I spotted this little gem in the letters section:
Simply illegalRex isn't going to be too pleased when he sees today's editorial:
In just about every article you write on any person or groups of people from south of our lower border you refer to those who are in our country illegally as "undocumented," as you did in your Aug. 12 article about Mexican identification cards.
If you were referring to an individual who was doing electrical work without a license, would you refer to him as an "undocumented electrician," or a person selling investments without a license as an "undocumented securities salesmen"?
Instead, you would refer to them as practicing their profession without a license, and probably state the illegality of their actions.
The reason you seem to want to gloss over the actual definition of "aliens who are in this country illegally" must be to conform with the social agenda your editors are actively promoting. Those parts of the media, government and public that have no respect for the laws of our country are the contributing cause of the problems we face today, and by "soft-selling" illegal immigration as "undocumented" you send the message that it is really no big deal; it is one of those "little laws," like driving in the rain without your lights on when using your wipers, and it is all right to ignore.
As journalists, you should know better and be more factual and honest with the public you serve.
Rex H. Wheatley, Jr.
The new neighborsNot even an "undocumented", much less an "illegal" in the whole screed. Now the illegal aliens are "the new neighbors" and the citizens should start laying out the cash "to better accomodate the new neighbors".
Thousands of Hispanics now call North Carolina, and the Triangle in particular, home. Yet the welcome mat isn't fully unrolled.
If North Carolina is a favorite destination for Hispanics coming to the United States -- and at 394 percent, it had one of the greatest rates of increase for Hispanic immigration in the 1990s -- then the Triangle is the bull's-eye. Two non-profit groups, the Pew Hispanic Center and the Brookings Institution, said in a recent report that between 1980 and 2000, the Triangle's Hispanic population was the fastest-growing among any of the country's 100 most populous regions -- from 6,000 to more than 72,000.
As a result, of course, Tar Heels and Triangle residents especially now have a much better understanding of the cultural, social, religious and familial relationships of recent Hispanic immigrants, who largely come from Mexico. That's a considerable change from when people of Hispanic origin tended to be clustered in the big Northeastern cities and western states, or passing through during North Carolina's harvest seasons. And it's squarely within America's melting-pot tradition, which has been a source of national strength.
Yet the state still hasn't taken seriously enough the responsibilities that come with hosting the new residents. Hispanics have been lured to North Carolina by advertisements in their towns that promise good-paying jobs here. In other words, they have been issued invitations, and we shouldn't be surprised that workers' families followed them to the state. Companies that recruited these workers need to provide them with the kind of health and safety protections available to native-born employees. That apparently isn't the rule yet, according to injury and death statistics kept by the state Department of Labor.
The influx puts new burdens on community institutions -- schools, courts and the like -- and most have not managed to catch up.
Public schools struggle with burgeoning numbers of Spanish-speakers. Some community colleges in areas with large Hispanic populations still don't offer enough English as a Second Language courses. Courts, motor vehicle and social services offices lack an adequate number of expert-level interpreters necessary for such critical services. Police and public and mental health officials are similarly behind the curve.
Demographers, for the state or for Triangle-area local governments, perhaps were surprised by the flood of Hispanics. Going forward, however, the General Assembly and city and county governments need to consider how to better accommodate the new neighbors.
Fortunately, they don't have to start from scratch. Governor Easley's Advisory Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs may serve as a good resource, as would effective locally based agencies such as Durham's El Centro Hispano and Carrboro's El Centro Latino.
Money -- to hire interpreters, teach civil servants basic Spanish, provide Spanish-language signs and the like -- will be needed as well. That's not a welcome thought in this crisis-driven budget year. But it's the place public officials have to come to sooner or later.
How about an alternative solution? Paging INS, cleanup on aisle 7!
