Some Light on Immigration

Immigration is an emotional topic, and discussions often do little to illuminate the matter. For that reason alone, the Rand Corp. and the U.S. Census Bureau should be commended for the evenhanded studies they published recently, focusing primarily on the economic progress--or lack of it--among immigrant groups. The light they shed can help society devise programs to offer more incentives to immigrants.

Rand issued a pair of reports concluding, among other things, that immigrants from Latin America face great difficulty in catching up economically with American-born citizens. But the Census Bureau reported a figure that indicates significant progress: The number of Latino-owned businesses in the United States grew 76% between 1987 and 1992. In addition, their sales growth rate surpassed the overall growth rate of U.S. businesses.

Despite the apparent contradiction, both reports reflect valid facets of the modern immigrant experience.

According to the Rand report, the wage gap between Latin American immigrants and American-born workers persists longer than the gap between Americans and immigrants from Europe and some Asian countries. A possible explanation is that the education some Latinos receive in their countries of origin does not compare favorably with that of Asians and Europeans. Many Latinos have dropped out of school before arriving in the United States.

But education is not the sole element in economic progress. Census statistics show, for example, that Latin American males over age 16 participate in the Southern California work force at a much higher rate than members of any other ethnic group. So to what degree can the work ethic and strong family structure of Latino immigrants compensate for the poor quality of education in their early years? Probably not enough to sharply close the wage gap between Latinos and immigrants from some other backgrounds, but apparently sufficiently to explain the rising trend of entrepreneurial businesses in the Latino community.

Latino leaders should find ways to continue to stimulate this trend among immigrants, starting with practical steps like cutting business fees, easing regulations and expediting approvals for permits or expansions, which leaders of all communities do for their electorates. Accentuate the positive.