Seemingly lost in the deluge of impeachment news coverage recently was the less heralded release of some new data from the United States Census’ American Community Survey (ACS).
“Trump” It is data that we should all take notice of as it marks the Trumpian impact on the U.S. in only three years.
The New York Times publication took note of the significance of the ACS data with a headline on Sept. 26, 2109 that read: “Immigrant Population Growth in the U.S. Slows to a Trickle”. The numbers are shocking in scope, since it proves that in just three years U.S.
President Donald Trump and his immigration hardliners have managed to deliver a victory for Republicans on something they have been consistently worried about: Lowering immigration numbers to ensure the browning of America does not threaten their power base and keeps the Democratic voter base from growing.
Little wonder that so many in the Grand ‘Ol Party are ready to hold their noses and support Trump, no matter how many rules or laws he breaks. Just as long as he makes America white again, it’s alright, constitution and justice be damned!
Quoting the Times’ article by Sabrina Tavernise: “The net increase of immigrants in the American population dropped to about 200,000 people in 2018, a decline of more than 70 percent from the year before, according to William Frey, chief demographer at the Brookings Institution, who conducted the analysis”.
Let’s repeat:A decline of more than 70 percent from the year before. That’s one year after Trump took office!
STARTLING
Here are some other startling numbers as analyzed by Frey and reported by the Times.
1: “Immigrants as a share of the country’s population remained flat at 13.7 percent, the highest share since 1910”.
2: “The largest declines in levels of immigrants were among people from Latin America and Asia”.
3: “The last time the pace slowed so much was during the financial crisis in 2008, when the flow actually declined”.
4: “Two states — New York and Illinois — had measurable declines in their foreign-born populations”.
5: “Of the 14 states with the lowest concentrations of foreign-born people, 12 voted” for Trump.
David Bier, an immigration expert at the Cato Institute, told the Times that“this is something that really hasn’t happened since the Great Recession.”
Think about that for a moment – since the Great Depression. That’s between 1929 and 1939, a time when anti-Mexican sentiments were growing and mass removal was being pushed.
‘STREET SWEEPS’
More than 1.2 million Mexican immigrants were forced to leave the U.S. during the Great Depression. Sometimes, local governments and federal officials would collaborate in “street sweeps” and raids to round up Mexican immigrants who may or may not have been present in the country with proper documentation. Just like ICE raids do today.
In 1931, then U.S. Secretary of Labor William A. Doak was quoted as saying: “My conviction is that by strict limitation and a wise selection of immigration, we can make America stronger in every way, hastening the day when our population shall be more homogenous.”
On Jan. 6,1931, Doak requested that the U.S. Congress appropriate funds for the deportation of “illegal aliens” from the U.S. The Great Depression only renewed congressional debate about immigration.
Today, 90 years later, it looks like history is sadly repeating itself and the numbers now prove it.
