A Day Without Asian Immigrants

By Bo | Monday, November 26, 2007 | 8 Comments

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The 2004 movie “A Day Without a Mexican” took a comical look at what would happen if all Mexican immigrants up and disappeared overnight. As you might imagine, much dismay and hilarity ensued. The US economy comes to a grinding halt and good ‘ol boys are shown desperately beseeching Mexicans to return to the US to take their righful place as the lowest men on the economic totem pole.

If this New York Times article about the impact of immigrants on the economy of New York State is correct, fiction may be closer to the truth than many Republican law makers might want to admit.

In the suburbs north and east of [New York City], about 4 of every 10 doctors and more than one-fourth of college professors were foreign-born, the study by the private Fiscal Policy Institute found. In upstate New York, where just 5 percent of residents are foreign-born, immigrants accounted for about one-fifth of the professors and more than one-third of the doctors, according to the study.

How much do you want to bet that the vast majority of those doctors and professors are East and Southeast Asian immigrants?

This research is another piece of data to refute what I feel is an entirely misguided and and unjustified immigration debate. While most of the debate is consumed by discourse on the negative impact of illegal [mostly Mexican] immigrants (which is debatable), law makers and regular joes forget about the positive, rejuvinating impact of legal, often highly educated immigrants (like yours truly!).

Three cheers to our good health…and the foreign-born immigrants who ensure it remains that way!

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