Hispanic Heresy: What is the Impact of America's Largest Population of Immigrants?

There are many fallacies surrounding the economic and social impact of Hispanics on America. This book is an effort to dispel many of the misunderstandings about how Hispanics in America impact its socio-economics. There is no denying the simple fact that the Hispanic population in the United States is booming. This positive growth rate is not just a result of immigration, but increasingly the result of a higher birthrate within the Hispanic population.

Some see this as a problem; others see it as an opportunity. The problems pertain to illegal immigration, which can burden the educational, social welfare and medical care systems. Income taxes may not be collected and labor abuse may occur. The problems are well publicized. The opportunity pertains to the historical value of immigrants and their willingness to take on the entry level jobs and work their way up to achieve the American dream. It can be a thorny debate.

The authors embrace different political points of view from conservative to liberal. The intent was to be bi-partisan and achieve compromise. Without a doubt the book would have stronger leanings in different directions had it not been a collaborative effort. We learned much from each other as we tried to keep our minds open to both problems and opportunities.

That having been said, we choose to see the Hispanic immigration and population growth phenomenon as an opportunity. It is an opportunity that America must deftly manage if it is to continue to lead the world and truly be the land of opportunity.

To be clear, this book is descriptive in nature as we try to observe and report what we see happening to facilitate perception. It is not a particularly prescriptive book in that it does not offer solutions. That would be a much more difficult book to write, perhaps for another day. Nonetheless, it is fair to say one prescription is to recognize a wave change and explore what opportunities it presents.