October 2006
By Alan W. Dowd
300 Million and Counting
Some time this month, in some corner of the United States, the 300-millionth American will be born, according to US Census Bureau estimates.
As a New York Times analysis details, the US population grows by one person every 14 seconds—or just under one percent annually. At that rate, the US adds the population of Chicago every year. The numbers break down this way:
-a baby is born every eight seconds in the United States;
- a person dies every 12 seconds; and
- a new immigrant arrives every 31 seconds
Today, the US ranks behind only the People’s Republic of China and India in population size. The Census Bureau expects the US to hit the 400-million mark by 2046. The US hit the 200-million mark in 1967.
Mixed Signals?
During an emergency meeting of the Arab League at the outset of the Israel-Hezbollah-Hamas war, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal called Hezbollah’s actions—not Israel’s—“unexpected, inappropriate and irresponsible.” He added, “these acts will pull the whole region back to years ago, and we cannot simply accept them.” Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain reportedly concurred.
Even so, others at the conference introduced a resolution supporting Lebanon’s and Palestine’s “right to resist occupation by all legitimate means.” The only problem with such a stance is that Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000 and from Palestine’s Gaza strip in 2005.
Double Standards
Michael Waller of the Center for Security Policy reports that Mexico has a double standard when it comes to immigration. “By making increasing demands that the US not enforce its immigration laws and, indeed, that it liberalize them,” Waller observes, “Mexico is throwing stones within its own glass house.” According to Waller, the Mexican constitution:
-Bans immigrants and foreign visitors from public political discourse;
-Denies immigrants and foreigners certain basic property rights;
-Denies immigrants equal employment rights;
-Bars immigrants and naturalized citizens from most public-service positions and from becoming members of the clergy;
-Authorizes private citizens to make citizens arrests of lawbreakers (i.e., illegal immigrants) and to turn them over to the authorities; and
-Allows the government to expel immigrants from Mexico for any reason and without due process.
In addition, Waller reports that Mexican law prohibits foreigners from owning land within 100 km of the Mexican border and within 50 km of the Mexican coastline; limits military service solely to those who are “Mexican by birth;” and allows the government to revoke naturalized citizenship if a person lives in his country of origin more than five years. Foreigners are admitted only after proving they have “the necessary funds for their sustenance” and only if their presence does not disturb “the equilibrium of the national demographics.”
Foreigners found with fake papers can be fined or jailed, and any Mexican who helps illegal aliens is considered in violation of the law. The AP has found that Mexico grants citizenship to just 3,000 people annually, compared with the US rate of almost 500,000 each year. Plus, Mexico actually deports more illegal aliens than the US, according to Waller. It’s no wonder why he calls Mexico’s immigration policies “the toughest on the continent.”
According to Waller, “If the United States adopted such statues, Mexico no doubt would denounce it as a manifestation of American racism and bigotry.”
To read more, visit http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/.
Next Up?
Just weeks before Iran started its proxy war in and around Israel, The American Enterprise magazine published a series of polling data revealing that Americans have deep concerns about the terrorists who rule in Tehran:
-86 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of Iran.
-A plurality of Americans (27 percent) views Iran as the biggest danger to the US.
-65 percent of Americans view Iran’s nuclear program as a major threat.
-58 percent believe “Iran is a threat to the US that can be contained with diplomacy;” yet 62 percent want “to keep military action as an option.”
-59 percent are not confident in the UN’s ability to handle the challenge posed by Iran.
To read more, visit http://www.aei.org/.
As a contributing editor to The American Legion, Dowd writes columns and news briefs on national security, foreign affairs and U.S. politics each month for the magazine's "Rapid Fire" section.