El Nacional de Tulsa

TULSA, Oklahoma – On February 3, 2014, two tele- vision stations – located in Tulsa and Oklahoma City – aired a story connecting the increase of the undoc- umented population in the state, with the local activi- ty of Mexican drug cartels. Despite the numer- ous studies and care- fully detailed statistical reports outlining the pos- itive effects of immigra- tion, there is a great deal of misinformation about its impact. It is critical that the general public and policy- makers are informed about the facts. El Nacional has prepared this special article to bring some light in such a difficult topic. Our com- pilation shows that immi- grants significantly benefit the economy in Oklahoma by creating new jobs, and complementing the skills of the U.S. native work- force, with a net positive impact on wage rates over- all. Oklahoma & Immigrants Contrary to the nation- al trend, the combined undocumented immigrant population grew in some West South Central states of the nation in the last decade. According to the Pew Hispanic Center in 2007, Louisiana, Oklaho- ma and Texas had a com- bined 1.55 million undoc- umented immigrants liv- ing within their borders. In 2010, that number grew to 1.8 million. Oklahoma, with an undocumented immigrant population of 75,000, is making extraor- dinary and tangible contri- butions to the state and the Midwest. e long-standing pres- ence and contribution to the economic development and cultural diversity of Latinos and immigrants in the state showcase a tre- mendous growth in the last decade. ey are writ- ing Oklahoma's future with strong historical roots. Nationally, Latinos, largely of Mexican descent, comprise the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority in the U.S. After English, Spanish is the most widely spoken lan- guage; in fact, the United States is the fourth largest Spanish-speaking nation in the world. In many respects, Okla- homa reflects these nation- al currents. Spanish is Oklahoma's second most commonly spoken lan- guage. Latinos have sur- passed both Native Amer- icans and African Ameri- cans as the largest minori- ty in the state. People of Mexican her- itage comprise the large minority, but Hispanics in Oklahoma trace their roots to all 19 Spanish-speak- ing Latin American nations and Puerto Rico. As a matter of fact and according to a special study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2011, titled Demographic Profile of Hispanics in Oklahoma, Latinos now account for 9 percent of Oklahoma's 3.8 million - ranking 24th in the U.S. 83 percent of them are Mexican descent. These figures are remarkable, not only because Oklahoma's His- panic population has nearly double in the last 10 years, from 179,000 to more than 347,000, but because State legislators passed some of the country's strictest immigration law, Oklaho- ma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act, in Novem- ber 2007, including some provisions that go beyond the controversial mea- sures approved in Arizona with the SB 1070. e so called HB 1804 of Oklaho- ma drove tens of thousands of undocumented immi- grants, although an exact number is difficult to calcu- late, the Hispanic popula- tion grew 85 percent in the last decade, and account- ed for about half the state's overall growth. e rest of Oklahoma's population just grew about 9 percent since 2000. America has always been a nation of immi- grants. Oklahoma is an example of the so called melting-pot. Throughout the state's history, immi- grants from around the globe have kept the work- force vibrant, the business- es on the cutting edge, and helped to build a great eco- nomic engine. Also, immi- grants have had an extraor- dinary impact in the arts and academic fields. America's immigra- tion system is broken and has not kept pace with the changing times.´ e Community Speaks Up Iván Godínez, Coordinator del DREAM Act Oklahoma " The undocumented community and Hispanic community should not be portrayed in unison with drug cartels. Drug cartels are not solely part of one specific demographic. e story was a hurtful gen- eralization of the undoc- umented community and the Hispanic community by wrongly associating them as responsible for drug activity within Oklahoma. e state may be see- ing an increase in undoc- umented and/or Hispan- ic community; however, a majority is actually small business owners, students, parents, religious leaders, and children. ere is no mention of positive repre- sentation of this in Okla- homa. is is propaganda that causes fear that fur- ther stigmatizes to two vul- nerable populations: the undocumented community and the Hispanic commu- nity. As Dream Act Okla- homa, we have a respon- sibility to be speaking out against injustice and empower individuals that are being marginalized. Oklahoma's demo- graphics are changing and this is a good thing for Oklahoma's progress." Mana Tahaie, Director of Racial Justice, YWCA "e story made some inaccurate and deeply harmful generalizations about the undocument- ed in Oklahoma, especial- ly Mexican immigrants. I found a few things remark- able: First that the initial claim— that Oklahoma is seeing the highest increase in undocumented immigra- tion — was unsubstantiat- ed. In fact, the Pew study the reporter that cited ref- erenced 2010 numbers, and does not indicate any growth over the past sev- eral years. Second, that the piece made it seem that all narcotrafficking in Okla- homa comes from south of the border — especial- ly when we know that our state's largest drug prob- lem is prescription nar- cotics, followed by meth. ird, the story paint- ed a one-dimensional pic- ture of Mexico as a dan- gerous wasteland ruled by drug cartels, which at best perpetuates a false stereo- type and at worst leaves out the substantial role the U.S. "War on Drugs" has played in border violence. And finally, it framed the tens of thousands of Lati- nos, especially undocu- mented Mexicans, as crim- inals. e same Pew study demonstrates that while the undocumented repre- sent just 2% of Oklahoma's population, they are 3% of the labor force — direct- ly challenging the idea that they are all trafficking drugs from Mexico. e piece was very divi- sive, pushing Latinos and their allies further to one side and anti-immigrants to the other extreme, and pitting them against each other. It doesn't build understanding, or cre- ate a dialogue. Instead, it instilled fear of invasion and attack. It stirs up the existing resentment among many native-born Oklaho- mans, who because of poor reporting like this are mis- informed on the issues and therefore scapegoat new- comers. What's most unfor- tunate about the piece is that due to the segregat- ed nature of our commu- nities, stories like this are often the only way that any Oklahomans learn about their neighbors — and the incomplete and inac- curate picture this paints only leads to further divi- sion rather than genuine understanding." Francisco Treviño, Presi- dent & CEO, Greater Tulsa Hispanic Chamber of Com- merce "Immigrants provide a positive impact in Oklaho- ma. As a matter of fact, their buying power is about $7.2 billion every year. is is a very important figure. It cannot be ignored. e Chamber has been working for the last seven years try- ing to build a good commu- nication bridge across all the sector of the communi- ty. We have been showing the positive side of the His- panic businesses. Also, we have been promoting the commercial ties between Mexico and Oklahoma. We have a Sister City: San Luis Potosí. ere is an econom- ic exchange around $621 million. is is a fact about the robust and extraordi- nary impact of the immi- grants in our state." Isaac Rocha, Chairman, Tulsa Young Professionals (TYPros) "Promoting diversity through the inclusion of all people is a core tenant of Tulsa's Young Profession- als and its Diversity Crew, a volunteer group that was created solely for that pur- pose. e Diversity Crew's new social-media based DiversityOK initiative is a grass-roots effort to show Oklahomans and the world that while our state's ste- reotype of non-inclusive- ness is outdated, there is still need for growth in social, workplace and polit- ical inclusiveness. A diverse community that embraces inclusion is one that ben- efits from a wide range of perspectives and ideas. Tulsa is stronger with all Tulsans at the table." Oklahoma & Numbers - 5.5% of Oklahomans are foreign born. 10.5% are Latino or Asian. - 31.9% of immigrants in the state are eligible to vote. 3.3% of regis- tered voters are natu- ralized U.S. Citizens. - Immigrants are 7.2% of the state´s work- force. 3% of the work- force is undocumented. - e buying power of Oklahoma´s Latinos is $7.2 billion. - El 89.1% of Oklahoma´s children with immigrant par- ents are U.S. Citizens. 85.7% of children with immigrant parents are English proficient. - Oklahoma has almost 9,000 international students who contrib- ute $174.6 million to the economy. - Oklahoma would lose $580 million in eco- nomic activity if undoc- umented immigrants were removed. (Source: Immigration Policy Center) Oklahoma's #1 Hispanic News pa per, Website, Yellow Pages, Attorney & Health Guides and Metro Magazine! 300 SW 25th ST | OKC, OK 73109 www.noticiasoklahoma.com RANDY QUIROGA-KING PUBLISHER Los artículos que se publican aquí, son responsabilidad de quién los escribe. Las cartas deberán contar con el nombre del autor y un telé- fono para confirmar The opinions expressed in articles published are not necessarily those of El Nacional. Letters should must have a name and phone for verifi- cation purposes. SUBSCRIPTIONS/ SUSCRIPCIONES $96 Year. Mail check or money order: Attention Subscriptions $96 por año. Envíe el cheque o mo- ney order: Atención Suscripciones OKLAHOMA OWNED. HISPANIC OWNED. ADS E-MAIL ads.nacional@coxinet.net NEWS E-MAIL news.nacional@coxinet.net noticias.nacional@coxinet.net GENERAL E-MAIL nacional@coxinet.net 405.632.4531 EDITORA EJECUTIVA ROSA QUIROGA-KING CHIEF - EDITOR CARLOS ORTIZ CORRESPONSAL EN TULSA JUAN MIRET CORRESPONSAL EN ARGENTINA DAVID GERMAN VERA REPRESENTANTES DE VENTAS PERRY KEPFORD VICTOR VILLAR ALEX COMEZ SERVICIO AL CLIENTE JESSICA VEGA GERENTE DE OPERACIONES SOFÍA HIDROGO DISEÑO GRAFICO SAMUEL CARDONA EDITOR DE VIDEOS MATTHEW COON EL DE OKLAHOMA NACIONAL Oklahoma's Trusted Spanish News Source. ENGLISH Tulsa community showcases positive impact of Latinos JUAN MIRET NOTICIAS.NACIONAL@COXINET.NET T-2 EL NACIONAL DE TULSA VIERNES 14 DE FEBRERO, 2014 • www.noticiasoklahoma.com TULSA

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