We no longer attract the winners from around the world; now they stay home and run their countries (as our competitors) while exporting their losers here. Many Americans don’t realize that much of our Hispanic immigration is composed of illiterate braceros (illiterate in SPANISH); these are no longer the Cuban doctors and businessmen we attracted 50 years ago.
You’re so right at one time we got the families of an Andy Garcia now we get the Tony Montanas of the world.
What else changed 50 years ago?
Speaking of the 1965 Immigation Act Senate immigration subcommittee chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA.) reassured his colleagues and the nation with the following:
"First, our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually. Under the proposed bill, the present level of immigration remains substantially the same ... Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset ... Contrary to the charges in some quarters, [the bill] will not inundate America with immigrants from any one country or area, or the most populated and deprived nations of Africa and Asia ... In the final analysis, the ethnic pattern of immigration under the proposed measure is not expected to change as sharply as the critics seem to think."
Other countries have very high standards regarding who gets let in. Take New Zealand for instance....http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/alreadyinnz/residents/nextsteps/prvrequirements.htm
The once and future US manned space program did much to attract winners to the US. When that died, like Project Orion, due to a lack of political will, the winners stayed home or went elsewhere.
Some countries send us their criminals, while current and past Admins like to import musselmen. Any value, any cultuire, except ours is acceptable.