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Immigration Effects on California
Immigration News ^

Posted on 04/26/2005 6:18:56 PM PDT by Founding Father

Immigration Effects on California

· Labor market unable to absorb huge flow. A recently released report by the prestigious Rand Think Tank found that the California job market cannot continue to absorb the huge number of low-skill, under-educated immigrants. The report found that the number of low-skill jobs, 2. 5 million, is almost unchanged from 1970 and that the growing number of immigrants are putting increased demands on public services, especially schools.

· Agricultural Labor. According to a UC publication (1998) 91. 5% of the farm and field labor in California is comprised of Hispanics. Most of the Hispanic workers are from Mexican origin and about 42% without residential status.

· New market opportunities and shifts. The wide variety of ethnicities, especially the growth of the Hispanic population, in the state also permits the development of new cropping systems that provide for their different culinary interests, keeping a captive market.

· Agricultural abundance (valued at $13 billion annually) threatened. A new study by the American Farmland Trust found that with California's population projected to nearly double by 2040 and the population of the state's agricultural heartland, the Central Valley projected to triple to 12 million, over 1 million acres – one in every seven – will be urbanized. Cornell University expert on agricultural ecology David Pimentel, finds that population growth is a major contributor to the 122,000 acres (3%) of cropland lost from production each year. If this trend continues, in less than 20 years about one-half of California's farmland will no longer be available for production.

· Higher than average immigrant fertility a growing contributor to population growth. While births to U. S. born women have remained close to the 1970 level of 324,375 for more than a decade, rising to just 334,008 in 1992, the total number of annual births in California has jumped from 362,652 to 600,838 – an increase largely attributable to immigrant women whose share of total births has quadrupled from 11% in 1970 to 44% in 1992.

· Human growth is squeezing out other life forms (negative environmental impact). In California one of every three vertebrate species and one in ten native plant species are in serious danger of extinction. Habitat the size of San Francisco is converted from natural vegetation or agricultural land to residential or commercial use every six months. 72% of California's native freshwater fish are listed as threatened or endangered, and are likely candidates for listing, or are already extinct. A study of storm water run-off flowing into Santa Monica Bay found that over 65,000 pounds of lead, 18,000 pounds of copper and a staggering 2,110,000 pounds of oil and grease are washed into the bay each year.

The state lists 34 species of animals and 46 species of plants as having been extirpated since the 1880s and the combined state and federal lists of rare, threatened or endangered plant and animal species in the state numbers 330, although state and federal officials admit that there are far more candidate species identified.

In the 1780’s with a population numbering in the hundreds of thousands, California had an estimated 5 million acres of wetlands. Now, after justtwo centuries of explosive population growth, there are over 32 million people and only about 454,000 acres of wetlands – a 90% loss.

Although California's "ecological footprint" spans the globe, key local resources such as water are insufficient for continued growth. Because of trade and pollution, the resources and environmental impacts of California's high-consumption lifestyles do not come from (or remain) strictly within the state's borders, i. e. the land area necessary to support California's population and absorb its wastes is much greater than the area of the state (its ecological footprint).

The average decline in the state's water table is an astounding 0. 5 to 3. 5 feet per year. Projected shortfalls of water needed by 2020 are estimated at 4. 2 million acre-feet in good rainfall years and nearly twice that in drought years. The state's top water officials admit that even if all practical conservation measures are carried out, rising demand in the coming decades will exceed supply by the amount of water needed to irrigate a million acres of crops or sustain a city of 800,000 people.

· California, immigrant welfare magnet. By 1990, California's welfare benefit package was second only to Alaska in its generosity. Between 1980 and 1990 the fraction of new immigrants not on welfare who chose to live in California actually dropped. However, the fraction of new immigrants on welfare who chose to reside in California sharply increased from 36. 9% to 45. 4 %.

· Educational system overwhelmed. The CA Department of Finance projects the student population to balloon from just over 5 million in 1992-93 to nearly 7 million in a decade, with two-thirds of the growth coming from immigration. The state would have to build a classroom every hour, and a 650-student school every day just to meet the increased enrollments.

California also ranks first in the number of students who speak little or no English, 1. 4 million or one of every four students. Nine of the top 15 school districts with the highest number of limited English proficiency students are in California: Santa Ana (69%), Glendale (52%), Los Angeles (46%), Garden Grove (43%), Fresno (32%), San Francisco (29%), San Diego (26%), Montebello (26%). More than two-thirds of students entering Cal State campuses in the Los Angeles area lack high school level math and English skills. At some high schools not a single graduate going on to Cal State schools passed the basic skill tests.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: agriculture; aliens; california; education; environment; healthcare; immigraation; water; welfare
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To: judgeandjury
So, according to this SPLC rep, the 47% of all Latino voters who voted in favor of Arizona's Prop 200 are racist.

Yes! And so is Terry Anderson! Hah!

81 posted on 04/27/2005 12:48:29 PM PDT by La Enchiladita (Extra omnea!)
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To: Founding Father

2,110,000 pounds of oil and grease are washed into the bay each year.


do I need to say it?


82 posted on 04/27/2005 1:18:12 PM PDT by THEUPMAN (#### comment deleted by moderator)
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To: NewRomeTacitus

Wow, many caluminations today.


83 posted on 04/27/2005 3:05:29 PM PDT by 4.1O dana super trac pak (Stop the open borders death cult)
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To: LNewman

I am very disappointed in Asa, I really thought he had more substance. Course just when I think that about a politician I have to remind myself that he (or she) is a politician! They are a different breed from the rest of us. If I prevaricated and lied to my customers I would be out of business.


84 posted on 04/27/2005 3:57:17 PM PDT by antceecee (God Bless Pope Benedict XVI)
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To: 4.1O dana super trac pak
ca·lum·ni·ate:

To make maliciously or knowingly false statements about. See Synonyms at malign.

85 posted on 04/27/2005 3:57:42 PM PDT by NewRomeTacitus
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To: NewRomeTacitus

Has border wedgie made The Oxford Dictionary yet?(-:


86 posted on 04/27/2005 4:26:10 PM PDT by 4.1O dana super trac pak (Stop the open borders death cult)
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To: Founding Father
[ I guess the answer is for either the feds to cede this authority back to the states, or have states pass their own laws about illegal immigration, but that really puts the burden back on the states. I don't see how you fight a war on terrorism if one state lets them in while another doesn't. ]

The states thet DOn't make hiring illegals illegal.. will soon see the error of their ways.. Illegal aliens are already illegal federally, so states makeing hiring the illegals, illegal too are merely complying with the law.. Another thing, a state can reject citizens the federals make citizens, its a defacto violation of the 10th amendment.., if not, reject them anyways.. Some states need to get in the feds face about a lot of things.. The ACLU has proved you can put monkey wrenches in federal law.. I say its time to USE that lawyerly sophistry.. and tie up the federal gov't WITH the LAW.. based on the Constitution.. The war really is between the Feds and the States.. Hamstring the federal courts by, say, makeing a state law that socialism in that state is against the law.. starting with TEXAS.. and challenge the federal government to PROVE socialism in any way is beneficial.. Should be easy to PROVE that it is NOT..

87 posted on 04/27/2005 6:21:47 PM PDT by hosepipe (This Propaganda has been edited to include not a small amount of Hyperbole..)
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To: Dont_Tread_On_Me_888

""To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." President 'Teddy' Roosevelt.

88 posted on 04/27/2005 6:26:32 PM PDT by An American Patriot ("GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME"-- the opportunity to get the Hell out of here! Bye Bye VT- Hello, VA.)
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To: hosepipe
There should be a war between the feds and states, but the feds are smart, they pass laws with $$$$ strings attached and with the states becoming more socialist by the day, that money is just to addictive, so there's never going to be a state stand up to the feds.
89 posted on 04/27/2005 6:34:23 PM PDT by Founding Father (A proud "vigilante." My money goes to support Minutemen, not Republicans.)
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To: JarheadFromFlorida
"immediately after the devestation, grieving and the cleanup, impeachment proceedings will almost certainly be called for against President Bush.

Amen, Brother.

Sadly, I believe that its no longer a matter of "if," but "when."

I voted for him (VERY reluctantly and ONLY because I did not want to see a "traitor" as our Commander in Chief) but I would also cast my vote for impeachment.

Regarding this issue Rove (or whoever is feeding him this bogus advice) is wrong!!!

90 posted on 04/27/2005 6:45:06 PM PDT by An American Patriot ("GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME"-- the opportunity to get the Hell out of here! Bye Bye VT- Hello, VA.)
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