Posting Note

My baby girl arrived a week ago Monday, so needless to say, I’ve been far too busy to post.  We were pleased to see the Supreme Court struck down most of the Arizona immigration law (and we hope they do the same for Obamacare!) Posting will likely continue to be light, if any, while I’m out on maternity leave, but I hope you’ll rejoin us in six weeks or so.

Image of the Week

g9510.20_Immigration.cover

Cover Story: We Are Americans — Just Not Legally

Immigrants Are Good for the Economy

Here's an interesting story from Bloomberg about immigrant-owned small businesses:

The study released today found that immigrants own 18 percent ofMoney  businesses with fewer than 100 people working for them, while U.S. residents born outside the country account for 13 percent of the nation’s population, based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010 American Community Survey.

and

Foreign-born entrepreneurs owned 28 percent of small businesses in the leisure and hospitality fields, the largest percentage of any broad industry. Immigrants constituted a majority of small taxi, dry cleaning and gas station owners. They also made up 43 percent of hotel or motel owners and 37 percent of restaurant operators.

Here are three other interesting stories about immigrants, business and the US economy:

Weekly Quote

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” ― Emma Lazarus

Image of the Week

John HoodMeet the artist behind the famous sign.

Famous Immigrant of the Week - Richard Dawson

Last weekend, we learned that actor and beloved game show host, Richard Dawson, had died of cancer.  He was 79 years old.  I also learned that Dawson was born in England and earned his US citizenship in 1984. 

Dawson was born Colin Lionel Emm on November 20, 1932, in Gosport, Hampshire, England, to an American father and English mother.  When he was 14, he ran away from home and joined the Merchant Marines.  After his discharge, he pursued a comedy career.

He gained fame on the US television show, Hogan's Heroes, but he's best known for hosting the very popular game show, Family Feud (see video clip below.)  It's been said that Dawson kissed over 20,000 women while hosting the Feud!  You can read more about Dawson on his Wikipedia page here.

Weekly Quote

There was a time when we the U.S. had completely unrestricted immigration, when anybody could come to these shores and the motto on the Statue of Liberty had some real meaning. This was a country of hope and of promise for immigrants and their children, and as many as a million immigrants a year came in 1906 and '07 and '08. By 1914, roughly a third of the population was foreign-born or the immediate descendants of foreign-born...The fact that year after year hundreds of thousands of people left the countries of Europe to come to this country was persuasive evidence that they were coming to improve their lot, not to worsen it. - Milton Friedman

Quick Hits

I'm less than three weeks from my due date. As you can imagine, I'm feeling tired and I'm more than ready to give birth. We're also very curious to see how our Czech-French-English-Irish-Mexican-American-and-whatever-else-is-mixed-in-there baby girl will look like!

Posting has been a little sparse lately and I suspect that will only get worse in the coming weeks, but once I return to work from maternity leave later this summer, I'm hoping things get back to normal, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, here are some links that have been accumulating in my stack o' stuff:

Government Corruption: Former immigration agent sentenced in California for theft scheme

A former Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was sentenced Friday to two years in prison for defrauding the government out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal salary and benefits.

Government Policy Hurts the US Economy: Immigration Stalls As Opportunities Wane On U.S.-Mexican Border

As the economy boomed in the mid-2000s, many immigrants in southern California’s border country spurned field work in favor of construction and food-service jobs. Then they stopped coming to U.S. farms altogether.

Government-Created Black Markets: Two men accused of confining illegals without food, water

A federal grand jury has indicted two Mexican nationals on charges they confined dozens of illegal immigrants in houses along the South Texas border with Mexico, some locked inside without food or water for days.

Immigration Myths Busted: Just like us: Immigrants embrace 'distinctly American' values

Much of the fervor fueling the anti-immigration debate is shaped by the belief that immigrants—legal and otherwise—are somehow a threat to our national identity. Americans, some critics believe, venerate a set of ideals and attitudes that are distinctly American. But do immigrants honor these same values?

Image of the Week

Forced to Learn a Language

Wow.  Bill sounds like a man of high intelligence.  Citizan?  And who in America is being forced to learn any language?  I've not heard of these forced language classes.  (H/T to Halina Reed)