Americans: Less Immigrants Please

The National Gallup Poll results on Minority Rights and Relations were released just days ago, and they reveal that more Americans continue to favor decreased immigration, with a substantial percentage still saying that immigration levels need to remain the same. The statistics are pretty vast, but the net result continues to show a trend of more negative attitudes toward immigration than existed prior to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The Gallup Poll revealed that Hispanics generally view immigration more positively than the general public, while black Americans view it more negatively. The older and more ideologically conservative an American is, the more likely he/she is to view immigration as something negative, whereas more liberal and younger Americans view it as something beneficial... no surprises there. Some of the more notable facts revealed by the poll:

• 58% of Americans polled say that "Immigration is a good thing," while 38% say it is a "bad thing." The percentage is slightly more positive than last year.

• Of the various ethnic groups whose opinions of immigration have declined since September 11, blacks have the most increase in negative views toward immigration in their general opinion.

• 60% of Americans say it is better for the U.S. to "encourage immigrants to blend into American culture by giving up some important aspects of their own culture," while 31% disagree and say it is better to "encourage immigrants to maintain their own culture more strongly, even if that means that they do not blend in as well."

• In my own ethnic group (Hispanic), 52% think that blending in is better now, when only 49% did in 2001. I am a ferocious advocate of "blending in" while preserving traditions, since I believe that it is the only way to truly integrate a culture as diverse as ours. It seems like most of the people in my own culture disagree with me, but I really feel strongly about that one.

• In the department of "most recent immigrants," Hispanics win. (Particularly along the Rio Grande and my backyard in Key Largo... sorry... couldn't resist... I'm allowed to say that without getting hate mail. I'm Hispanic, remember? (: It's like Eddie Murphy telling a "black joke," right? (:

Bottom line: While the trend against immigration seems to continue on a national basis, Americans in general do not seem to be inclined to "throw out the baby with the bathwater." I see the poll as indicative of an America still terrified by the prospect of foreigners "invading the shores," but the "immigrant nation" concept is still very much alive within our culture, ethnicities aside. I take the variation in Hispanics trend toward "blending in" versus "culture preservation" (although the percentage change is tiny) as indicative of something we will probably be seeing in the coming decades across all ethnic lines. The growing realization that "what makes Americans American" is a common culture and bond, and indeed a language. We saw that on September 11, and hopefully we will continue to grow together as a nation, without the trigger of catastrophe to make us realize it.

Another Missile from Tancredo

Tom Tancredo, our delightful Republican friend from Colorado, has introduced a 15-line Bill which proposes to eliminate all H-1B visas from U.S. immigration law. That stealthy "wascally wabbit" has been introduced during a time that the U.S. economy is still plundering along, underemployment is rampant in the IT industry, and the ruckus over the exporting of U.S. jobs abroad through the elicit use of the L-1 visa category has reached new heights. The Indian-American Center for Political Awareness called Tancredo's Bill an "anti-tech move disguised as an economic stimulus."

The sheer idiocy of Tancredo's move is illustrative of what the conservative Republican lobby has failed to understand regarding the interrelationship between the U.S. economy, the global economy, and the IT industry. Let me try to spell it out, once again, for the pack of dummies in Washington who might even be contemplating this moronic move by Tancredo:

1. H-1B usage is down dramatically due to the fact that the economy stinks and American IT workers are available. Again, based on the preposterous "scholarship fees" and other obstacles that you have created to avoid the legitimate use of the H-1B category by employers who need it, only employers in the most dire consequences are using the H-1B category in any significant numbers. (Once again, excepting the scumbags who are violating the law by not paying prevailing wage, who might as well be alien smugglers.) Everybody sing along with me: "Corporations do not like to pay attorneys' fees or scholarship fees or government filing fees when they can simply hire an American and not keep tons of compliance files."

2. When a category is being underused due to the government's repeated squashing of that category, the elimination of that visa category is an unnecessary step which only cripples those few companies still receiving utility from that visa category.

3. Unless the Republicans plan to create a law prohibiting U.S. companies from doing business abroad, U.S. companies will continue to compete in a global marketplace, as will all free international companies doing business on this planet. By eliminating the H-1B categories, the U.S. government is preventing U.S. businesses from importing the specifically needed technical and professional positions necessary to complement U.S. workforces and permit teams and divisions to remain in the U.S. Without these key professionals, those divisions cannot operate in the United States.

4. Ergo, by taking away the H-1B category in its minimal usage situation as it's occurring now, Tancredo and his cronies will be forcing corporations to close their remaining, weakened IT divisions, and shift their entire operations to India, The Philippines, and other nations where the governments do not create a bunch of ridiculous government obstacles to the way that their IT companies can do business within that nation.

Clear as a bell, Tom? Goodness.

On Cuban Quinces

I recently read an article in The Miami Herald by Vanessa Bauza, who writes the Cuba reports. She resides in Cuba and does a great job of relaying what is going on in the island. I, myself, have been trying to get my license from the U.S. government so that I can report there as a journalist, but I appear to be in a predicament. I have irritated both the State Department and the Cuban authorities so much with my editorials that nobody wants to let me go. (: Seriously, my sarcasm directed at both Washington's and Havana's leaders has led to a complete absence of cooperation, and I am kind of stuck right now trying to convince the State Department that I really am a reporter, but they refuse to download anything from our website, so it looks like I am going to have to print out a couple of thousand pages of articles I've written and send them to 'em in a UPS truck. Go figure.

Anyway, Vanessa recently wrote an article about the quinces, the fifteenth birthday celebration which is traditional for Cuban girls, a major production which looks more like a wedding to the naked American eye than it does like a kid's birthday party - long flowing dresses, high heels, parasols, the whole enchilada... Well, pastelito.

Seems that things have gotten a little bit, well, urban in Havana. To wit:

"Keeping with the recent fad she [the girl celebrating her "fifteenth"] wants what are called 'artistic' photos: suggestive shots in which girls clad in bikinis and thongs pose with strategically placed feather boas, flowers, fans, or sombreros that cover them but leave little to the imagination... 'The more naked the better,' Dania says as a family friend rearranges the bobby pins in her dark hair..."

My aunts, God rest their souls, would pitch a fit.

Canada-U.S. Relations Healing

I can't remember whether it was Aubrey or Bernard who sent me this, but I recently got an e-mail from another guy - presumably not a Canadian - who told me I was spending too much time covering Canadian issues. I thought about that, and I realized that we have extremely few Canadian clients, and it's my friendship with a handful of Canadian folks that has led me to cover this stuff so much. I pondered further, and I realized this: with such an incredibly proximate relationship with that nation, it really bugs me that we don't understand that both Canada and Mexico merit special treatment diplomatically and in relation to immigration policy. So bear with me, but I'll try to trim it down a little bit more.

The Globe and Mail prepared an article quoting U.S. Ambassador Paul Celucci as saying that things are getting better and "pretty much back to normal."

Even though that's great to hear, I've also been peppered with articles from my buds regarding the super-marijuana and other issues that lead me to think that as long as we're neighbors, the controversy will continue. One thing is clear: the interdependency will continue, and Washington will never get its act together on Canadian policy until they start really paying attention to the fact that an ordinary bilateral relationship with an extraordinary partner like Canada will never suffice.

The Guru Soundrtrack

Where the heck is it?? The last time I reached out to our Indian readers for chutney recipes, I got knocked flat on my butt, and I still haven't been able to make 90 percent of them, so I'm almost afraid to ask. Does anybody know who the lead singer is for the title song on the soundtrack of the movie "The Guru?" I can look it up on the web and find the guy's name, but I know that you guys are going to tell me all kinds of amazing stuff that I will not find on the internet, and that's really what I want this time. I have to tell you, we are absolutely in love with that song. It is the most amazing, captivating, rhythmically focused tune I've heard in probably years. Send whatever you've got to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and title the subject line as "The Guru's Title Song." I will try to answer everybody, but forgive me if I don't because if you guys do to me what you did to me with the chutney recipes, I might not be able to.

Yet Another Musical Point

This is also to our Indian readers, although you guys will probably wince if you check this out. My friend, Mayda, turned me on to this really cool performer named Krishna Das. Apparently, he is some guy from Long Island who wound up converting to Hinduism and studying with some really amazing people in India. He makes these albums that combine traditional chants with very cool tabla and other sounds, and they're the most hypnotic and relaxing things. I enjoy the CDs, but all I can hear is this guy from Long Island singing Vedic stuff. Quite honestly, even though I enjoy it, I can't quite tell if it's cool or weird. Do the same thing with the comments if you guys have heard of him or check him out online or whatever. I'd love to hear the thoughts on this subject, as I'm going through some real musical thought process right now for my next CD, and I'm contemplating all kinds of sounds..."The Guru" soundtrack got me thinking, and those tabla sounds do not let me sleep at night. I am completely in love with them.