More than half of the immigrants in Massachusetts are now US citizens, according to the latest census estimates, crossing a critical threshold that brings with it the right to vote, run for political office, and apply for certain scholarships and federal jobs.
Slightly more than 500,000 of the 983,000 foreigners in Massachusetts had taken the oath to become citizens in 2011, the most recent year available.
Comments
This is the way America grew and should be the way it adds to its citizen rolls, through legal and above-board means
Thats fabulous news. They should avail themselves of every right they are entitled to. Congratulations!
Now lets deport the other half of law breaking illegal immigrants.
Nothing in this article says that the other half is here illegally, just they they aren't yet citizens. There are plenty of ways to be a perfectly legal immigrant who is not a citizen.
So what is your point?? Nothing in my comment dealt with "perfectly legal immigrant who are not a citizens'
Thats not where are problems lie.
This is excellent news. Please keep the focus on people like these. They have earned our respect.
Legalize all non-felons. Just do it!
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Of course more than 1/2 of immigrants are citizens and here legally ... the laws exist for plenty of legal immigration. All the more reason to deport those who are not here legally.
I put myself on record: I LOVE immigrants. No group is all good or CERTAINLY all bad and my experience with immigrants is EXCELLENT. I have experienced honesty, dedication, lovely helpful personalities and as one who has known what emergency orthopedic surgery is like I marveled at how good the hospital workers who were current immigratns were at what they do. They do some unpleasant tasks and we ALL owe our lives to the hard workers so many are.
I have NO complaints at all but I DO have complaints about those racist malcontents who would are ferocious against those whom they deem are the "other." ONCE upon a time THEIR parents, or gransparents were the "other" and faced horrible discrimination. I say to them WALK IN SOMEONE ELSE'S shoes for a day and see how YOU like it. It is no fun to know the minute you walk out the door you are treated differently and not in a good way.
In a perfect country (where is that?) I want them ALL to be granted amnesty and I want them ALL to have a path to citizenship. Sure IF YOU MUST require English. My granparents spoke Yiddish and their kids MY parents did too. So much so a teacher told my gransmother once to teach her son English. Well, it turned out my father went to lawschool and LOVED English, spoke it extraordinarily well and could write beautiful poetry to his wife (MY MOTHER). Immigration is what this country is about. Yes, secure the boarders from those who want to run guns or do illegal things. THEY ARE A MINIORITY within their own minority. MOST are decent, hardworking people who would help you out in a minute. I say GIVE THEM A CHANCE and do not be so mean, cruel and nasty. Mr. Mrs. Ms. immigrant, I AM ON YOUR SIDE IN TRIPLICATE!
nrosem, people like you make me sick. Dont you realize you are discriminating against all the same type of people you say you love who are waiting in line to come here legally in Mexico, Brasil, Africa, Asia etc They are also hard working, hungry, discriminated against, downtroden. And yet you seem willing to give a break to those who break the law and cut in line in front of all the others who are just as worthy. You hold yourself in such high regard. What do you think all the people waiting in line feel about you for poprosing amnesty to the law breakers. Where is your compassion for all the honest people seeking citizenship whos country happens to be across an ocean so they cant just run across a boarder? You and those like you make me ill.
I say round up and deport all those who came here illegally and let in just as many who are waiting in-line. Its fair and pro imigrant
The only meaning of "Other" that most here have a complaint with is "illegal". Over and over those that you paint as racist express their desire to welcome those who come to the U.S. through proper legal channels, respect our laws and become productive citizens. Yes, legal immigrants built this country.
and BTW, NO ONE but NO ONE is going to deport 11 million so called "illegal" immigrants. NO ONE. We are NOT facist Germany .... yet. Be a mench (yiddish for a human being). If people encoutner such danger and such nasty attitudes toward them they must have darn good reasons to come here. I truly do believe what is said on the bottom of Lady Liberty as my own grandparents looked at her in awe and kissed the ground when they disembarked their ship wearing clothes of the pesants they were. The last sentence MAY I REMIND the haters says:
"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-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
NOW ALLOW THEM IN AND REMEMBER as the Biblical quote teaches us: Do not oppress the stranger for YOU were once strangers in a strange land!
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I agree that deporting them is a logistical and financial nightmare. The first step must be, however, securing the border so more don't come in.
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Gee whiz, we've had immigrants to this country for a long time. I came here legally in 1941, became a citizen five years later - yes, I'm old. No articles on the long term trends. Why have people forgotten that this is a nation of immigrants?
It's a nation of legal immigrants. No one has a problem with legal immigration.
We all know we are a nation of immigrants, my grandparents were. But, the difference is that people like my grandparents followed the law, had much respect for their new homeland and wanted to be a part of it. They also sent 4 sons off to fight in WW2. We encourage people to come to our country, is it too much to ask for them to follow the laws?
By all means, those who come legally, welcome. But for those who think the American dream is refugee welfare for life and free health care apartments and everything else...go home. Legal immigration has sponsorship, meaning that the citizen supports them...my father and his family did it and came to America in pairs...learned English and contributed to their country...they sacrificied and waited their turn...no line jumping or hands out. No feelings of entitlement.
The people that talk of "once upon a time your grandparents, blah blah " need to get their heads out of the sand. We can't ignore the current economic situation. It was a different time and those immigrants were not coddled and given the assistance they are today. I love immigrants also, just legal immigrants. What is so hard for people to understand that there is a process for immigration and it will work if it's properly enforced.
So using Sacchetti's numbers, about 483,000 foreigners here (I'm assuming that means lacking legal status, the article was a little vague) and naturalizing 20,000 per year, that means only a little more than 24 years will see the entire legality of our foreign population!
That is, unless others sneak in while people aren't looking. Well, it's good to know that the problem is well under control, right?
I think you're misunderstanding the numbers. The other 483K are foreign residents of many different statuses. Some are indeed waiting to become naturalized citizens, but many others are students, temporary workers (H1-B), or other legal resident aliens who for personal reasons do not desire to become naturalized. Some believe that some day they will be able to return to their origin country, so they work and wait for that day. (Many of those are refugees from war-torn countries, who cannot return at this time.)
So, you seem to think they are all "in line" to become naturalized, when that may not be the case. In addition, other legal immigrants come to Massachusetts every day, so the numbers don't reduce significantly over time.
The responses are the usual nasties. Who cares what they say except yes, they make me angry. I know I stand for fairness and humane policy. I hate the term illegal. I think all people are LEGAL sorry. The natives Americans must have thought the white Europeans were illegal I am sure especially when they simply slaughtered natives and took what they wanted driving them to the "trail of tears." I do NOT forget history.
I draw the line with profane insults and the Globe should too. Say what you want, believe what you want, talk to others in the privacy of conversation but on a blog the comments that are rude, insulting and profane should be pulled!
If you don't like the term illegal, should we use thieve, or crook ... outlaw? Obviously a person's legal status in the country is an important identifying factor.
How come none of you bloggers noticed that Globe headline does not say LEGAL immigrants?..In the Globe's view, there is no such thing as an ILLEGAL immigrant.
Undocumeted workers is even un pc right now.
"MikeR" -- In your usual vitriol against the Globe, you fail to understand the explanation for the numbers and statuses of the immigrants that the article articulates. Next time, read it, and not just the headline.
This is a nation of "legal" immigrants that's why the others are called "illegal".
What I find most interesting about this article is the fact that the title has changed! When I downloaded the ePaper Edition this morning, the title of the article read: "Most immigrants in Mass. are now US citizens, too." I was surprised to learn that the number was just over 50%. Someone must have told the Globe that "most" people would not consider 50% to be "most," because the title now reads "More than half of immigrants in Mass are citizens." I am pleased that the Globe chose to correct what, in my opinion, was a biased title.
Just 16% of immigrants are here illegally. Too bad that doesn't fit the anti-immigrant narrative.
I guess the complainers will just have to ignore that inconvenient fact.
This is great news. congrats to them and very welcome to the usa. just like myand probably your ancestors came to this county-legally and respective of our laws and customs. now deport the illegal 45% who did not do this in any way shape or form
A couple of nits to pick:
The use of "foreigners" sentence "Slightly more than 500,000 of the 983,000 foreigners in Massachusetts had taken the oath to become citizens in 2011, the most recent year available" seems a bit strange. Obvously, it refers to foreign born residents, but eveyone I asked seemed to feel that once you are a citizen, you are no longer a foreigner.
It also seems unlikely that 300,000 of the 483,000 non-citizens are currently elligible for citizenship. One you take away 160,000 undocument persons and the 300,000 supposedly elligible, that leaves 23,000 to cover all the foreign students, H1B workers, au pairs, refugees, consular officials, journalists, etc., not to mention immigrant visa holders who have not been here long enough to be elligible to apply.