This article from Strategy Page has some interesting facts about foreigners
serving in the US (and other country's) militaries. Here's an excerpt:
In the last decade the U.S. military has enlisted some 70,000 non-citizens, about five percent of all recruits. These foreigners made better soldiers than American citizens. The foreigners are tossed out during their first three months of service at half the rate of their citizen counterparts. After three years of service 72 percent of citizens were still in uniform, compared to 84 percent of non-citizen troops. The foreign troops are more patriotic and work harder than their citizen counterparts.
It's also interesting to note that more Latinos have been awarded the Medal of Honor (the highest military decoration awarded by the US government), than any other ethnic group.
Because I'm not a racist or tribalist, I don't think there is something inherent in Latino genes that makes them a better soldier than a person of German or Irish descent, for example. I think it has more to do with the work ethic of immigrants vs. the native-born American.
Many native-born Americans now believe they have a right to a job, a right to health care and a right to the American way of life, but they don't. This country was founded under mostly capitalist ideals, including that you have to earn what you desire. You have the right to pursue your happiness, but happiness and prosperity is not automatic.
Immigrants seem to really understand that concept and they are willing to do just about any job in order to exercise their right to pursue happiness. They will work jobs Americans aren't willing to work, and save what little money they earn in an attempt to move up in the world, and that's incentive to do their work very well!
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But when all is said and done rge Hispanic crime rate is higher than the white crime rate. Hispanics also have a higher illegitimacy rate which correlates to crime and unemployment.
Puerto Rico had a higher crime rate than any US state.
Looking at one institution is not the way to judge the overall impact of immigration.
Joe Marks
That's why my title is "More evidence..." If you're a regular reader or look back at previous posts, you'll see other reasons why I believe immigrants are more "American" than most Americans.
Also, I suggest you dig a little deeper and get your facts from somewhere other than the xenophobic, conservative right (such as Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, etc.) and the flat-out racist organizations run by John Tanton (CIS, FAIR, NumbersUSA). The former frequently touts what the latter spouts, and is usually inaccurate. (I used to be a conservative, Ditto-head, etc., so I've heard it all and had to do a lot of homework myself to come around to my current way of thinking about immigration.) Most of the "facts" you left in your comment are unsubstantiated myths furthered by organizations and people who are not pro-migrant and not pro-capitalism.
We have several posts here debunking immigrant myths, or a simple Google search will turn up other sources.
Thanks for reading (I hope you are able to learn some new ideas here), and thanks for your comment.
I get my statistics from the FBI among other places. These places tell me that blacks commit crime at a greater rate than whites and have higher illegitimacy rated than whites.
Is that a myth as well?
There is a June 2011 article in The New York Times about the h high murder rate in PR.
Jm
Jm
I have not researched black vs white crime, so I cannot comment on it.
I have viewed data from local police, sheriff's departments, prisons, etc., and they report that Latinos do not commit crimes at any higher a rate than Caucasians. I am inclined to believe local authorities over the federal government. Furthermore, I look at violent crimes, not crimes that are the result of immoral laws and government-created black markets, such as the drug war, human smuggling and immigration violations.
And finally, ANYONE who violates the rights of others should be prosecuted. Period. MoE has NEVER advocated letting criminals into this country, or tolerating rights violators whether they're native or foreign-born.
Why do you bring this up anyway? Frankly, I don't see the relevance to number one, the immigration debate, or number two, to this post. If immigrants were having such huge issues with unemployment, as you suggest, they wouldn't be coming here (as indicated by the contra-flow from Latino countries since 2008.)
Let's say for the sake of argument that every white person on the planet is a rights-violator except for you. Does that mean you deserve to have your rights restricted or taken away because other people of your "tribe" are criminals? Of course not. Individuals should be judged as individuals, and they do not deserve to have their rights violated because of what their brothers do.
You claimed that there is evidence that Hispanics are better Americans.
Obeying the law.and not committing violent crime is an important part of being an American. The murder rate in Puerto Rico is twice that of New York City.
Si even if you take out drug and immigration crimes you get a much higher violent crime rate.
Jm
No, I claimed that immigrants are more "American" than many Americans. Most Americans take their rights and freedom for granted. They have an increasingly bad work ethic and expect a hand out. Immigrants are here to make their lives better and work hard.
And I have yet to see any evidence of the latter part of your last comment, or why that's relevant. Once again, I'm not advocating rights for criminals.
If you want to hate immigrants because of your xenophobia, do it elsewhere. It's not welcome here.
The purpose of this blog is to advocate individual rights in immigration reform. I'm not interested in debating anti-immigrant types. I'm interested in sharing new ideas and facts with those who are open to them.
Wow. Reading some of these comments, I wonder exactly how are race/crime statistics relevant to anything at all? They say nothing, and speak to nothing.
Kelly, I agree with the work ethic part based on my experience (and nothing else). On average, I would much rather interact with a Mexican at a retail outlet, since they are far more pleasant than the typical jaded American teen employee. They are often older and more mature, and sincerely nicer. I always feel like I'm buying something from my aunt or the like, rather than some obnoxious stranger who despises their job. Thank goodness for people who appreciate what they have.
I was also speaking to a business owner friend of mine over the weekend and he expressed the exact same opinion.
I agree 100% with your post title.
To the anonymous commenter, here's an excerpt from my paper on myths on immigration:
Myth III: Immigrants Contribute to Overpopulation and Crime
The United States, argument says, is a limited territory. Therefore, there is only a certain quantity of resources and space available. Overpopulation will result in detrimental squalor across the scale. Increased population and the presence of immigrants will necessarily raise crime.
A good way to assert the validity of a claim is by observing the cause and effect of the proposed conditions, and ascertain whether or not the causal chain was faithful to predictions. Enter El Paso, Texas. Reason Magazine’s Radley Balko reports that in 2007, the index of El Paso’s population within the poverty level was 27%, more than twice the national average at the time. The city also boasts a 75% Hispanic population, with a foreign-born population of 25%, a significant number of which is in the United States illegally (“The El Paso Miracle.”) Coupled with extremely lax gun control laws, and its geographic location adjacent to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, which has a count of 2,500 homicides over an 18 month period, one would have to expect El Paso to be among the most dangerous cities in the United States of America.
This, however, is not the case: El Paso actually ranks as one of the safest cities in the country. Balko compares homicide statistics for 2008 in el Paso ( 18 murders; total population: 736,000 people), and Baltimore (234 murders; 37,000.) (“Miracle.”) Clearly there is something wrong with the general assumption concerning immigrants. University of Massachusetts criminologist Jack Levin says “If you want to find a safe city, first determine the size of the immigrant population. If the immigrant community represents a large proportion of the population, you're likely in one of the country's safer cities. San Diego, Laredo, El Paso—these cities are teeming with immigrants, and they're some of the safest places in the country." (“Miracle.”)
Balko debunks the myth tying immigrants to crime by citing the findings of numerous studies on the issue of immigration and crime: the studies conclude that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes or end behind bars than the native-born. Rubén G. Rumbaut, a sociologist who studies immigration at the University of California, Irvine, asserts that “The evidence points overwhelmingly to the same conclusion: Rates of crime and conviction for undocumented immigrants are far below those for the native born, and that is especially the case for violent crimes, including murder." What could be the reason for this? Jack Levine hypothesizes that it is due to immigrants having a stake in the fate and future of the country, and that they are capable of recognizing it as such, “they're really an exceptional sort of American. They come here having left their family and friends back home. They come at some cost to themselves in terms of security and social relationships. They are extremely success-oriented, and adjust very well to the competitive circumstances in the United States." (“Miracle.”)
Philosopher and immigration advocate Harry Binswanger explains this phenomenon further, “Criminals have a short-range, stay-in-the-'hood mentality. Immigrants are longer-range, ambitious, and want to earn money, not grab it.” (“Open Immigration.”) Binswanger also takes great exception to the arguments of overpopulation, citing that America is an underpopulated country. Statistically, the United States of America has the population density of one third of France. Even then, Binswanger argues, that (for example) an eleven-fold increase in population from 300 million to 3 billion would result in America still having less population density than England. These calculations also exclude Hawaii and Alaska, and are only land-area calculations (meaning: it does not account for the possibility of vertical density.)
Steve. Sailor has a good.discussion of these claims and why they are misleading.
I'd point out that the largest group of immigrants is Hispanics and there are more Hispanic s in prison for murder than whites. Hence Hispanic immigration increases crime.
Joe Marks
"I'd point out that the largest group of immigrants is Hispanics and there are more Hispanic s in prison for murder than whites."
Joe, I ask yet again (before I quit posting your irrelevant comments altogether)...does that give you the right to violate the rights of all Latino immigrants?!
I'm not in favor of violating anyone's rights.
Do you dispute that Puerto Rico has a higher murder rate than white America?
Joe Marks
If no one's rights should be violated, then the rest of your comments don't matter.
It makes no difference to me what crime rates are, anywhere. Criminals should be treated as such wherever they are, and known criminals should not be allowed to immigrate here. No one has said otherwise anywhere in this post or in the comments.
If you can explain why anything else you have to say is relevant, I'll post it, otherwise, I'm done with you. It's obvious you're just hateful toward Latinos and that's not something that I'm interested in debating with you about.
If you used this same data to suggest, for example, that black mothers shouldn't be allowed to reproduce - because their offspring are more likely to be criminals - you would be rightly condemned as a racist.
The statistics are there but they don't tell you anything about any particular hispanic seeking entrance into the country. Nor do the statistics tell you anything in particular about any specific black child being born.
That you would punish an entire race of people because some small percentage take up lives of crime is sad, but not surprising. Immigration often brings out an ugly stripe of racism in a lot of otherwise nice people.
You guys seem to know a great deal about my beliefs and motivations based on a few comments.
Let me ask you this: I have no idea what the crime rate is in various parts of Las Vegas. But if I go there I'm not going to the black areas at all and I'm not going to.the Hispanic areas aftter dark. Does that make me a racist?
JM
Since you refuse to state how this is relevant to ANYTHING, I will not be responding to or posting anymore of your comments.