"Don't Forget Immigration Reform"- Analysis

This article can be found at: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-pastor22mar22,0,7700251.story

This Los Angeles Times article, by Dowell Myers and Manuel Pastor, looks at immigration and what we can do to resolve issues surrounding the hotly debated topic. The article is obviously pro-immigrant, at one point stating, "Immigrants should not be viewed as a problem to be solved but an asset to our regional future." In Los Angeles, the population is approximately one third immigrants, about one half of the workforce is comprised of immigrants, and two thirds of LA's youth are children of immigrants. The article uses these statistics to convince the reader that immigrants are an integral aspect of LA's culture and economy. The authors call for action from politicians, both Federal and State, as they leave the reader with the statement, "Clearly we cannot wait for Washington; we must start this conversation now in Los Angeles. And maybe in the process, we can lift the tenor of the national immigration debate and point the way to a comprehensive reform that will focus less on borders and more on our common future." The authors are both well qualified and view immigration as a positive factor, dispelling many xenophobic fears about the inability of migrants to assimilate and severe economic differences.