Immigration is an economic nexus that provides organizations with talent in key industries. Aside from intellectual muscle, immigration also instills cultural and artistic life into our country. Countless studies, reports, and think tanks forewarn a workforce shortage if we don’t fix our immigration system. Yet, many still don’t see it this way. A recent Gallup poll measures American attitudes toward immigration and categorizes these attitudes by age and educational level. Note anything interesting?
The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies and the Census Bureau recently held a forum on the impact of the growing Latino population. Below is a video which summarizes the forum’s main themes. Great info.
You’re probably not familiar with the name of the town above. I wasn’t. It’s a town located Northeast of Madison. I didn’t know this town existed until I read a special report by a local newspaper on the city’s increasing Latino population. While the trend is a familiar one around the country, it’s the first article, or series of articles, that takes an in-depth look at how this growing population is impacting a small community.
I had the pleasure of meeting and serving on a panel with CNN’s Nick Valencia last year. Great guy. I’d encourage you listen to this podcast with Sylvia Longmire about his experiences as a journalist and the challenges of reporting on Mexico’s drug war. Very interesting.
Georgia (and other Southern states for that matter) is dealing with farm labor shortages because of recent immigration policies. The L.A. Times shares the story of Don Pedro and his efforts to help find farm workers – many of who have already fled the state. Meanwhile, the Georgia Department of Agriculture reports farmers needed to fill more than 11,000 positions this year. Solution:
Meanwhile, Gov. Nathan Deal would announce that Georgia was considering a new solution to the labor shortage. Perhaps the work could be done by unemployed probationers.
The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center has a sobering look at the educational experiences young men of color. It’s an intimate look at the experiences of minority students including the pressures and stress associated with being “different” in a variety of settings. These experiences obviously do not end once Latinos and other minorities enter the workforce.
Many of the stories resonate with me, especially losing interest in friends that chose a much different, and sometimes unfortunate, path in life.
Having just arrived to Wisconsin a couple months ago, I’ve already seen first-hand some of the activities that have brought so much national attention to the state. Here’s another example. A program which allows the children of illegal immigrants to pay in state tuition at University of Wisconsin colleges will end July 1st.
CNN-Money shares a simple but telling graphic regarding the increase cost of a college education and median income. According to the article “…if incomes had kept up with surging college costs, the typical American would be earning $77,000 a year. But in reality, it’s nowhere near that.”
This is particularly disheartening for low-income students – they’re literally getting priced out of college. I understand the rising costs are caused by numerous factors including budget cuts, infrastructure, salaries, etc. However, for whatever the reasons, the fewer people have access to higher education the more our workforce will suffer.
The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center has a sobering look at the 
