Posted on 09/18/2003 9:38:43 AM PDT by bedolido
IMMIGRANT RESEARCH
Poor language skills and pride in national origin are two reasons why nearly eight million foreign residents eligible for U.S. citizenship have not applied, according to a study released Wednesday.
Mexicans and Canadians are among the nationalities least likely to apply for citizenship, the report by the Washington-based Urban Institute found. Historically, there have been millions of immigrants with green cards who have not sought citizenship for various reasons, but this is the first time a study has focused on the issue.
''Despite rising naturalization rates, the pool of legal immigrants eligible to naturalize remains strikingly large,'' the study said.
OFFICE CREATED
To encourage more applications, the Bush administration this week announced the creation of the Office of Citizenship.
Eduardo Aguirre, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said in a recent interview with The Herald that his goal is to eventually naturalize one million new citizens per year. In 2002, about 573,000 foreigners became citizens.
''We share many of the same concerns in the Urban Institute brief,'' said Dan Kane, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Typically, surges in naturalization applications follow changes in federal immigration law. A record 1.4 million applications were submitted in 1997, a year after Congress tightened immigration laws. Applications soared again after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks when more restrictions were introduced.
OTHER REASONS
Other reasons that dissuade foreigners from seeking citizenship are fear of rejection and for some Canadians and Mexicans proximity to their homeland.
Of the 7.9 million eligible foreign residents, 2.3 million are from Mexico, according to the report. The report did not include a breakdown for Canadians.
The rate of Mexicans seeking citizenship has climbed from 19 percent in 1995 to 34 percent in 2001, the report said.
The number of Canadians seeking citizenship has remained at about 50 percent in recent years.
''Canadians are more likely than Mexicans to naturalize, but less likely than others to naturalize,'' said Jeffrey S. Passel, demographer and principal research associate at the Urban Institute. By comparison, the percentage of Asian nationals seeking citizenship is about 67 percent.
Foreign nationals seeking asylum or fleeing from dictatorship were among the most likely to want to become American, Passel said. Seventy three percent of Cubans seek citizenship, he said.
Who are God's children? Also, how do we know what is "right"?
Don't like it when I draw analogies? You're saying we should trust in God for everything. I'm saying I doubt you do that in your personal life. What do you propose? How should one leade their life? How do we deal with problems? Do we "trust in God" or do we actually take action? That's a question you seem to not want to answer.
God is the provider of all things on this planet. He created them all. He is the Creator of all things. YOu didn't create food or any other material thing. You don't make it rain.
God didn't put the food on my plate, or the computer on my desk. He may have started the whole process and put the universe here billions of years ago, but He counts on us to take care of ourselves in this world. The Holy Spirit does not harvest grain or solder microchips.
The President doesn't get to determine the country's morality. He does, however, bear the heavy responsibility of deciding how best to protect this country and its people. Has Bush gotten everything right? Of course not. Has we worked his tail off to protect us? Yes, he has. Our President believes in God, that's clear for anyone to see. However, he also has to live in the real world and make decision that I'm incredibly glad aren't mine to decide.
We are all God's children. He loves us all equally.
We're human beings, with free will and minds of our own. We make moral judgments and decide what is right. At the end of the day, that's all there is to it. God can't make that decision for us- that's why He gave us free will.
"That's right Lisa, and the one's that haven't risen are still voting Democrat." - Bart Simpson
The bible disagrees with you. The Bible says that ONLY those who are in Christ Jesus are the children of God. The rest are "chldren of wrath". Who is right? You, or the bible?
The proof of this assertion lies where? Japan? The Roman Empire?
Or is the opposite true, after a nation has established itself as a viable entity, immigration causes collapse? Japan, e.g.. or cf The Roman Empire, the Dutch empire, the British Empire, etc.
This doesn't work logically or practially and you can't defend it. First of all, if I believe it is "right" to kick you in the knee, I can't be wrong in your system becuase I believe I'm right, therefore, I'm right. No man can be more right than another man as we are all human beings, so each man must be right NO MATTER WHAT he believes to be right and wrong. Using what is legal as a guide doesn't help - men make the laws and it was legal in Nazi Germany to murder jews.
So you you have a big problem, don't you? No one can be wrong in your system because "we" decide what is right. Each one of us. Absurd isn't it? Well, your morality is absurd and illogical and impractical and doesn't work in the real world.
Murder is ALWAYS WRONG. Stealing is ALWAYS WRONG. Why? Because God says so. Not because any man says so. So much for moral relativism - it's a joke.
It's quite easy and simple if you break it down to the basics. There are only TWO possible sources for morality. either morals are absolute and flow from God Himself, or man makes them up as he goes along. There isn't any other possible source for morals.
You either recognize that there is a right and wrong OUTSIDE of the human belief system, or you believe that man dictates what is right and wrong. If you believe the latter, then you are in a pitiful state because no one can say anyone else is wrong - all men are equal moral judges. Or, you can say that MIGHT MAKES RIGHT. The man with the power decides what is right by FORCING HIS MORALS down everyone else's throat by force! Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Castro.
Which camp are you in? What is the source of morals again? Man or God?
No, you are confusing free will and moral absolutism. WE have a free will to either do what is right according to GOD, or not. That is what sin is silly - it's when you stray from God's moral absolutes. Read the 10 commandments - those are moral absolutes - murder, stealing, lying, adultery are wrong whether you believe they are wrong or not. God is the standard, not man. You have the free will to disobey the standard, but there is a standard, and it's not man. Ever broken the 10 commandments? I'll answer for you - yes you have. YOu have violated God's moral absolutes through the use of your free will, and unless you put your faith in Christ (and receive HIS righteousness - you have none) who paid the penalty for your violations of God's moral absolutes, you will be judged for all such violations - it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Have you ever read the bible? The bible says that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (romans 3:23) and that "the wages of sin is death" (Ro. 6:23). It also says that God's Son came to earth in bodily form to die for the sins of all mankind, and whosoever shall put his faith in Jesus Christ will be saved (Jn 3:16, Ro. 13:10). You see God is Holy and absolutely perfectly just in every way (Ex. 34:7) and he MUST punish the lawbreaker (you and me). If there was any other way for you to get to heaven, Jesus Christ would not have died on that cross 2000 years ago. By putting your faith in Jesus (trusting in Him instead of yourself to get to heaven), His righteousness (sinless perfection) will be imputed to your account and you will get to heaven based on what Jesus has done, not anything you have done. If judged by your deeds, hell is your destination (mine too). Paul the apostle said: "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Heaven is a free gift - can't be earned - it is gained thru only one thing: Trust in Jesus Christ. All others will be judged on their sins and God does not grade on a curve. It's all in the bible. Read it.
You're putting words in my mouth. I acknowledge that our morality comes from Judeo-Christian teachings. Is this morality straight from God's mouth? I don't know. That's for each individual to decide. However, even if morality comes directly from God, it still has to be filtered through human beings. Sure, big concepts like MURDER IS WRONG, are pretty-clear cut. The gray areas are where we have to decide, as human beings, what's right and what's wrong. God doesn't speak to us on every single moral issue. We have to make the difficult decisions on our own. So, yes, we have to make decisions as to what's right and what's wrong- that's one of the burdens of being human.
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