Editorial: Minority majority coming
Sunday, March 12, 2006 | 7:22 a.m.
A new report shows America's face is changing. An analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data released earlier this week shows the nation's white population remained stable - and shrank in some metropolitan areas - from 2000 to 2004, while the Hispanic and Asian populations grew.
And these minority populations are expanding into communities and regions long dominated by non-Hispanic whites, according to a Newhouse News Service report on the findings released Tuesday by the Brookings Institution in Washington. William Frey, a demographer and the study's author, told Newhouse News Service that, "Many parts of America are getting a small taste of diversity for the first time, and in many places the new presence of minorities is being met with some backlash and culture clashes."
The backlash can come from longtime residents who suspect, unfairly, that these newcomers could be in the United States illegally. A recent report by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center estimates that about 12 million undocumented immigrants live in this country. And they account for about 5 percent of the U.S. workforce.
Echoes of the culture clashes can be heard in Congress, where House and Senate members continue haggling over immigration and border security bills. President Bush proposed a program last year that would have given temporary worker status to illegal immigrants who already are here. The catch was that workers had to return home after six years and stay there for at least one year before returning to the United States.
Undocumented workers who had started families here would have had to leave them. The plan not only lacked compassion, but it also wasn't realistic. It is hard to imagine anyone would sign up to leave his or her family behind.
The House rejected Bush's plan and has instead passed a border security bill that calls for, among other things, erecting 700 miles of fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Senate is in the throes of hammering out a bill that addresses both immigration plans and border security. We support a bill proposed by Sens. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz., that allows undocumented workers to remain in the United States if they apply for residency and make good-faith efforts to learn English.
As long as America holds its reputation as the land of opportunity - the same promise that brought European immigrants here by the shipload 300 years ago - the nation's face will continue to change. It is a shift Americans should embrace. Diversity and tolerance are our birthrights.
archive
- Most Read
- Discussed
- Most E-mailed
- Vdara hotel marks opening of CityCenter
- Greenspun reorganizes local media operation, cuts staff
- Harry Reid on mortgages: ‘Bank of America must do more’
- UNLV’s poise to be tested in first road game of season
- Employee files lawsuit against Amazon.com, seeks class-action status
- A sad day at the Sun, but a day for hope
- Bail set at $1 million in fatal Thanksgiving Day shooting
- Firefighter jailed for kicking teen boy after basketball game
- Report: Nevada among friendliest states for small businesses
- Sands plants flag in Singapore
Blogs
The Kats Report
Noteworthy: More from the Trop, Cher changes, Newton on CBS Sunday Morning
TUF Heavyweights
Marathon season finale
Politics: Ralston's Flash
Brian Sandoval is still against taxes, for limiting government and empowering people (6 Comments)
Elsewhere
TCU extends Gary Patterson through 2016
The Kats Report
Dissimilar landmarks -- Binion's and CityCenter -- reflect today's Las Vegas (7 Comments)
High School Sports Scene
Prep Football: State Championship (4 Comments)
Elsewhere
UFC debut in Boston likely July or August (1 Comment)
Calendar »
- 3 Thu
- 4 Fri
- 5 Sat
- 6 Sun
- 7 Mon
-
The Cranberries at The Pearl
The Pearl at the Palms | 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
-
Grand opening of Crystals at CityCenter
CityCenter-Crystals | 5 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Sans Age spa night at The Stirling Club featuring Danne' King
Stirling Club | 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
-
Bill Engvall at the Treasure Island Theatre
Treasure Island Theatre
-
Rodney Carrington at the MGM Hollywood Theater
MGM Grand Hotel and Casino
-
ILORI sunglass boutique grand opening
Ilori Sunglass Boutique | 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Technorati






