fill high-demand jobs — such as the farming and service industries — and lower the price of services. But strict quotas and requirements have resulted in immigration outside the legal system.

Jorge Suarez, director of human resources at Ocean Mist Farms, a Castroville, Calif. vegetable grower, said his company employs about 1,200 to 1,300 employees year-round. He described the current system as cumbersome, frustrating and time consuming.

“We need a system that allows us to bring these workers,” he said. “We need workers who are highly skilled as well. Different skills, but skills nonetheless.”

OPPORTUNITIES

Peri said his proposal allocates the already-existing working visas through an electronic auction where employers can purchase work permits to hire foreign workers.

The initial phase would distribute temporary work visas only. If successful, the auction process would then extend to include all employment visas, including some that lead to permanent residency, during the second phase.

The last phase would re-balance labor-sponsored visas and family-based visas to emphasize immediate family and attract extended family with employment-based visas.

This plan would allow Congress to use price signals to adjust the number of available permits, and if this worked, enforcement would be mainly done though work-place technology, Perry said. It would also create an incentive to hire American workers, he says, because there would be a high cost attached to bringing in immigrants.

Edward Schumacher-Matos, journalism professor and ombudsman for National Public Radio, called the proposal an “intriguing idea” that he hoped could break the political logjam over immigration policy.

But there are obstacles to overcome before reform happens. Schumacher-Matos put it like this: “The problem with immigration policy is not economics, it’s politics.”

THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE: CHALLENGES

“The first obstacle lies in the Republican party, and this is not to be partisan,” said Schumacher-Matos. “The business community is not driving the Republican party when it comes to immigration, the tea party and the populists are controlling that.”

He said there’s a “deep fear” among the Republicans in Congress that immigrants vote Democrat, which interferes with bipartisanship on this issue.

The journalist told VOXXI that the Republican party needs to reach out to Latinos as opposed to marginalize them by being so fierce on this issue of illegal immigration.

But he doesn’t foresee any engagement by Republicans on comprehensive immigration reform for five to ten years: until after the recession, after the electoral power of the millennial generation and the Latinos is felt more, and when undocumented immigrants are accepted by “the communities that aren’t used to them.”

Then, “the Democrats, the humanitarian left and the unions that have been strongly committed to family unification” might frown upon an auction system, he said, which would also need to be overcome.

Peri’s said his vision is to extend some of the simplicity and fairness of his work visa proposal to the entire immigration system.

COLLABORATION IS KEY

What’s missing for Congress to move on this issue is leadership and bipartisanship, said Janet Murguía, president and CEO of National Council of La Raza, a Latino civil rights and advocacy organization.

“Neither party should be proud of what they are doing right now,” she said. “It’s been discouraging that more people haven’t done more on both sides of the aisle.”

Murguía said that she appreciated Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) trying to reshape the immigration conversation within his party.

In her remarks, Cecilia Muñoz listed some of the efforts on the president’s part to move forward on this issue, including meetings at the White House with members of both parties and both chambers and with members of the business and faith community, law enforcement and immigrant advocates.

“I think there is a disconnect between Washington and the real world out there,” said Jorge Suarez from Ocean Mist Farms. “We all just need to sit down and talk about this.”

Chuck Hagel, a former U.S. Republican senator from Nebraska, said he thinks America has been off balance since 9/11. Society doesn’t trust its institutions and its leaders because citizens feel they are not relevant to their concerns. It would help for legislators to “go back to the drawing room,” he said, and discuss what worked and what didn’t the last time comprehensive reform was seriously considered in 2006.

Union leader John Wilhelm believes immigration reform can be a reality in the next few years.

After the 2012 elections, the increasing importance of the immigrant community – including their families– from a political point of view will be more obvious, he said, and more legislators will recognize it and accept it.

“I think younger American recognizes that we live in a global society and it makes absolutely no sense to have unfettered movement of capital and restricted movement of people,” said Wilhelm, president of UNITE HERE, a union that represents workers in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, and airport industries.

“The business community is going to be forced to do what is in its economic interest, and… the political system is going to be forced to accept the demographic reality.”

Rosalba Ruíz is a bilingual multimedia journalist who’s worked for various local, national and international outlets, including The Orange County Register, Excélsior del Condado de Orange and Voice of America. Rosalba currently produces video for Reuters Latin America and writes for various publications, including AOL Latino, Ahora Utah and Hispanic Link News Service.

This article first appeared in Voxxi.

[Photos By Bob Jagendorf]

Could Immigration Decide The Election? (The New Yorker): Hispanic voters were key to Barack Obama’s win in 2008. But that was when he was telling them that he’d pass comprehensive immigration reform as President. Will it matter that he hasn’t?

Latino Voters Likely To Bear Brunt Of Florida’s Voter Rolls Purge (Huffington Post): Less than two months after a Florida effort to identify and purge ineligible voters from the state’s rolls began, opponents say it seems likely to disqualify a disproportionate share of eligible Latino voters.

Latino Support for Rangel’s Opponent (The New York Times): State Senator Adriano Espaillat moved Thursday to consolidate Latino support for his candidacy to win the House seat long held by Representative Charles B. Rangel, picking up the endorsement ofAdolfo Carrión Jr., the former Bronx borough president.

Police report: Trayvon Martin’s shooting was ‘avoidable’ (USA Today):  Trayvon Martin’s fatal encounter with George Zimmerman was “avoidable,” and the teen was not doing anything criminal at the time of their confrontation on Feb. 26, a report by Sanford, Fla., police says.

Bristol Palin Blogs About Gays and Hillary Clinton, Upsets Many (Hispanic Business): Bristol Palin, daughter of Sarah Palin, former “Dancing With the Stars” contestant, single mom, aspiring actress and blogger, is making people scratch their heads with her opinions.

The Presidential Campaign And Latino Education (Huffington Post): At a time when U.S. students are being outperformed by their global peers and Latino K-12 enrollment will increase by 25 percent each year between now and 2020, trends in Latino education are also trends in education for all U.S. students. Producing an under-educated generation of students makes for a weak country. Perhaps that is what Obama and Romney should be addressing.

Alabama governor wants more discussion on immigration law (CNN): Alabama’s governor on Thursday called in lawmakers for a special session in part to further explore changes to the state’s anti-illegal immigration law, considered the country’s toughest.

Endangered: White Democrats in Alabama Legislature (NECN/Associated Press): White Democrats opposed to new legislative districts designed by Republicans said they will turn the Legislature into a body of white Republicans and black Democrats.

Bay Area immigration records, destined for dustbin, will be released Tuesday (San Jose Mercury News): Tens of thousands of old West Coast immigration records the government once sought to throw away will instead become publicly available on Tuesday at a Bay Area archive.

Immigration Doesn’t Hurt City Economies Or Ratings, S&P Says (Bloomberg): Most U.S. cities with “significant immigration” over the past decade saw their credit ratings improve, according to Standard & Poor’s.

Pope praises US efforts to welcome immigrants (NECN/Associated Press): Pope Benedict XVI has praised the “great generosity” of American Catholics in welcoming new immigrants and backed the commitment of bishops in the United States to immigration reform.

Could McCain have the winning strategy to win over Latino voters? (Fox News Latino): Four years after his failed presidential bid, the Arizona senator believes it’s time to shift the blame for years of federal failure to implement immigration reform to Democrats in Congress, and specifically President Obama.

Law Could Put Poultry Workers at Increased Risk (Fox News Latino): Documented and undocumented Latinos make up 34 percent of the employees, a higher percentage than in the overall workforce. Women and men are nearly equally employed in poultry plants, with women primarily involved in cutting and trimming carcasses.

Latino and Community Leaders Call on NBC’s Brian Williams to Join in Efforts Demanding GWU Revoke Carlos Slim’s Honorary Degree This Sunday (The Wall Street Journal): Amidst growing daily protests at George Washington University, coalition leaders call on NBC’s Brian Williams to condemn Carlos Slim’s predatory monopolistic practices and join the Latino and community activists who are demanding that George Washington University sever ties and not honor such a man who amassed his fortune on the backs of the Mexican poor.

This is the first time the National Latino Congreso will take place outside of the Southwest region and this year’s focus iLatino leaders, activists and policy makers will come together at this year’s National Latino Congreso in Chicago to discuss the policy and political agenda of Latino communities in the United States.

I’m interested in Carlos Fuentes’ political side.

There is a fine line, somewhere, that signals the place where you’ve gone too far. I don’t want to cross that line talking about Carlos Fuentes.  The fact that he passed away this week was a great loss for the world of literature and letters in general – even more so for the Latin American world of letters and politics. I’ll say this: he was a great influence in my life, although I never met him, aside from a brief lecture at a local university. But I do know several people who knew him and they speak of him glowingly.

But, like I said, I’m interested in his political side.  Specifically I’m interested in what he had to say about Mexican migration to the U.S. It’s a topic that has good people looking suspiciously at each other, gnarling when they should be building a common good. The good thing is that he left us plenty of fodder t0 discuss. And for that I’ll lean on a recent post written by Leslie Bernstein Rojas, curator at SCPR’s Multi-American blog. She writes:

What he said then resonates now, as migration from Mexico has dwindled in recent years, while some states have passed strict anti-illegal immigration laws that have left farmers in short supply of immigrant workers.

“In Mexico, we have a duty as well, and it is to provide labor to these workers. I wish they had never left Mexico. In the future, I want them to stay in Mexico. Mexico is a deeply divided country — 50 percent of the population of 100 million is poor. There should be jobs waiting for them. There are not. They have to come to the United States. We should provide jobs for 50 million Mexicans and help us step out of poverty. We’re still mired in poverty in Mexico. So I wish we had the offer of these jobs.

If we had a Franklin Roosevelt, he would find a way to give jobs to the 50 million, who would not migrate. But then that would be your problem: Where are your workers coming from?”

It’s a very healthy attitude, to look at the immigration issue as more than an argument about a line on a map and who has permission to cross it. Fuentes framed immigration around the human problems of sustenance, work, corruption, folly and need. Always leading to more: questions, discussions, and considerations.

You can read Bernstein’s complete post HERE.

[Photo by MDCarchives]

At church this Sunday my wife remarked at the number of children that there were at the service. I guess it’s one of those things that you don’t notice until someone points it out. There were many, many kids there. At communion time is when I really noticed. The families came one at a time; the mother lead the way, followed by a small pack of kids in a well behaved line, the dad shepherding the end. Family after family, kids either holding their hands in prayerful expectation or crossed over their chests, the tell-tale sign of an uninitiated to-be communicant.

I leaned over to my wife: “There’s a whole bunch of them.” And there were, all of them Latino. After church our conversation turned to the link between so many kids and education; specifically the fact that as minority children (Latino kids in our part of the world) fill the public school classrooms the real amount of public funding for schools has diminished. In fact there’s an almost proportional decline: as more Latinos enter the public school system, less money goes toward education.

This morning the headlines reiterated the demographic fact:  Whites Account for Under Half of Births in U.S.

All of the country’s major dailies carried the story: the U.S. Census has made it official.

This from The New York Times:

Non-Hispanic whites accounted for 49.6 percent of all births in the 12-month period that ended last July, according to Census Bureau data made public on Thursday, while minorities — including Hispanics, blacks, Asians and those of mixed race — reached 50.4 percent, representing a majority for the first time in the country’s history.

Interestingly, both The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post lead their stories with the same eight words, “For the first time in U.S. history…” It’s that momentous. Call it a tipping point, a watershed moment, a wake-up call. What you can’t call it is coming, or eventual. And the shift signals a bigger shift that’s yet to come.

While over all, whites will remain a majority for some time, the fact that a younger generation is being born in which minorities are the majority has broad implications for the country’s economy, its political life and its identity.

The shrill argument we’ve been having over immigration and the obtuse opposition to immigration reform from the right side of the political divide starts to find a place in this context – especially in the last two words of the quoted sentence: it’s identity. Immigration is just the field where a much larger game is being played. I saw it in church on Sunday and read it this morning in the headlines.

It would be good to have an honest conversation, one that calls things as they are instead of circumventing ideas and definitions. The immigration debate isn’t about the border or about jobs or the letter of the law. It’s about the American identity and how it’s changing; it’s about what it means to be American, what it looks like, sounds like and feels like.

Let’s have that conversation. It’ll be good for America. And while we’re at it, let’s put education first in a real sense an not just in a political rhetoric sense.  Minority kids need an education just as much as non-minority kids did when they were the ones filling the classrooms. Kids are kids, can we start the conversation there?

[Photo by Eastop]