US Needs Hispanics

Before analyzing the need the United States has for Hispanics, allow me to reflect: No one would grow or sell beans if people didn’t like to eat them. Similarly, there wouldn’t be narcotics if there were no drug addicts. The main consumer of drugs in the world is the United States, and they do not imprison anyone for consuming drugs there, only for selling them. Millions of children, young people and adults consume drugs casually in their homes, schools, universities, parks and streets … everywhere and in mass quantities. As a nation, the United States is fueling drug trafficking, not Latin America.

The first immigrants to the U.S. were “illegals” who seized someone else’s land and killed the Native Americans, but now, some of their descendants are scorning the current immigrants by calling them lazy and criminal when the majority are good people. There is a bad apple in every group. Were there not lazy people, criminals, rapists and drug traffickers among the first descendants of the immigrants who left England on the Mayflower, or among the patriots who threw tea into Boston Harbor?

After World War II, between 1946 and 1965, the United States experienced an unusual uptick in birth rates, a phenomenon known as the “baby boom.” Today, the “baby boomers” are retiring, and the white Anglo-Saxon population is growing at a slower rate. They don’t have the capacity to grow the population that the country demands in order for it to maintain its position among the most developed countries. The support of immigrants is crucial to guarantee sustained economic growth.

According to a study done by IHS Economics (a firm specializing in analysis and prospective economics) at the request of Univision, if the United States were successful in removing the imposed obstacles in immigration matters set up by Republicans, the inclusive economy would grow more than expected, thanks to immigrants — Hispanics in particular. With reform that regularizes the labor market and allows full contribution of Hispanic immigrants to the economy, the U.S. would grow by 3 percent annually, as opposed to the current 2.5 percent growth. And Hispanics would be responsible for the 75 percent increase in employment in the country.

This would not only bring workforce migration, but also talent. Hispanics stand out more in the arts, sciences and technology. On the other hand, in Latin America, there is a lot of money (badly distributed, but that’s a another story) and according to data by the International Monetary Fund, there are investors of all sizes that bring investment to the United States, creating sources of employment and contributing to the economy significantly. (Although a trivial point, it’s funny how the richest people today are not only Americans like Ford, Rockefeller and Bill Gates, but there are also Hispanics among them like Carlos Slim, Jorge Lemann and Eike Batista.) Furthermore, Latin Americans import $45 million worth of American goods each year. And what about the 10 million Latin American tourists who bring in $30 million a year?

Donald Trump threw out his insults in English, a language that arrived to the United States after Spanish. According to data from Pew Research, more than 53 million people speak Spanish in the USA. Spanish is not just a second language, but the country’s Hispanic community is the second largest in the world, only surpassed by Mexico. It is not something that belongs to the “others.” The Spanish language and Hispanic culture [played a formative role] and are already an essential part of the United States.