La Queen Sucia, actually author Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, has been providing some valuable observations on the immigration issue. Indeed, a post earlier this week was published in today’s Washington Post.
Here’s her original post,
And a few excerpts from the Post version:
1 The words “immigrant” and “Hispanic” are not synonymous. The majority of Hispanics in the United States are not immigrants. According to 2004 census data, 60 percent of the more than 40 million Hispanics in this country were born here. Of the 40 percent who were born elsewhere, the majority are legal immigrants, not illegal.
2 Many immigrants are not Latino. There could be more than 100,000 Nigerians living in and around Houston. There are thousands of illegal Irish immigrants in and around Boston. China, India, South Korea and Canada are among the leading countries sending people here. Many illegal immigrants are college students and workers who choose to overstay their visas.
…4 Enough about the flags, already. They’re symbols of cultural pride, not national allegiance. Think Irish flags on St. Patrick’s Day, or Confederate flags over South Carolina. When newspapers ignorantly frame this debate in ethnic terms, people ignorantly respond with misplaced ethnic pride.